Does This Resemble You?

When I present seminars for frontline people, and ask them what their biggest time waster is, I often hear their boss is ranked in the top three on their list. It seems the boss keeps interrupting and giving them new demands and new priorities. People tell me they are assigned a top priority, then the next or same day, before they finished the task, they get a new "top priority." As a boss, you must be proficient at letting your people know what your top priorities are, or they get frustrated, confused, and stressed. Of course, you have every right to assign new priorities, but let them know it is okay to put the other priority on the back burner for awhile. Remember stress leads to burnout, which leads to turnover.

Some other frustrations I hear, relative to time is that when the boss is out of the office and then calls in with a new demand, but does not fully explain what they want done. This is delegation without explanation, and employees feel it is just "dumping." Another frustration is when the boss calls them at home at night to discuss work "stuff." Only do this in emergencies. Remember, their job is not 24 hours a day.