Productivity for Leaders
Productivity Coaching, Time Management Consulting and Leadership Coaching for business and nonprofits - get your most important work done. Collaborating with leaders and their teams to become more strategic, focused and productive. Leadership and Board Coaching, Strategic Planning Facilitation, Productivity Coaching and Time Management Consulting, Professional Speaker.
Productivity Coach, Productivity Consultant, Leadership Coach, Time Management Coach, Business Consulting, personal productivity, time management, nonprofit, board coach, collaboration, strategic planning, facilitation, change management, leading productive teams, project planning, board development, volunteer engagement, association management, workplace productivity, executive director.
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Productivity for Leaders

19 Feb

Posted at 18:40h in Attention Managment, Focus and Prioritize, Intentional Productivity, Productivity for Leaders, Stress Management

 

If the things that matter most keep getting pushed aside, the problem may not be time — it may be what’s competing for your attention.

Sorting through five days of mail after being out of town, I heard myself say – out loud – “I’m never subscribing to another magazine again.” It wasn’t really about the magazines. For years, when I’ve spoken about managing paper, we’ve talked about that subtle sense of obligation — the feeling that if something comes into our home or office, we should read it. We should give it our attention. And there I was, doing the very same thing.

My Harvard Business Review and Nutrition Action Health letter — the ones I actually value — were barely being opened. Meanwhile, I was spending my limited casual reading time on grocery store flyers, unsolicited catalogs, and local magazines I never asked for in the first place.

That’s when it hit me: I wasn’t just mismanaging my reading. I was misdirecting my attention. And attention is one of our most precious resources.

A focus problem disguised as a paper problem

Overwhelm rarely comes from having too much that matters. It comes from too much that doesn’t competing for our attention. Every item we keep creates tiny decisions:

  • Should I read this?
  • When will I get to it?
  • Do I need this?

Those micro-decisions create mental clutter – and mental clutter makes focus harder. Today, this shows up far beyond paper. It’s the movie you’ve genuinely wanted to watch for months – the one you intentionally chose – competing with 60 TikTok’s you never meant to open. Same time spent. Very different result. One leaves you restored or inspired. The other leaves you wondering where the evening went. The issue isn’t time. It’s attention drift.

A better-aligned system

I needed a system that worked with my real life — not the life I imagined I should be living. So I made a few small changes:

  • I moved my priority reading to where I naturally sit — the kitchen island and family room.
  • I (ruthlessly) recycle unwanted material immediately.
  • I spend my reading time on what I intentionally chose, not what simply arrived.

Same 15 minutes. Completely different outcome.

Designing for how you actually live

Here’s another truth: most of my reading now happens on my computer or phone. My Substack and LinkedIn feeds bring thoughtful, relevant content aligned with my interests and work. So this isn’t about eliminating magazines — or streaming, or social media. It’s about being honest about what you value, how you naturally operate, and designing systems that support both. Because productivity isn’t about forcing yourself to work the “right” way. It’s about making it easier to do what matters.

The leadership connection

This same dynamic shows up at work every day. Leaders don’t struggle because they lack priorities. They struggle because too many non-priorities are allowed to compete with them.

  • Unread reports
  • Unnecessary meetings
  • Low-value requests
  • Constant digital noise

When everything asks for attention, the truly important work quietly loses. Productivity — for individuals and leaders alike — isn’t about doing more. It’s about protecting attention so the right work gets done.

The bigger picture

This small shift is about far more than reading material. It’s about:

  • Choosing intentionally instead of reacting automatically
  • Removing what competes for your attention
  • Making space for what matters most

When you do that, focus gets easier. Decisions get lighter. And overwhelm begins to fade. So if the things that matter to you aren’t getting your attention, don’t ask: “What’s wrong with me?”

Ask instead: “How can I make the important things easier to reach — and the unimportant things easier to let go?” That’s where thriving begins.  And it’s how work – and life – start to work better.

Protect What Matters Most

Attention is at the heart of productivity. In my book, Productivity for How You’re Wired, I help readers understand their unique productivity style and build systems that support focus, clarity, and meaningful progress — without forcing themselves into someone else’s method.

Available on Amazon in print, eBook, and audio.

20 Aug

Posted at 09:23h in Envision Success, Leadership, Productivity, Productivity for How You're Wired, Productivity for Leaders

Why Solid Leadership Skills are Critical for Team Productivity

If you lead a team of 1, 10, 100, or 1000 there are skills you need to drive your productivity. These aren’t productivity skills per se’, they are leadership skills. Looking at leadership from a productivity perspective will help you boost your effectiveness and the effectiveness of your team. Where are your opportunities for growth?

Collaboration

Collaboration is the coming together of individuals, with positive intention, to work toward a best solution. These solutions develop from the sharing of knowledge, perspective, and experience in a psychologically safe space.

Communication

Communication is a process in which information is exchanged. It provides a forum for understanding and agreement and it builds connections. Good communication is key to creating productive teams. 

Decision Making

A good decision is one in which the chosen course of action meets the objective with the least amount of risk and the greatest benefits. Leaders are expected to make decisions frequently and, often, quickly. Finding the balance between quickly and too quickly can be a challenge.  

Delegation, Follow Up and Accountability

No matter how well you may do things, there is only one of you. You can accept the limitations of not delegating, or you can learn to delegate. 

Delegation is the assignment of responsibility to another person for the purpose of carrying out a specific action. Delegating involves thought and planning, and, by nature, is proactive. Not delegating is reactive, allowing a situation to dictate actions.  

Effective Meeting Best Practices

People don’t hate meetings; they just hate meetings that waste their time. When meetings are good, they advance all that is good in an operation. When they are bad, they waste resources. 

Yes, meetings take time. They take you away from the work you’ve prioritized. However, when people come together collectively, share information constructively, and stay focused on the task at hand, meetings can result in solid decision-making with the ability to quickly move into action.

Productive meetings take planning before, during, and after. Additionally, having meeting agreements sets the stage for on–going meeting success.

Conflict

Conflict is a natural occurrence. An individual’s past experiences inform thought and result in different people holding different perspectives. When important decisions are on the table and there are differing opinions, conflict can arise. How leaders navigate conflict affects the team’s productivity.

Toxic Personalities

A safe work environment drives productivity. Yet toxic personalities are often revered in the workplace. 

While in the short term this may seem sustainable, perhaps even beneficial, the long-term cost to the team may be irreparable. Not only does tolerating the “bad apple” suggest that accepting mediocrity or rule-bending is acceptable, it can also undermine the productivity of the rest of the team.

All these leadership skills and concepts impact a team’s ability to get into flow, do innovative work and drive success. Without these skills leading a productive and effective team is next to impossible. 

This is the chapter highlights  from Chapter 15 (the last chapter!) of my new book Productivity for How You’re Wired available on Amazon. Many templates are included via the time tools link discussed in the book.

29 Jul

Posted at 09:07h in Envision Success, Leadership, Productivity, Productivity for How You're Wired, Productivity for Leaders

productivity and leadership

In my last blog post I shared with you the concept that team productivity is impacted by the leadership effectiveness of the person leading the team.  Here’s why:

If doing one’s most effective work occurs when a person is in the flow state, then a team’s most effective work occurs when the team is in flow. We call that team flow. 

What does team flow look like? How does it feel? What could be possible?

  • The team has clearly defined priorities resulting in time, money, and energy being spent intentionally and proactively. Team members are not frustrated by constantly fixing problems.
  • Team members are clear about both the team’s goals and their own personal goals. They know what constitutes high-value work and do not waste time on things that don’t support desired outcomes.
  • Healthy relationships are based on open, honest communication. People feel safe to be their most authentic, best selves. Team members do not get sidetracked with drama, ego, and narcissistic behavior.

Productivity–focused leaders understand their role in creating a team that is in flow. 

To create a successful sustainable business, leaders must embrace the humanity of working with people. 

Motivation 

It’s not about the MONEY! Money does not inspire best performance. Money is an extrinsic motivator — an external force — and extrinsic motivators such as fear and reward have very short lifespans. They are quick fixes and easily forgotten once an acute situation passes. 

The motivation that matters, the one that drives productivity and results, is called intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation comes from inside oneself and it is this motivation that has staying power. Intrinsic motivation is what affects a team member’s productivity. It is the driver when someone chooses to go above and beyond in their work.

What the employees identified as the things that motivated them to work harder, go above and beyond, were appreciation and acknowledgement, sense of belonging and problem–solving support.

Successful Teams

How do you create such a culture? What makes a successful team?

Google spent two years delving into just this question. In a study dubbed “Project Aristotle,” Google studied 180 of their teams. Their hope was to find a pattern of team member characteristics that could be plugged into a “dream-team” algorithm. 

However, that didn’t happen. There was no tangible list of demographic consistencies in their most successful teams. “It was only when they began looking at group norms that the researchers found consistencies.”

At Google, successful teams were collaborative and engaged. Google’s Project Aristotle lead researcher Julia Rozovsky identified two characteristics of these teams: 

  1. There was equality in conversation turn-taking; everyone on the team talked roughly the same amount of time. If one person on the team, or even a small group took over, collective intelligence declined. 
  2. Team members exhibited a higher-than-average social sensitivity, intuiting how others felt based on tone of voice, expression, and non-verbal cues. 

Additional key characteristics of successful teams were identified:

  1. Psychological Safety — a work culture that supports risk taking, respect, and openness.
  2. Dependability — the ability to count on colleagues for work to be done on time and to proper standards.
  3. Structure and Clarity — a mutual understanding of goals, expectations, responsibilities, and how work is to be executed.
  4. Meaning — work that is personally significant. 
  5. Impact — work that makes a positive difference.

From a productivity perspective, it’s not surprising that dependability, structure, and clarity would be included. And from an intrinsic motivational perspective, meaning and impact make total sense. However, the concept of psychological safety is the most interesting.  

In her study Rozovsky stated “Psychological safety was far and away the most important of the five dynamics we found – it’s the underpinning of the other four.”  

Many leaders today still think of fear as a great motivator. It makes sense people will work hard to avoid unpleasant consequences; however, this doesn’t encourage intrinsic motivation and it doesn’t result in sustainable productivity. 

Fear diverts resources from the brain. Fear affects working memory, reasoning, processing, and creativity. Psychological safety mitigates fear.

Work life is often fraught with conflict. The effective productive leaders works to create conditions that mitigate conflict and fear and instead support the characteristics that allow for maximum intrinsic motivation. 

This is an excerpt from Chapter 14 of my new book Productivity for How You’re Wired available on Amazon. Many templates are included via the time tools link discussed in the book.

08 Jul

Posted at 15:29h in Envision Success, Leadership, Productivity, Productivity for How You're Wired, Productivity for Leaders

empowering leadership drives team productivity

Leadership is a behavior, not a title. 

It doesn’t matter what someone’s title is, how much they are paid, or how much authority they have. If they don’t influence change, drive progress, or inspire others, they are not a true leader. 

A true leader creates an environment in which those they lead are inspired and motivated to give their all towards the achievement of a desired outcome.

  • A leader creates a culture in which their team members are self-motivated to do great work.
  • A leader ensures their followers’ efforts matter and positively influence outcomes.
  • Some of the most effective leaders do not have titles or authority. They achieve success through the actions they inspire. 

Real leaders work for the greater good. Some managers, owners, or figureheads don’t. Just because someone is in charge doesn’t automatically mean they are going to make decisions that best serve the entity they have influence over, nor does it mean they’re a leader.

  • Real leaders continually monitor their behavior. They are aware of how their actions affect their team. 
  • Real leaders lead team members who work hard and are empowered to support the team’s success. 
  • Real leaders deliberately work to create a culture in which individual efforts result in a win for the system as a whole.

Successful productive leaders know the importance of understanding, considering, and integrating all aspects of their operation. It’s not just big picture, it’s whole picture. They consider the effects of their decisions and anticipate how change affects outcomes throughout the entire system.

Being the kind of leader team members are inspired to work hard for produces great long-term results. It is perhaps the most important quality for boosting overall team productivity.

It takes commitment to be a productive leader. 

  • Productive leaders create a culture based in safety, trust, and relationships.
  • Productive leaders have systems in place so people know what is expected and can effectively do the work that matters most. 
  • Productive leaders communicate, share, and are transparent so people feel secure and confident in the normal progression of work.

Focusing on productivity alone isn’t enough. Focusing on culture alone is not enough. Focusing on profits and growth is never enough. Each part, on its own, gets you only so far, like a bike without tires, or tires without a frame. Successful productive leaders ensure all parts support the whole.

It’s time to think about the productivity of your team differently. 

 

This is an excerpt from Chapter 14 of my new book Productivity for How You’re Wired available on Amazon. Many templates are included via the time tools link discussed in the book.

06 Mar

Posted at 11:55h in Productivity, Productivity for How You're Wired, Productivity for Leaders, Stress Management, Tips for Easier Living

Causes of Burnout

Burnout is trending. For many years, it didn’t seem to be a topic of much interest. It was almost like it was okay. IT IS NOT OKAY! 

Burnout can use up our physical and mental resources over time. Yes, USE UP, as in never be able to regain full capacity, full processing ability, full memory access. GONE! That is scary. 

Unfortunately, many employers see their employees as commodities. Commodities to use up and replace with other hard-working suckers who want to fast-track or prove themselves. The employees end up working endless hours, often suffering chronic stress and sometimes burnout.

If you are worried about chronic stress, I hope you find a place to work that values you and a way to live that fulfills you. In the event you can’t, it’s important to educate yourself about stress and burnout and how to take care of yourself. Don’t hold your breath waiting for someone to tell you to work less. This one is up to you.

What is Burnout?

Burnout doesn’t just happen. It is a process that occurs over time. The World Health Organization  defines burnout as chronic work–induced stress that has not been successfully managed. New science has also recognized burnout in non–work conditions such as parenting, caring for elderly parents, and unemployment. Whatever the source, all agree burnout results from long periods of ongoing stress.

When stress persists, it’s called chronic stress. When chronic stress impacts emotional health, physical health, and work efficacy it becomes burnout.

Causes of Burnout

Work Culture – Burnout is often driven by working conditions. In her seminal article, “Burnout from an Organizational Perspective”, Stanford Business School Professor Dr. Leah Weiss shares research showing that much burnout comes from toxic work cultures. 

Conditions that cause chronic stress include feelings of not belonging, being unappreciated, having little or no support, being micromanaged, and not knowing what is expected. These ongoing conditions move the brain into an always–on stress response.

Toxic Team Members – An organization’s tolerance for toxic team members contributes to burnout. It isn’t unusual for leadership to overlook abusive treatment of others when the harasser is a rainmaker or makes great promises about impacting profitability. 

Abusers are clever and they know who they can con. They also know who is smart enough to see through them. Their reaction is to smear and lie about those that can disclose their charade. Being a victim of that type of abuse is especially stressful. Continued work in this kind of situation is rarely sustainable without support.

Level of Job Stress – Certain jobs carry with them greater stress. Helping professionals, health care workers, and civil servants in harm’s way have stress baked in. The slightest negative change in working conditions can tip the scales toward compassion fatigue and eventual burnout.

Family of origin scripts – Mental scripts around work often reflect upbringing and family dynamics. These messages can contribute to chronic stress and burnout.

  • Was working extremely long hours modeled for you growing up?
  • Were you taught that anything less than 100% was not okay?
  • Do you worry about disappointing others if you don’t produce?

How you’re wired – Your own needs and values can also affect your relationship with work.

  • Does being busy make you feel good about yourself?
  • Is your identity tied to your work?
  • Are you addicted to the adrenaline rush of collaboration and results?

What doesn’t cause burnout — Oversensitivity or “taking things too personally” are excuses used to blame workers for something someone else is doing wrong. One’s reaction does affect how the stress is processed; it is a symptom and not the cause. 

This is an excerpt from Chapter 5 of my new book Productivity for How You’re Wired available on Amazon. Worksheets and online templates are included via the time tools link discussed in the book.

21 Sep

Posted at 08:46h in Focus and Prioritize, Leadership, Productivity, Productivity for Leaders, Stress Management, Time Management

Working HybridIt seems we just got used to working at home and now we are returning to the office in some way. Today’s workforce is everything but stationary.

Productivity in the hybrid work environment focuses on mobility and flexibility. Your office is in your work bag. The goal is to work effectively regardless of location. Leveraging the benefits of this new work paradigm means looking at productivity differently.

Acknowledge the Difference

  • Time in the office can be energizing and inspiring. Take advantage of the lift you get when you’re with others, understanding that effectiveness improves with a change of pace and environment.
  • Child care and family obligations shift. Going to work provides a much-needed break. The flexibility enables you to be better in each situation.
  • Self-care continues to be important. Taking time for a walking meeting or planning an exercise break with colleagues helps to maximize the time. Leaders are on the lookout for ideas to support the new normal. Tell them what you need.
  • Planning your start and stop times in the office is helpful to helping you create routine and provides markers to keep you on task and effective.

Uplevel Communication

  • Hold planning meetings with your family or roommates. While regular review of work schedules and obligations is always helpful, holding regular planning meetings when one or many are working from home and hybrid is especially valuable.
  • Communicate goals and deadlines. Understanding expectations helps all parties manage deadlines and avoid stressful last-minute time crunches. Share a work-plan that identifies steps, deadlines, and areas of responsibility.
  • Leaders should consider no meeting days to encourage people to come to the office on meeting days, and support focused work time on WFH days.

Redefine Meeting Etiquette

Meetings in which some participants are in the room and others are on video chat present their own challenges. Identifying these challenges and creating new agreements to support them ensures all participants are treated fairly.

  • Those in the room can read non-verbal cues more easily than those on video. Meeting leaders should create extra space for clarifying questions and priorities.
  • Side conversations exclude those not in the room. While they are always annoying, during hybrid meetings they are especially detrimental.
  • Sometimes new ideas come after the meeting when in-person participants are still in the room. Be sure to include any post-meeting comments and actions in the meeting notes and create time to discuss at the next meeting.

Plan Work Strategically

With less structure it is even more important to build in supports to boost your productivity.

  • Weekly Planning: Identify which tasks are most effective doing at home and which are most effective doing at the office. When doing your weekly planning, block out specific tasks for the place they are most effectively performed.
  • Home is best for project, quantitative and focused work.
  • Office is best for meetings, small group work, creative problem solving and planning/
  • Task Management: When working hybrid, you’ll want to add in the variable of where you are doing the work. You can adjust your task list by dividing your list into HOME and OFFICE subsections.
    • Each day, write out a physical list of the most important things you intend to accomplish for the day.
    • Be deliberate and identify what’s possible to do for the day depending on other commitments and amount of time the identified tasks will take.
    • Build in time when at the office for conversation and walking to meetings.
    • Build in time at home for taking care of the kids/pets and household chores you’re squeezing in.

Create Parallel Work Spaces

Boosting productivity in the office is dependent on your particular work set up.

  • If you have an office, focus on creating an easy transition between work and home. Create parallel equipment set ups; two monitors, a wireless keyboard and mouse in both locations so all you have to do is plug your laptop in and start working.
  • If you have an open seating arrangement, follow the above noted recommendations AND work to find your best space at the office.
    • Don’t pick the center cubical. Instead choose a space at the end of the row so you aren’t between two people that can be distracting.
    • Be mindful of the person with the bellowing voice and move as far away as possible.
    • Sign up for conference room space. Work whenever you can with a door.
  • If you have a permanent desk assignment follow both guidelines above. If it is too hard to concentrate in your assigned space, explain to your manager that your productivity is compromised and work to find a better arrangement. Chances are they’d rather have you in the office some of the time than have you working at home all of the time. See if they will work with you to come up with a better solution.

Take Care of Yourself

Working hybrid blurs the lines between work and home. Consider new ways to refuel and reenergize to create conditions to do your most productive work.

  • Differentiating between work time and non-work time can help you to move from the working-all-the-time mindset and help you create the space to give your mind and body necessary recharge and renewal time.
  • ESQ – Exercise, sleep and quiet are your secret weapons. If these basics aren’t in place everything else will be harder.
    • Sleep – When working hybrid, staying on the same sleep schedule for office and home days will help your body acclimate more easily. An added bonus would be on WFH days using your extra commute time for self-care and starting your work day at the same time.
    • Exercise – Walking, working out, doing quick burst exercises all can help your brain work better. If you’re stuck and can’t get started with your work, move your body.
    • Quiet – Research indicates that downtime improves creative thought, problem solving, and replenishes work mojo. Meditation, reading, playing games all help soothe the mind so when you work you are more focused.
  • Take advantage of being able to go to the office. Don’t automatically think you don’t need to be there. As social beings’ connectedness and sense of belonging is an inherent need. It’s hard to motivate when you don’t feel connected.

Working hybrid brings more complexities. If we can structure our work and our time effectively, the hybrid model – working from home for focused work time AND going to the office to collaborate and connect, is the best of both worlds.