The Leader’s Role in Creating Long-Distance Productivity

Productivity is a perpetual topic of conversation and concern for leaders at all levels. Leaders want people to achieve what they were hired for in an effective manner. As more people began working remotely (whether by mandate or choice), productivity became one of the biggest concerns of all. Concerns about long-distance productivity have been one

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Five Steps to Creating a Culture of Organizational Productivity

Ask any CEO if they would like greater productivity in their organization and you will get a resounding “yes.” That’s not to say that they are generally displeased with the current level of productivity. But more would be better for many reasons. Improved organizational productivity reduces costs and talent shortages, while increasing innovation and (when

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The Leader’s Role in Team Productivity

Team productivity. Every leader would like to have a more productive team. If they don’t, they are either super proud of their ultra productive team or they don’t really care. Regardless of your personal assessment of your team’s productivity, as the leader you play a monstrous role in what that productivity is. There are (at least)

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You CAN (And Should) Add Context to Teams Notifications

Have you ever tried to reach someone on Microsoft Teams and seen a red status message that says they’re busy? That’s fine, but will they be available later today? Are they out of the office? Here is a simple tip that you can use to make those notifications more useful. Let’s say you’re working at home

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Stop Watching Your Watch

Time is one of our most precious resources. How we view it, prioritize it, and use it plays a big part in our success on many levels. We need to value and pay attention to it. And for many of us, that has long meant wearing a watch. As valuable as our time is, watches

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Five Tips for Starting Meetings on Time

Ask any group of people to make a list of the reasons why meetings are painful or ineffective. Undoubtedly, “They start late” will always make the list. I know this because I have asked groups this question many times. So, starting on time is one of the biggest things we could do to make meetings

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Getting Beyond the Myth of Multitasking

I get it. You want to be productive. You want to get more done. And it feels like more than a want, but an imperative – there is more to do than you think you can get to. I’m with you – I want to be more productive too. But I am going to go

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What Leaders Can Do to Address Productivity Theater

If you haven’t yet heard the term “productivity theater,” this won’t be the last time. And even if you haven’t, you will likely recognize the behavior. My coauthor, Wayne Turmel, defines it as “engaging in behaviors that aren’t terribly productive but give the appearance of working hard.” And one survey says 83% of employees have

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Managing Distractions While Working Remotely

No matter what you do for a living, there are days when you can run on autopilot, and days when you have to buckle down, focus, and work without distractions. The challenge when working remotely is that we have so many things clamoring for attention that it can be difficult to pay attention to what’s

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When Microsoft thinks you’re working too hard…

How well do you manage your work time? Does your significant other think you work too much, or can’t turn it off at what should be the end of your work day? How about if the people who produce your productivity tools think you need to slow your roll? That might make you think twice.

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