Quality, Quantity, Consistency...
The three measures of time that I see as key to effectively investing your time in those around you.
Quality
When you have a meeting with someone that time is set aside for them and you to communicate and accomplish the goals of the moment. To put it another way it is the time you set aside all other things to focus in on the individual and the needs surrounding the meeting. I had a manager of mine at a past job who had a horrible habit of reading emails or being easily distracted by things on his screen while meeting with me. It didn't matter if it was a routine meeting or impromptu, the action was the same.
I finally worked up the courage to discuss this habit with him. He was totally oblivious to the fact he was dividing his time between me and the other tasks that were probably very important too. The end result was neither got the attention it needed during the meeting :).
Some tips that work for me to ensure quality is given:
- Turn off all other distractions (turn off your monitor, put away or set aside paperwork, etc.)
- Prepare for the meeting. This can take the form of an Agenda you create for yourself or for both of you. Mentally prepare by wrapping up other activities a few minutes before the meeting so your aren't still thinking about the other items.
- Ask for questions prior to the meeting so you can be prepared for it and thus maximize the use of the time you have with whom you are meeting.
- Review at the end of the meeting. Cover action items, review follow up assignments and give time for any further questions or opportunity for clarification.
I know the first think you are going to think is "The amount of time". Well that is true also but not the main focus when I say quantity. Realize that the measure of time of your employee's or coworker's is just a valuable and precious a commodity to them as it is to you. When you take away any quantity of that time, you are spending a currency that is just as hard for them to earn as it is for you.
Nothing speaks louder than wasting another person's time. I have had managers and people I work with who thought it was no big deal to blow off meetings, reschedule multiple times for the same meeting, or show up chronically late to meetings. Many times they have excuses about conflicts etc., however the underlining message is "My time is worth more than yours!".
These truths we hold to be self evident (ok too much drama), in other words these tips seem no brainers:
- Show up to your meeting on time (or even early to prepare as stated above)
- If you have to reschedule be considerate of other people's time and give them some notice
- If you find yourself running late or running behind in meetings, take that into account and schedule your meetings with buffer time in between. Its better to plan ahead for that than to throw multiple other peoples' schedules off because of lack of planning.
Knowing your manager is available to you and more importantly makes time for you is a wonderful feeling. I try to consistently set aside time for each of my employees or for functional groups as the case may be on a regular basis. It may take the form of weekly 1 on 1's or quarterly departmental meetings. Which ever way you set it up, your people will know and even anticipate the time you have set aside for them. They will know this is their time, set aside, to meet with you and get your attention.
Keep your schedule with them consistent. Make sure to give them a routine they can count on and you will cut down, many times drastically, the amount of impromptu calls and meetings that in the end eat up much more of your time. You most likely find they will queue up their questions for their scheduled time with you, if they know it is coming up.
To the measure you value your people's time, they will measure it as how you value them.
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