I’m so important

Maybe you know this person.

“Look at this. Unbelievable. I’ve got 2000 unread emails. I’ve got so much going on.”

My takeaway was in the subtext of the rest of our conversation, “Look how important I am.”

I had a markedly different response, but more on that later.

Life with a thousand unread emails.

Personally, I couldn’t function like that. I love the “in-box zero” concept and strive for it, though, to be honest, there are usually a few emails sitting in my in-boxes (plural because I’m handling multiple projects and a few require a dedicated email address).

That interaction above, and my response below, drove me to do a little research on the subject. I found there are at least two worlds:

• those that believe in email efficiency
• those that believe working on email efficiency is, in itself, inefficient

More digging uncovered an interesting take on how email in-box management can be a personality type. Are you a Nostalgist, Hoarder, Neat-Freak?

This was all interesting, but it struck me as the incorrect view.

We should move beyond “I’m comfortable with this. It doesn’t bother me.” thinking. And beyond in-box zero and the potential to become distracted by the trite “Twitter feed” of email.

We should move beyond those concepts because if you are a leader, it’s not about “you”. It’s about “them”. Your team. The people for whom you are responsible. The people that look to you for direction, guidance, perhaps decision making.

What was my immediate response?

“You are failing as a leader” … under my breath to myself

That 2000s unread emails could include people crying out for help, stalled in moving a key project forward, looking for your insight and direction, or at a career cross-roads.

Maybe you are super efficient and, as noted in one of the links above, you can just scan your email periodically and find the important stuff. I just have to believe in that guy’s 22k unread messages, there’s something he missed.

I’m sure someone reading this will respond: “If it’s important they shouldn’t send an email.” To which, I would respond: “Do your people know that?” and “What’s their other option?”

It’s a sign!

I believe that if a leader of a large organization has an inbox of thousands of unread messages, it’s a sign.

And unless the problem is that they are signed up for 1000s of email newsletters, it’s a sign something is wrong, and anyone in that position should ask “Why?”

Again, as a leader, it’s not about you. What does this email volume tell you is going on in your organization?

Some ideas to consider related to leadership:

• Are your expectations clear to your organization, especially your direct reports?
• Are your organizational priorities clear and reasonably stable, or are you constantly shifting focus and priorities? Do the people two levels down know what’s expected of them?
• Do you communicate, frequently and clearly what you expect? How? Some CEOs have implemented different tools, like I have with Slack, to cut down on email volume and give home to more important discussions.
• How are you measuring progress of key initiatives? How do you track priorities? Emailed reports? Maybe there is a better way.
• Are people sending you information/reporting on things you don’t need/value, because they always have? Tell them/stop it. They’ll probably thank you.
• How do you delegate, if at all? Do your people know when to seek your help and when they should take a decision? Is their span of decision-making clear?
• Are you a micro-manager? Do your people feel the lack the authority to move/decide without you?
• Do you dedicate time to your people so they can address important issues or is your calendar always full?
• How well do you give feedback? Is your direction clear, expectations clear?

Unless a leader is sure that there is no issue within the organization that needs attention, massive inbox volume should be taken as a an opportunity to dig into what’s happening. Look for ways to improve and better the organization.

The closing line from the FastCompany article linked to above is a new favorite:

Sarva [CEO of office-space startup Knotel] agrees that one of the most effective ways to keep email at bay is just to be more present offline. “Walk around enough,” he advises. Because chances are, “the people who email you don’t see you enough.”