@josh79746901209
Profile
Registered: 1 month, 3 weeks ago
How Time Planning Training Is Useless in Poorly-Run Organizations
End Teaching People to "Organize" When Your Company Has Absolutely No Idea What Really Should Be Priority: Why Task Management Training Doesn't Work in Chaotic Workplaces
I'm about to demolish one of the most popular false beliefs in organizational training: the idea that showing staff improved "prioritization" skills will solve efficiency problems in workplaces that have no coherent strategic focus themselves.
After seventeen years of training with companies on time management challenges, I can tell you that task planning training in a poorly-run company is like instructing someone to arrange their items while their home is currently on fire around them.
Here's the core issue: most businesses dealing with from productivity issues do not have time management issues - they have leadership dysfunction.
Traditional time planning training assumes that companies have consistent, unchanging goals that staff can be trained to understand and concentrate toward. This idea is entirely disconnected from reality in the majority of contemporary companies.
I consulted with a large advertising agency where staff were continuously expressing frustration about being "unable to manage their work properly." Leadership had poured hundreds of thousands on task planning training for all employees.
The training included all the usual methods: priority systems, priority categorization systems, calendar management methods, and detailed work management software.
However productivity remained to drop, employee stress instances got higher, and project delivery schedules became worse, not improved.
Once I investigated what was really going on, I learned the underlying cause: the company as a whole had absolutely no consistent priorities.
This is what the daily situation looked like for workers:
Each week: Senior leadership would declare that Client A was the "most critical focus" and each employee must to work on it as soon as possible
The next day: A different senior leader would announce an "urgent" email stating that Project B was actually the "top important" focus
Day three: Another different department leader would call an "urgent" meeting to declare that Project C was a "must-have" requirement that needed to be finished by end of week
Day four: The first executive executive would voice disappointment that Initiative A was not progressed sufficiently and require to know why staff weren't "focusing on" it as instructed
By week's end: Each three initiatives would be incomplete, several commitments would be not met, and workers would be criticized for "ineffective time management abilities"
Such cycle was occurring week after week, systematically after month. No level of "task organization" training was going to assist staff manage this systemic dysfunction.
This core issue wasn't that staff did not learn how to manage tasks - it was that the organization at every level was totally incapable of establishing clear priorities for more than 48 hours at a time.
We persuaded leadership to scrap their focus on "individual priority management" training and instead create what I call "Organizational Focus Clarity."
Rather than attempting to train employees to manage within a constantly changing system, we worked on creating real strategic priorities:
Implemented a unified leadership management committee with clear authority for establishing and enforcing company focus
Created a structured project evaluation process that happened on schedule rather than whenever someone felt like it
Developed written criteria for when projects could be changed and what degree of approval was needed for such changes
Established mandatory notification protocols to make certain that each priority adjustments were shared clearly and to everyone across each teams
Established stability periods where no project disruptions were acceptable without emergency circumstances
This improvement was immediate and substantial:
Staff overwhelm rates decreased substantially as employees at last were clear about what they were required to be working on
Output improved by nearly 50% within a month and a half as workers could genuinely focus on completing projects rather than constantly changing between conflicting requests
Work delivery schedules got better considerably as teams could coordinate and execute projects without daily changes and redirection
Customer happiness increased significantly as work were actually completed according to schedule and to requirements
The reality: instead of you show employees to manage tasks, guarantee your company actually has stable priorities that are suitable for working toward.
This is another way that task organization training proves useless in dysfunctional companies: by presupposing that staff have real power over their work and responsibilities.
I consulted with a government department where employees were continuously being blamed for "inadequate task organization" and required to "productivity" training courses.
Their reality was that these staff had essentially absolutely no control over their job time. Here's what their average day seemed like:
Roughly three-fifths of their time was occupied by mandatory sessions that they were not allowed to skip, irrespective of whether these conferences were necessary to their real responsibilities
Another one-fifth of their workday was dedicated to filling out required reports and administrative tasks that added absolutely no value to their primary work or to the people they were intended to help
The leftover small portion of their workday was expected to be allocated for their real responsibilities - the activities they were hired to do and that genuinely made a difference to the organization
However even this tiny amount of schedule was regularly invaded by "emergency" requirements, unplanned meetings, and management requirements that couldn't be rescheduled
Under these circumstances, no amount of "priority organization" training was going to help these workers turn more effective. This challenge wasn't their employee time organization abilities - it was an institutional system that made efficient activity essentially unattainable.
The team assisted them implement structural improvements to address the underlying barriers to effectiveness:
Got rid of unnecessary sessions and created specific criteria for when conferences were genuinely justified
Streamlined paperwork obligations and eliminated unnecessary reporting procedures
Created protected periods for real work activities that would not be invaded by non-essential demands
Created defined protocols for deciding what qualified as a legitimate "emergency" versus standard requests that could wait for designated times
Created task distribution approaches to guarantee that tasks was shared fairly and that not any employee was carrying excessive load with unsustainable responsibilities
Staff effectiveness improved substantially, professional satisfaction increased substantially, and their agency actually started offering higher quality outcomes to the public they were supposed to help.
That important point: organizations won't be able to solve time management challenges by teaching employees to function better successfully within chaotic organizations. You have to improve the organizations first.
Currently let's examine probably the most absurd aspect of task organization training in dysfunctional workplaces: the assumption that workers can magically manage work when the company as a whole modifies its direction numerous times per week.
I worked with a IT company where the CEO was notorious for having "brilliant" revelations several times per week and demanding the whole organization to instantly pivot to implement each new direction.
Workers would arrive at their jobs on regularly with a clear understanding of their tasks for the period, only to find that the leadership had determined suddenly that all priorities they had been concentrating on was not important and that they should to right away start concentrating on something entirely unrelated.
This pattern would occur numerous times per week. Initiatives that had been declared as "highest priority" would be abandoned before completion, departments would be constantly re-assigned to alternative work, and enormous amounts of time and work would be squandered on work that were not finished.
Their company had spent heavily in "flexible project organization" training and advanced project tracking systems to assist workers "adapt rapidly" to changing priorities.
But no level of training or software could solve the basic problem: organizations can't successfully manage constantly changing priorities. Perpetual shifting is the enemy of successful organization.
I helped them implement what I call "Focused Direction Consistency":
Established regular priority review periods where significant strategy modifications could be considered and adopted
Created strict criteria for what constituted a valid justification for changing agreed-upon objectives apart from the regular planning cycles
Established a "direction protection" time where no adjustments to established objectives were permitted without emergency justification
Created specific coordination protocols for when direction changes were really required, featuring thorough impact analyses of what projects would be abandoned
Mandated documented approval from multiple stakeholders before any significant direction shifts could be implemented
The improvement was dramatic. Within 90 days, real project success percentages improved by over three times. Staff frustration rates fell considerably as staff could at last work on completing tasks rather than repeatedly initiating new ones.
Innovation surprisingly increased because groups had sufficient resources to thoroughly implement and refine their concepts rather than repeatedly switching to new initiatives before anything could be fully developed.
That lesson: effective organization needs directions that keep consistent long enough for people to actually concentrate on them and achieve significant results.
Let me share what I've learned after extensive time in this industry: time management training is only useful in workplaces that genuinely have their organizational systems functioning.
When your organization has stable strategic direction, achievable expectations, functional decision-making, and processes that facilitate rather than obstruct productive activity, then priority organization training can be beneficial.
But if your workplace is defined by constant chaos, conflicting directions, inadequate organization, unrealistic workloads, and reactive management approaches, then priority management training is more counterproductive than useless - it's actively harmful because it blames individual performance for leadership dysfunction.
Stop wasting money on priority organization training until you've addressed your organizational direction first.
Begin establishing workplaces with stable organizational focus, competent decision-making, and systems that genuinely facilitate meaningful accomplishment.
Company staff would manage tasks just fine once you offer them direction worth working toward and an organization that really supports them in accomplishing their responsibilities. overburdened with impossible responsibilities
Staff productivity improved significantly, job fulfillment got better substantially, and their agency finally commenced delivering better results to the public they were meant to support.
This key lesson: you cannot solve efficiency problems by teaching people to work more efficiently within dysfunctional systems. You have to improve the structures first.
Currently let's discuss perhaps the biggest laughable component of priority management training in dysfunctional companies: the belief that employees can magically manage work when the company at leadership level changes its priorities numerous times per week.
We consulted with a technology company where the founder was notorious for going through "game-changing" insights numerous times per week and expecting the complete team to right away redirect to pursue each new direction.
Workers would arrive at work on any given day with a specific understanding of their tasks for the week, only to learn that the CEO had decided overnight that all priorities they had been working on was no longer relevant and that they needed to right away commence focusing on a project entirely different.
That cycle would occur numerous times per week. Projects that had been declared as "essential" would be forgotten mid-stream, teams would be repeatedly moved to alternative initiatives, and massive portions of effort and investment would be squandered on work that were ultimately not delivered.
The company had poured significantly in "agile project organization" training and advanced task organization software to assist staff "adjust efficiently" to evolving requirements.
However no degree of skill development or systems could address the core problem: organizations can't effectively organize continuously evolving priorities. Constant change is the enemy of successful organization.
We worked with them implement what I call "Strategic Objective Consistency":
Created scheduled strategic review sessions where important direction adjustments could be discussed and adopted
Developed clear requirements for what constituted a legitimate basis for changing set directions beyond the scheduled planning cycles
Implemented a "objective protection" period where absolutely no adjustments to current objectives were allowed without emergency circumstances
Established clear coordination systems for when direction modifications were absolutely essential, featuring full consequence assessments of what initiatives would be interrupted
Mandated written sign-off from multiple leaders before each significant strategy shifts could be implemented
Their transformation was dramatic. Within three months, actual project delivery rates increased by nearly three times. Employee burnout rates decreased considerably as employees could finally concentrate on delivering work rather than constantly initiating new ones.
Product development actually got better because departments had enough time to completely implement and refine their ideas rather than constantly switching to new projects before any work could be fully finished.
That reality: effective planning requires priorities that keep unchanged long enough for people to actually focus on them and achieve substantial outcomes.
This is what I've concluded after extensive time in this industry: time management training is only valuable in workplaces that genuinely have their leadership priorities functioning.
Once your company has consistent strategic priorities, reasonable workloads, effective management, and structures that support rather than hinder productive performance, then priority management training can be useful.
But if your organization is defined by continuous crisis management, competing messages, inadequate planning, impossible expectations, and crisis-driven leadership styles, then time planning training is more harmful than useless - it's actively damaging because it blames personal performance for systemic incompetence.
Quit wasting time on time organization training until you've resolved your organizational priorities first.
Start establishing companies with consistent business direction, effective management, and processes that actually facilitate productive activity.
Company employees will organize perfectly effectively once you give them priorities deserving of focusing on and an environment that genuinely facilitates them in completing their responsibilities.
In the event you adored this informative article in addition to you desire to obtain guidance with regards to Managing Meetings kindly visit our own website.
Website: https://leadershipandmanagement.bigcartel.com/product/training-assessment
Forums
Topics Started: 0
Replies Created: 0
Forum Role: Participant