Time Management for Senior Staff Andy Wilson Professional Development

Time Management Issues Working with one or two neighbours, please make a quick collective list of your key time management issues.

Structure Standard hints and tips Senior staff issues Delegation Bits and pieces Resolutions.

Time Management Advice Time management is very personal… …and very interpersonal Here are some of the standard hints and tips…

Important and Urgent Important YesNo Yes No Urgent

Important and Urgent 2 For whom? Just because it’s important or urgent for someone else… …doesn’t mean that it’s important or urgent for you You can only judge importance and urgency if you are clear about your own objectives.

Objectives Where do you want to be professionally in 3 years’ time? Where do you want to be personally in 3 years’ time?

4D Do Delay Delegate Delete.

Do If you don’t know what you’re trying to do, then how will you know when you’ve done it? Whoever is doing the task, it’s essential that it is clearly specified Good enough is good enough Worse than good enough is bad Better than good enough is bad.

Delegate Later in some detail.

Delay Immediate responses are rarely required But don’t use delay as an excuse for not doing one of the other things.

Delete This needs managing It’s not what you don’t do; it’s the way that you don’t do it, eg… “I don’t have time for this stupid job!” …or… “I regret that the time available will not allow us to do full justice to this important activity and so we must regretfully decline to be involved.”

Key Skills Set limits Set priorities Say “No”. The last one highlights the interpersonal nature of time management.

Time Management Tips See the handout for some tips Please add your own…

“Incoming wounded” When the wounded first arrived at the M*A*S*H they went through a triage process. The doctors and nurses separated the wounded into 3 categories: 1. Those who needed immediate care 2. Those who could wait 3. And those who were beyond help.

Triage Options The 4D approach needs your decisions Do ~ it yourself ~ but decide on standards Delegate ~ to someone else ~ but delegate well and decide on standards Delay ~ but not as an excuse Delete ~ do this consciously ~ it may require action Base the decision on the risks.

Risk Analysis Do a quick risk analysis at the triage stage Two key questions in relation to risk What is the probability? What is the consequence?

Look After Yourself You’re no good to anyone if you’re collapsing under the strain.

Comments?

Senior Staff

How might it be different for senior staff? More strategic role Managing others More delegation More juggling Leadership.

Levels Vision Strategic Operational Detailed Trivial

Leadership in HE For more senior staff there’s much more on vision, strategy and leadership Time needs to be carved out for these Administration is getting the paperwork done Management is getting the job done Leadership is…?

Leadership Understanding the environment Developing and sharing a vision Developing strategies to deliver the vision Managing the interfaces Motivating people Allocating resources VIPERS & TIME!

A – M – L Admin- istration Manage- ment Leader- ship All of these are needed Pressures UrgentImportant but not urgent

What Do You Have to Do? The key time management question for senior staff is… What do you have to do? And, of course, it’s leadership Delegation is essential to give you time for leadership.

Delegation Comments Delegation is not a dirty word Some people want you to delegate more Delegation can develop people… …but coaching may be required Delegation is often inadequately done Handle different people differently Delegation gets easier with practice Don’t forget upwards or self delegation.

Your Delegatee Competent YesNo Yes No Committed

Your Awareness of Your Skills Competent YesNo Yes No Conscious

Delegation Handout See handout for… What the subordinate needs to know What should be delegated What should not be delegated Reasons (excuses?) for not delegating.

More Delegation? Are there any tasks that you don’t delegate but perhaps could? Please share some possibilities.

Delegation Tips 1. Explain what, why, when, how and who 2. Don’t assume that they know the background or have all the skills 3. Alert them to possible pitfalls 4. Discuss resources, authority and support 5. Discuss reporting mechanisms 6. Don’t rush it 7. Allow time and space for questions.

Bits and Pieces

Monitoring Monitoring is a key task for senior staff Monitoring is much easier if the task and the reporting mechanisms have been clearly specified Break the task into sub-tasks and monitor these Monitor early enough to allow you to do something more constructive than…

Monitoring Mechanisms Pass the reporting duties to the delegatee, eg… “Send me an by 4 April with your first draft.” Engage colleagues in monitoring you, eg… “Nag me if I don’t do this.” Use your diary system, eg… “4 April – Deadline for first draft.”

Tools and Techniques Use lists – pen & paper to hand Audio notes PDA? Let your mind float over issues …and capture your ideas Send yourself timed s Put deadlines into your diary Work backwards from deadlines Gantt charts for big projects What works for you?

Memory Tool 1. Ton 2. Shoe 3. Tree 4. Door 5. Hive 6. Sticks

You don’t have to respond immediately may not be the best medium Remember that an is a written record ~ NB Freedom of Information Act Keep your s You don’t have to read them all Manage your s through folders or in conjunction with your electronic diary What helps you to handle s?

Using Outlook as a Diary (Likely to be offered by university) Best done by synchronising with a PDA Easy to make, move and cancel appointments Shows free time in the day Extends well into the future Allows recurring items Makes sharing information easy Searchable and sortable.

Using Outlook as a Diary 2 To do lists Reminder alarms Printable in a range of formats Links to s, URLs, files, etc. Range of views – day, week, month Colour coding for out-of-office, busy, tentative, free Shared systems allow easy meeting set-up.

Meet-o-matic

Resolutions

Please write down a few personal resolutions about time management Be ready to share one of these.

Contact Information Dr Andy Wilson Professional Development x2380