Many employees didn’t have the opportunity to enjoy their summer vacations this year, since this new situation has taken us all by surprise. It is important to put problems into perspective and make the most out of this new situation. Coming back to the office is especially stressful for some people who aren’t used to working under these circumstances.
During the holiday period, business owners have to compromise on tasks, which results in a list of incomplete tasks, often perceived as a source of stress for most of the employees. It is not uncommon for people to drag out their tasks during this particular time of the year. This article focuses on how you can solve this problem and face this challenge with more ease.
Team focus or team tasks
According to Forsyth Institute academic research, team leaders are divided into two groups according to their behavior – depending on whether they’re focused on their tasks or interpersonal relationships. The most efficient leaders keep these two orientations in balance.
Focus on tasks is predominantly related to leaders who create a strong vision and evaluate goal-oriented metrics.
The other group encourages cooperation and motivates the team to find a solution. These two approaches are complementary, and don’t rule out one another.
The effect of patience on team leaders’ behaviour
After the COVID-19 lockdown, 578 professional workers from the USA took part in a recent study. They were all at about age 39 from all types of industries. More than half of the pollsters were in a managerial or leader position at their workplace.
The survey showed how patience affected leaders’ creativity, productivity and team cooperation. Patience had a strong influence on employees, and the reports further showed there was a significant increase in creativity and cooperation among team members, 16% rise in creativity, and 13% rise in team productivity.
Task-oriented leaders need patience when they explain their viewpoint to people, who tend to have their doubts and judge the process.
Team-oriented leaders have to be patient during conflict mediation in the workplace.
If you want to implement these solutions, you have to know that it will take time. However, even leaders who have a lot of potential are sometimes too impatient, wanting to see their strategies working and their business thriving as soon as possible.
In order to practice patience, you have to identify the situations where you could test it. If you want to feel prepared for an upcoming challenge, increase your efforts to keep your composure.
Re-shaping the way you think about time is a great way to handle pressure caused by deadlines.
The following three methods can help you out.
Redefine the meaning of speed
Special forces of the American navy have a famous saying: Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. These teams are methodical and patient in planning out and executing their missions.
Over the last 60 years of dealing with crisis situations, they have learned how to reduce the number of errors and improve the quality of their missions.
There are differences between the operating and strategic speed. Operating speed is the speed of movement, and strategic speed is the time necessary to add more value. From the outset and throughout, leaders have to be clear about the meaning of value.
Make a difference between complex tasks and smaller ones
If you want to be as efficient as possible, divide your tasks into two lists. One list should contain main, more demanding tasks, and the other should include the tasks you could do in 10 minutes or less.
The main advantage of list number 2 is that it simplifies the process of deciding what you can do when you have only a few minutes of your time. It will reduce your stress levels and lower the risk of procrastination.
Be in full control of your daily schedule
The trick with time management is that we can never create more time, but we can create more energy.
One of the definitions of leadership says that shifting the employees’ energy creates a change that will make a difference and bring valuable results. Furthermore, a person who actually needs leadership is the leader himself. These two rules can help you with managing yourself.
1. Some tasks come to us naturally during the day, while others are more convenient to be done at nighttime
Some people feel their creativity bursting when they wake up, while others are energized and pumped up at night. The same goes for the start and the end of the week. There are people who get an adrenaline rush when the deadline is approaching, and others who deliver quality work only if they have enough time to dedicate to the task.
This is the reason why leaders have to take time to realize when is the right time to complete the tasks. Then, they can make a schedule according to the list of the tasks they need to complete. The list can include creative tasks, decision-making tasks or it can be a simple list of daily obligations that is on stand-by.
2. Different tasks take up different amount of your time and energy
It comes as a no surprise – particular tasks are easier than others. Some leave you drained of your energy, and others can’t seem to bore you even after 10 hours of working.
It’s leaders’ job to differentiate between these two tasks. They should experiment to create a pleasant environment and work rhythm for maximum productivity and feeling of satisfaction. Tasks that are too daunting for them to deal with, should be distributed to some other team member.
To sum up
Patience is a key factor for a smooth business sail during the crisis period because it boosts up creativity, productivity and better team cooperation. Patience can be increased with better time management, adherence to the daily schedule and fair distribution of job duties.
In challenging and frustrating times, when half of the team is on vacation, leaders have to stay composed. This is the only way they can help team members keep a cool head and reach their business goals in the last quarter.
