Time management

Both leadership and management take time, so too do managing individual difference and motivating people. Managing people is a time-consuming business.

The following diagram breaks your job down into three types of task and offers simple definitions:

What's important in time management terms is that these three types of task are associated with different pressures. Leadership, for instance, seldom feels urgent; administration may well do. People will complain if you don't sign their conference approval forms, you are very unlikely to hear anyone say, "but you haven't led me this week".

All three task groups need doing, though not all of them by you, but the pressures from your colleagues and from the administrative systems that you engage with will pull you to the left, away from the things that only you can do.

And finally, some time management tips:

• make sure you make time for the things that only you can do
• look after yourself, you're no use to anyone if you're not fit and well
• maintain your networks, they make your job much easier
• operate on the 'good enough is good enough' principle but work out very carefully how good 'good enough' is
• never say "yes" in the corridor
• make time for people but don't let them waste your time
• develop a coaching style of management so that people learn to solve their own problems
• make time for fun.

Task With the ideas from this section in your mind, consider your leadership and management role. Use the traffic lights system below to help you think about what you're going to do more or less of in the future.