When you need to prioritize at work: 5 ways to take initiative
In the last part of our series, we focus on what we all can do to be aligned with the priorities of the organization. I wrote this series top-down because strategy and priorities should be defined at the highest level, then micro-strategies, goals, and tactics should flow from there ensuring everyone is rowing in the same direction.
As we discussed, leaders and teams should be planning and plotting goals and focusing on the work that we all do. Sometimes, this happens and sometimes it doesn't, unfortunately. For all of us as individuals, I recommend we try to align and get clarity on what we are doing proactively. We don't need to wait to be told what to focus on, and we don't need to wait for our managers to schedule time with us.
We can seek out the bigger picture at work and make proposals for what to do to move the needle. At certain levels, this is expected of us. But even at lower levels, you can take initiative too. The worst thing we can do is to not ask questions, not seek clarity and just go about our business hoping what we are doing is fulfilling a greater need.
The way we feel fulfilled personally is by doing work we love but also by doing work that we know makes an impact. Here are my five tips for being proactive in prioritization.
Ask about the bigger picture.
Knowing the vision/mission/values/purpose of an organization should not be difficult; but, sometimes, it isn't as apparent as reading some nicely written text on the corporate website. If this is unclear to you and others, then ask. Start holding informational interviews with people to learn what they think. If you find people conflict in their answers, maybe bubble that up to someone higher as an observation. One time in my career, we were rolling into April and we still hadn't set goals for the year. We all seemed to just be "doing". Some of the doing were logical, but some seemed not connected to anything. I asked my manager what our charter was and what he thought we should focus on for the remainder of the year. He said that he was waiting for this direction himself. He in turn asked his Department Head and that got the ball rolling on setting our team goals. If we stay silent and don't investigate a little, we can stay stuck not knowing if we are aligning with the bigger picture.
Seek clarity on roles and responsibilities.
Focusing on roles, responsibilities, handoffs, and stakeholders has not been more important. As we all are moving at breakneck speed, sometimes strategies can change quickly. If you are toe-stepping, overlapping, not handing off work smoothly, and not knowing who should take what piece of a process, then take some action and map out some processes, or get a RACI in place. If you’re not familiar, RACI stands for: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. For every project, process, product, and change map out who is responsible for doing the work, accountable for ensuring it happens, consulted for their opinions on who, what, when, where, and how, and inform those who may be impacted. While all are important, it is this last one - Inform - that I see being missed more lately. This takes a little time to map out, but it will prevent misunderstandings and bad feelings in the future.
Schedule check-ins with your manager.
In these times, checking in with your manager on everything from status reports to feedback opportunities to problem-solving sessions to career conversations helps keep everyone connected and on the same page. I have written about quality one-on-ones in the past, but the most important components include: scheduling time frequently, having the employee, i.e., you, drive the conversation, and using the meeting for all the reasons above, not just status reports than can be delivered over email.
Learn to say "No".
This one can be very hard for many of us, especially the people pleasers. The whole point of prioritization is to achieve focus and maximum impact, and despite what some people tell you, tackling 50 things every week does not lead to focus or quality work. Prioritizing is about picking and choosing work, and we can't pick everything. We all need to learn to say "no" or "not right now". If we have the bigger picture, clear goals and roles, and responsibilities, it becomes easier to say no or provide a time in the future when you think you might be able to get to it.
Note: The biggest challenge I see with prioritizing is the requests that come in from the left field that were unplanned and then take up 50% of someone's time. How was this effort not known? The answer is usually, no one did a RACI and did not know they needed someone like you on the project or it was someone's great idea that somehow got the attention and blessing from above. These projects may be necessary that we didn't know about a month ago. Okay. Then, re-prioritize. Just like with a closet too full of shoes, a pair must come out before a new one gets put in. There is simply no room for more shoes. So, make intentional decisions about what shoes are in the closet. You can buy a new pair, but then another one needs to go.
Be about your purpose.
Lastly, try and align your work to the organization and your own purpose. Priorities should flow from the top for work, and then our priorities and purpose come from us and should meet in the middle with some overlaps, hopefully. It is those overlaps that should be the highest priority. If we work on things that light us up and help keep us engaged, then we can make an impact. So, think about the activities and skills you can and want to use in your job and find where those overlap and align with your team and organization's needs.
I did not spend this blog talking about time management techniques, although, those are also really helpful. Instead, prioritization is all about intentionally choosing what work we do and when.
Priorities change all the time. This is okay provided we discuss what comes off the list. If nothing can come off the list, then budget, staff, and resources should be the next conversation. You can do more but only with more.
I am a strong advocate of the less is more approach. To truly make an impact, the focus is required. Let's all be proactive and start the conversation.