Time Management: Springboard Trust Ian Narev (video)

Key to making progress on Time Management:

Mindset (high level)

Mindset = Your most critical and valuable scarce resource, that can make a differnece to the strategy and direction of the organisation is your Time (not $). As the organisation leader, everyone looks to the way you spend your time, as to what is important in the organisation.

Strategy

Not about the big document. Not about the flowery description of where the school needs to go in the future. It is a very clear guide that then gets translated back into day to day actions and decisions. That's when you know strategy really works.

Maybe 100 decisions in a week - a number is "what are we going to do if it rains?", But a number are critical for mapping the direction.

Your time has to be managed agaist same vision / set of strategic initiatives - the most scarce resource (time). Where am I spending my time? = very important.

idea from capacity Partner - Colour code calendar according to strategies - thinking, meeting stake-holders, speak, etc
 

Delegation

Create time by freeing up things that could be done equally weel, often better, sometimes not quite as well but it doesn't matter - to someone else.

When it is working well - the relief you get by delegating to someone is multplied by someone else when they get the responsibility.

Highly skilled, talented always feel best when they are given the room to make decisions, take risks, and create in a more entrepeneurial fashion

Two other skills / mindsets:

1. Understanding accountability. hardest, biggest barrier - can't delegate accountability. Can't do everyone's job but accountable for everyone's actions.
2. reating environment where delegation suceeds. Get over mindset of I can't trust everyone to do their job - I have to do it. Aspire to develop a high-trust model in your team

Analogy - swimming coach that chucks in the pool is the opposite of: Being responsibiliy for those who have been given responsibility - Role moves from doer to coach

Calendar (actively plan)

Ideas from principals :

• "Need to dos" mapped out in next term's diary
• Space put in for thinking time after meetings, workshops
• Mail - Office Manager puts post its with notes on each - principal works out how much time will be needed, office manager puts this into diary
• Take a time at beginning of each year: 10, 5, 2, 1 year goals - take time to put time into the diary for these, by back-mapping

Ideas from Narev:

• Get some objectivity - probably through an assistant
• doesn't matter how you do it - pay someone to do it for you - a gateway (be careful not a negative force)
• Need someone who is more objective to help - because if always saying yes, will be swamped
• Does this really need to get done?
• Get the need to dos on well in advance - make sure is really a need to do
• Put the big stuff in first - fixed
• Then also carve out time for things that have to get done, but get pushed aside (thinking time / strategy time) - benefit of Springboard times - put in as a need to do once Springboard finished - don't let it be pushed out
• Time to engage with your stakeholders about the big picture of the school

Poster: There is nothing more wasteful than doing efficiently something that doesn't need to be done

Need to do - by me?
Need to do - by someone else?

If delegation right - some of the time you gain by delegating to others you will need to devote to those you have delegated to. Regular meeting. Also 1:1 get together. To come back to you and talk about what they have done. Standing agenda - culture, etc. Also - to dos. Must be calandared or won't get done.

Culture

Link back to mindset
Role as leader of school's culture is Principal's most important job

Two truisms:

1. takes a lot of time to build and strengthen
2. needs active day to day management

Where you are seen to spend your time - what's important to you is really critical.
Meeting stakeholders - so can really understand what is going on - can then share what is happening with others.

Look at caledar over last three montsh - how much has been to role-model / strengthen the culture you are trying to lead in the school - day to day tasks but & explicitly carved out (to be seen leading it)?

Energy

Experience - OMG (looking at calendar) - I can't do it. All have days and weeks like that.

But - your visible energy in leading school = the most important success factor in leading the school. Well-planned Calendar leads you in this.

As a leader - got a big job, and you have to get comfortable about the feact that this is about you.

You must have a degree of slefishness in the way you craft calendar - as it must work for you. So you can get most of what is on the calendar with passion and energy.

EG - good in morning, not good in afternoon - Senior executives have external coaches. half hour walk every day at 1.00pm - calendared (to give clean-out time before 1.45pm meeting) - productivity benefit is a massive payback on that 30 -45 mins

How can I craft my calendar so that I can do my job as effectively as possible and lead with clear and infectious energy



Exercise to do:

Cast three lenses over calendar. Rate against:

1. How well planned was this calendar
2. Proportion of time allocated to key priorities of school
3. Rate against energy factor

Carry out this exercise with the teachers?