Management Information |
Managing YOUR Expectations
I sit on the board of an organization and at the last meeting found myself speaking with another board member named Standolyn Robertson. Standolyn is also a business owner and our conversation was about managing expectations ? both ours and our clients. She said something that is very true--'It is about using our knowledge and expertise to foresee and side-step roadblocks, revise unrealistic timelines and debunk myths.' And I couldn't agree more. But there are times when I am not there to coach a client and it seems prudent to share information with you on how to manage your own set of expectations when it comes to improving your organizing or time management skills. Foresee and side-step roadblocks If you have tried to improve your skills in the past, but have not been successful over the short or long-term, step back and think about the types of roadblocks that interfered with your success. Was time committed to your calendar? Did you lack information? Did you lack of support? Wrong tools? Did you even have ownership of your goal? Or maybe it was perfectionism that got in the way. As I have said in the past and continue to say, the goal is to be successful?not perfect. Identifying past roadblocks will help you become more aware of them so that you may be better prepared to overcome them and reach your goal. Revise unrealistic timelines Your organizing and time management challenges didn't happen over night and they won't be solved overnight. Give yourself some leeway. Select some milestone dates, put them on you calendar and revise them only if absolutely necessary. For example, "Have an organized office by 12/31/05." In between these milestones select smaller tasks that you will do to build to your milestone date. For example, "Organize the desktop" or "Organize a filing drawer". Smaller activities routinely spaced apart help lead to your milestone date. Debunk myths Maybe there are some myths floating around in your mind. Things like, 'touch a piece of paper only once', 'someone else can organize my workspace and it will work for me', or my all time favorite?'I don't have time to get organized'. These are old, ineffective recordings that are repeating in your head. Toss them aside and replace them with something that moves you forward. For example, 'I can find paper, time and peace of mind if I begin NOW.' Learn to manage your expectations and ultimate your success. Copyright 2005 Cynthia Kyriazis. All rights reserved. Cynthia Kyriazis is an organizing and time management consultant, trainer, speaker, coach and author with over 20 years management experience in multi-unit corporations. Organize it, a division of Productivity Partners, Inc. is an organizational training firm she founded in 1995 and has been serving Fortune 500 clients ever since. Cynthia works with business and their employees to help improve performance and realize productivity gains. Cynthia has appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Kansas City Star and the Legal Intelligencer. She currently serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), member of the Kansas City of the International Society for Performance Improvement - (ISPI-KC) and consultant to the American Coaching Association.
MORE RESOURCES: Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting |
RELATED ARTICLES
Executive Performance -- Whos to Blame for Incompetent Managers? A recent article in the Wall Street Journal raised the question: Who's to blame for inept managers?The answer, of course, is the superiors who hire or promote them -- but not because they intentionally select or retain poor performers. Every leader knows that his or her own success depends on putting the right people in the right positions. The Key to Successful Performance Objectives Have you ever tried to drive somewhere without proper directions? This almost always turns out to be a frustrating experience. Sure, if you stop and ask enough people you may eventually reach your target destination, but think of all the wasted energy, time, and resources needed to accomplish your goal. Managing Yo-Yo Style Does being managed by others smack more of "Survivor" than Stephen Covey for you? Could there BE any more management styles out there-have you gotten to experience all of them yet? And what kind of manager are you-or should you try to be?If you're reading this, you're probably familiar with too many types of management and leadership styles-more flavors than months, for the most part. On the leadership, not so much. Hire The Person, Not The Resume "? [get] the right people on the bus, the right people in the right seats (and the wrong people off the bus) and then [figure] out where to drive it." - Jim Collins - Good To Great"Hire the best staff you can find, develop them as much as you can, and hand off everything you possibly can to them. Nonprofit Performance: Outcome Measurement Can Be A Good Thing Does the idea of program evaluation make your stomach churn? If so, you're not alone. Many nonprofit professionals and volunteers view program evaluation with fear. Focus and Shoot One of my earliest childhood memories is watching Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) win his third Most Outstanding Player award while leading UCLA to its third straight NCAA title in 1969. Of course, March Madness? is now ingrained in our sports psyche. Christmas and Business Gifts for Your Clients and Employees! Tis' the season for business and corporate gift-giving! If you believe in the law of reciprocity, and if your business is the least bit successful you must; you know that giving back is not only the right thing to do, but it's very smart business as well. Let's look at some of the benefits and mechanics of Christmas and holiday gift-giving. Top 10 Things Every Business Should Provide for Every Worker - Including the Boss! Doing business and meeting the needs of workers is increasingly complex. Employees and managers often prefer a cafeteria-list of fringe benefits (a "flexible spending account") so they can choose increased health care, child care or more time off as their individual preferences dictate. Competencies for HR Professionals in Knowledge-based Industry with Reference to IT, ITES-BPOs Introduction"High performing HR function affects bottom line nearly 10%"- A surveyCompetencies have become integral part of HR field. In the last 25+ years, the competency approach has emerged from being a specialized and narrow application to being a leading method for diagnosing, framing and improving most aspects of Human Resource Management. Poor Employee Performance: How to Deal KEEP WRITTEN RECORDS: "Document !Document! Document!" Keep a record of periodic performance reviews, incidents of unsatisfactory performance, conferences where warnings are administered or terminations are announced. Issue warnings and terminations in writing as well as verbally. Performance Appraisals: Nightmares or Sweet Dreams Some managers think of performance appraisal meetings and recollections of torn Achilles' heels or root canals immediately surface. They're sort of "been there, don't want to go again" situations. Protect Your Computer System with a Comprehensive Security Policy The most difficult part of creating a Security Policy for your business is determining what, exactly, to include in it. Never heard of a Security Policy before? You're not alone. The Professor Makes A Minus Power Move If you think the power move has costs, consider the alternative. We are talking -- four friends -- bringing one another up to date on our personal and professional lives. One Thing You Cant Hide One of the most important of all motivators at work is consideration. Employees report that the best managers they ever had were people who cared about them as people and as friends. ISO 9001 and Total Quality Management Total Quality ManagementTotal Quality Management, or TQM, has become one of the most frequently discussed topics in current business literature. Because of the competitive pressures created by Japanese companies, quality became a competitive weapon in the 1980s in most industries. Improvements In A Large Public Electric Utility In South America The company decided to develop and implement an improvement program. The main thrust was to propose strategies and alternatives for the implementation of a quality program. Three Foundation Stones for Building Organizational Integrity When the stock market crashed in 1929, there were a lot of people who lost everything they had. You would think that the result of that event would be complete and utter despair. Change Management: Avoid Havoc In Very Uncertain Times Escalating gas prices.. The Four Key Steps In Hiring And Keeping Top People "When you hire the best, the rest is easy!" We have heard this phrase many times, but how do we put this concept into action? We know that hiring the best people is vital to the success of your business, especially for fast growing businesses. And certainly, your customers have high service expectations. Managing Dickheads "We are so different and individualistic that we can't work together." Subroto Bag chi, a senior executive in wipro technologies and Indian Technology MNC, said to his chairman in a straight talk. |
home | site map | contact us |