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I have thought about, or talked about, personal productivity almost every day for the past 25 years. It is in my DNA, and I cannot help but attempt to translate what I observe in the workplaces I visit and work within into better ways of working. I look at how people work and listen to the productivity issues they raise with me, and try to develop simple and practical strategies that help people to better manage their schedules, their priorities and their communications. I truly believe that this has resulted in personal productivity systems that give our participants at least one hour per day of more productive time back. That is two days per month!
But over the last few years I have seen a greater multiplier in action. Creating a shift in team culture around productivity can achieve much greater productivity gains across a team, not by adding new skills and strategies, but by subtracting the friction that slows our work and reduces our capacity to get important work done. Creating healthier team cultures around how you work together as a group can give your team back many hours of time each week. And the great thing is, your team don’t need to do anything – they just need to stop doing the things that cause productivity friction for those around them!
Friction is created when you have an unhealthy Communication Culture. Too much email noise, too much distraction through MS Teams channels and chats, and too much time trying to decipher poorly written communications. Reduce this friction and your people will be more focused, less overwhelmed and can get their head out of their Inbox and into more important things.
Friction is also created when we have an unhealthy Meeting Culture. Too much time in meetings, a lack of meeting purpose and poorly planned gatherings all lead to wasted time, diverting your people from other priorities. Reduce this friction and you will create more balanced schedules with room to attend necessary meetings and work on priorities during core working hours.
Finally, friction is created when you have an unhealthy Prioritisation Culture. Too much urgency and reactivity leads to a lot of stress, a drop in work quality and poor decision making. Reducing the friction created by unnecessary urgency again helps your people to focus on what is important in their roles.
This aspect of productivity, the reduction of friction, excites me as a much as increasing the personal productivity of the people we work with. In fact, it has been a large part of what I have worked on with leadership teams and organisations over the last two years. Our Lead Smart program helps leadership teams to not only increase their personal productivity, but also to lead more productive cultures. And of course, our Smart Teams masterclasses are all about creating lasting cultural change across your team. These programs sit alongside our flagship Smart Work personal productivity program, and together they provide a holistic approach to team productivity that just makes sense.
So, if your team needs a productivity boost for the coming year, Smart Work is a great starting point. But if those skills are already in place, maybe a Smart Teams masterclass could be the thing that will really multiply your teams’ impact! Click here to watch a video and download the program overviews.