Tip # 39    Learning to say no

Its one thing to try to win your colleagues’ collaboration, playing martyr is another.  Learn to say no, no matter how much you like or admire a colleague. 

Don’t see the office as the place for cementing friendships.  Stick to your agenda and do the work.  Keep the emotions of your colleagues – and yours – at bay.  If a colleague is in trouble and you’ve helped her in the past, let her deal with it herself this time.  Don’t leave a task undone just so you can offer a helping hand to everyone.

Tip # 40    “We’re a great team!”

You have a great team?  Good for you.  Use it to your advantage.  If your team members are performing to your satisfaction, you have more confidence in delegating tasks to them, freeing up considerable time for you to attend to your important duties. 

Knowing that you have a team you can rely will make you procrastinate less.  Delegate tasks based on each team member’s strength and limitations; it’s one of the more effective ways to obtain results.

Tip # 41    “I’ve got some problems with my team”

It’s not the end of the world.  This situation can be salvaged, but it’s up to you to do damage control.  Don’t give up on your team members.  It will take time to teach them leadership skills. Invest the time now rather than later. 

It takes an exceptional leader to get everyone to cooperate and share the same vision.  It’s your job to make sure that the team produces for the overall good of the company. 

An unhealthy team mired in hostility and aggression is the # 1 barrier to productivity.  Many managers have procrastinated in doing their jobs because the team is divided. 

Lacking support is the sure way to procrastination, and procrastination equals non-productivity.  If you’re busy putting out fires and mending hearts, you might be next in line before firing squad.

Tip # 42    “Urgent” is the flavor of the day

Unless you’re in the business of saving lives, then be wary of managers who say “it’s urgent.”  You see this happening everyday in the office. 

Workers are pushed to produce busloads of reports.  How much of it gets read?  A large company produces at least 100 different reports a day. 
Take one example.  One of the large companies we worked for had at least five different reports on inventory:  inventory of return merchandise, inventory of obsolete parts, inventory of parts on allocation, etc. And as the years pass, the inventory spreadsheets on inventory get larger and longer. 

While it’s good to sift through reports, it’s also a sign of procrastination.  Who said a company will fold up because managers don’t devour the 101 reports a day? 

Get to the bottom line.  Filter through the essential data and read those.  Identify those tasks that are truly urgent.