A leading workplace expert has shared his five top tips on how you can become more efficient at work. Drew Povey, the founder of the Drew Povey Consultancy, says the ‘natural check point’ of September is an ideal time to make changes which can deliver results by the end of the year.
But he says these don’t have to be big resets and can simply be small tweaks which let teams focus their time on projects which already deliver success.
And he warns against managers putting their foot to the pedal for the sake of a novelty factor, particularly if they haven’t done the groundwork.
“Summer’s gone, but we can almost touch the end of the year,” says Drew. “It’s at this time that a lot of leaders will be wanting to ramp up their activities and ‘go big’.
“But the mistake I often see is that people are wanting to put their foot to the floor and go faster without checking the map.
“And going faster doesn’t help you if you’re going in the wrong direction.
“To achieve success in the third part of this year requires a mindset reset, not just more activity.”
So what are the five biggest mistakes leaders make when trying to change?
- Adding before subtracting
At this time of year is that we can often jump straight in with new initiatives without clearing out the clutter. Instead of looking at what we can add, we need to look at the bits we can take away to simplify what we’re doing. Remove the friction by getting rid of tasks and outdated habits. This not only frees up capacity but frees up energy as well.
- Focus on novelty
A lot of leaders ignore what already works in the rush to announce something new. But novelty is no substitute for proven success.
To do this, you’ve got to identify what’s working brilliantly and double down on them, because people need to feel that continuity before they ever accept any type of change.
- Confusing transformation with improvement
‘Transformation’ is one of those words which is supposed to be synonymous with improvement, but it’s not. It is better to tweak something which is nearly there than flip the monopoly board and start again.
We often over complicate the change, and small win will beat a big bang every time. We can get the things that work and make them great, and very often those tweaks are things people are happier to engage with. This builds momentum and that in turn builds confidence.
- Diary mismatch
Does your diary reflect your priorities? For a lot of us in life, it doesn’t. Leaders will often pack their diaries that are about firefighting but which aren’t really true priorities.
How many of those meetings taking up hours of your day are just automatically on repeat? Are they what about really matters? Look at the elements that really matter to you and make sure your time reflects their importance.
- Waiting for January
There are people who will use September as an opportunity for a bit of a catch up and wait for January for a big change.
Too many of us don’t think they can do as much as they can with the spectre of Christmas hanging over them so don’t go for meaningful change.
But firstly, that’s a couple of days or a week on average and secondly, we’re still a good few months way from it so grasp the nettle – or perhaps in this case, the holly bush and get working on those ideas and changes which will deliver benefits for everyone.
This is a reset. It’s not about tearing everything up and starting again. It’s about clarity, simplicity and being smart about what we do next.
