How many times has this been you? Staying late to finalize a presentation, not taking time to eat lunch just so you can hit a deadline, or responding to emails on the weekend to try and “get ahead?” If you lost track, then you are not alone. Many of us have fallen into the trap of believing working more is the only key that opens that mighty door to success. However, this type of thinking is often ineffective, leading to burnout, lack of innovation, and little to no returns.
So, what can leaders do to foster a culture that empowers teams to work smarter, not harder?
It’s easy for teams to get lost in the weeds of day-to-day tasks. Meetings, emails, presentations – these activities always feel urgent and important. To work smarter, assess the big-picture goal and purpose behind projects first.
Connecting individual roles to the underlying vision provides purpose and engagement. When people see how their work leads to big goals, they will be more motivated and focused. Also, talk about how specific projects or tasks map to strategic priorities. This connection gives more clarity when faced with identical requests or nonessential activities. Never leave out the big picture when deciding what initiatives or tasks to take on the next day.
How many professionals do you know who don’t want to produce perfect work? Nearly every conscientious professional you know wants to create perfect work, but perfectionism can hinder productivity and innovation. Employees become afraid of making a mistake, so they obsess over minute details, redo tasks, and delay output. Leaders should coach their teams that “done is better than perfect.” Encourage a growth mindset where mistakes and continual improvements are embraced. You can even share stories about major players that succeeded through repeatedly failing fast and learning. This failing forward mentality nurtures innovation and progress.
While striving for greatness is respected, perfectionism can be paralyzing. Teach people to notice unhelpful self-talk like “my work has to be perfect” and coach reframing these thoughts to be more enabling. Focus on learning from mistakes and not judgment. Share examples of times you took smart risks that didn’t end the way you hoped but still helped to advance your skills and experience. This helps to turn attitudes away from requiring perfection.
There are many strategies managers can implement to help their teams work smarter:
Create plans and schedules for projects and tasks. Outline key milestones, deadlines, and responsibilities. Planning reduces uncertainty and keeps efforts aligned with goals.
Focus your team’s time on essential priorities that serve strategic goals. Start by identifying non-essential tasks that can be eliminated, delegated, or outsourced. Use the 80/20 rule – 80% of outcomes often come from 20% of activities.
Our brains process information best with sustained attention on one task. When you minimize distractions, you are setting the stage for deeper focus and work retention. Multitasking reduces quality by dividing attention; give each task careful focus before moving to the next.
It’s easy to underestimate how disruptive notifications and alerts can be, draining focus even when you aren’t directly paying attention to them. Turn off non-essential ones during key work periods. Identify the highest productivity times and protect them for deep concentration. Take some time to experiment and find what maximizes focus for you.
Don’t equate busyness with effectiveness. Demanding excessive hours and “always on” availability quickly leads to burnout. This can be prevented by openly discussing workload in one-on-one sessions. Question sayings like “first one in, last one out.” When performance is judged by hours worked, it incentivizes exhaustion. We recommend focusing on outputs and objectives met. Real breaks place people in a better position to do outstanding work.
Categorization brings order to to-do lists that you thought were unmanageable by bunching related tasks. For example, group together meetings, reporting, and emails. Organize lists by category and methodically work through each one to experience momentum. Checking off full categories feels satisfying and energizes you to keep going.
More teams are being asked to do more with less. Constant demands and distractions can lead to burnout and hamper strategic impact. Fortunately, there is a better way.
With isolved, HR gains efficiency through streamlining workflows with a single integrated HCM platform and enabling self-service for managers and employees to reduce questions, among others. The result is a team empowered to work smarter, not harder. More time is dedicated to high-value priorities like employee development, retention initiatives, and workforce planning.
Are you ready to set the stage for HR to do less administrative “work” and more strategic “thinking?” Are you ready to transform the way your HR team operates and gain back time and mental bandwidth to drive strategic growth? If you answered yes to both questions, contact us to start maximizing efficiency today!