How I Lead 45 Direct Reports in Only Four Days a Week (with Four Fundamental Habits)
#2, Do the hard stuff
I was not always this productive.
I used to work 80-hour workweeks because I thought that was expected of me. It was what it took to be successful as a manager.
Looking back, I think the insistence to constantly work was based on fear.
Correct that; I am convinced 90% of my motivation to work crazy hours was based on fear. I feared failing in my responsibilities as a leader, failing to be successful. This busywork was like an invisibility cloak I put around myself to protect myself from this fear.
The fear of failure and the pressures of my responsibility as a manager were most present when I was not working. Especially during the weekend, I would feel a terrible dread creeping up on me, and I quickly learned I could escape this feeling with busywork.
The remaining 10% of the motivation to work double the hours in my contract was based on cultural conditioning. At the time, I was in good contact with our COO, whom I looked up to, and she would proudly communicate the crazy hours she put in to be successful. On top of that, I read many articles and business books that would always communicate some form of ‘it takes sacrifice’ and ‘working 100-hour workweeks is the holy grail to success’ concepts interwoven in the text.
I became so convinced of this irrational idea that I did not listen to the feedback I was receiving. After my first year as a manager, my direct reports communicated through a 360 review that they thought I was ineffective and had trouble with time management. This was based on the fact that they saw me working all the time. I still remember one direct report doing his best to reach my stubborn brain with the proverb: “all work and no play makes Angelo a dull boy…”
I told myself that my direct reports did not appreciate the work I was putting in for them (I know, liar, liar your pants are on fire…), and they had missed the memo explaining that this is what it took to be successful in life.
My mindset did not change overnight.
I remember two pivotal points: the observation that I was ineffective in many of those hours and would lose a lot of productivity from getting sick and being overworked. This motivated me to change things, starting with dealing with my fears and a quest to find a better way to work.
Throughout this adventure, I have learned to become a better leader by leading by example. I do not work crazy hours because I do not want my direct reports to make the same mistake I made. We can only be productive for X many hours a week. I cannot tell you how many X is, but I am sure it is not >55 for me. When I talk about productivity, I include all activities that take dedicated effort, including spending quality time with family and friends, exercising, and writing.
I used to waste many of those hours on busywork, but not anymore.
Now I lead 45 direct reports spread out over 2 locations in 4 days of 9 hours.
I finish my work on those four days: 1-on-1s, yearly performance reviews, meetings, emails, etc.
Getting my leadership role done in 36 hours has taught me that with the proper habits, I am twice as productive in 36 hours compared to the 80 hours I used to work. Leaving enough productivity hours for other (more) valuable aspects of my life.
I hope there is something useful for you in any of the following four habits to which I credit my productivity and effectiveness as a leader:
#1 Commit to a schedule
I am a big believer in Parkinson’s Law:
“work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”
At the time of my 80-hour work weeks, I accepted that I would work in the evenings and weekends, which, in hindsight, led to me having work to do in the evenings and weekends.
I always knew I had Monday evening if I did not feel like making the operational report on Monday morning. A moment without distractions when I could do the reporting.
If Friday felt like a terrible day to write the four performance reviews due on Monday, I planned to do them over the weekend.
This all changed when I decided that working in the evenings and weekends was not an option.
This forced me to find ways to write the operational report on Monday and those performance reviews on Friday. Constraints can bring out the best in us.
I am constantly finding ways to get the work done within my schedule of 9 hours a day, four days a week. This is very liberating.
Habit #1 should be in place before any other productivity improvements. Otherwise, you will only get better at burning out faster.
To make Parkinson’s law work for you,
You need to commit to a schedule.
(The hours set in your contract are an excellent place to start)
#2 Do the hard stuff
The hard stuff in our job could derail our productivity completely.
Whatever the hard stuff is, it is very personal. It is whatever keeps you awake at night. It is whatever you are procrastinating as a pro.
If you leave the hard stuff untouched, it will become more challenging to deal with.
Most of the time, the hard stuff is a conversation. The longer you postpone this conversation, the more difficult it will become, and the longer this task will destroy your ability to do anything besides watching cat videos on youtube (This is a good one, though).
I do not do the hard stuff first. I do not eat frogs first thing in the morning. I eat them whenever I am hungry (OK, I know, strange analogy, but if you are into productivity, you will know what I mean).
It does not matter when or how I do the hard stuff; it just needs to get done.
Doing the hard stuff has become a habit because it is the main driver behind my productivity and results.
#3 Get Great at Email
Digital communications tools are necessary to get work done, and email is one of the most central instruments.
If you do not have a grip on your emails, you will not know your priorities, and you will most likely not keep to your schedule. Catching up on email is one of the most straightforward tasks that lead you to work outside your work hours.
How to get great at email?
- Use email for communication only.
There are many ways to handle your inbox, but all great systems have one thing in common: they see email as a communication tool.
Your inbox and your email folders are not another to-do list. They are not another place for you to collect reminders.
Your email, slack, WhatsApp, and all other communication tools should always be used for communication only.
If you make the mistake of using them as yet another to-do list, you will never get through all of your messages, you will always be behind, and you will keep working outside your schedule (habit #1) to catch up.
Transfer any follow-up on an email to your actual to-do list.
2. Get comfortable with Archiving.
Most email is not essential. Read and archive. We receive many CC emails, newsletters, and ‘need to know.’ The faster you archive those emails, the more time and energy you will have to do the critical (hard) stuff.
3. Get comfortable with email shortcuts.
I used to lose a lot of time moving my mouse around the screen to reply and send emails. Now that I have learned just a few email shortcuts, I save myself a ton of time daily.
#4 Get Great at Communicating
A great communicator can say the same thing in a fraction of the time as a good communicator.
I see this very clearly with my direct reports. If a task is challenging, a good communicator will get on the phone multiple times, send emails to clarify, and eventually get the job done.
A great communicator will send one email. Job done.
I used to spend a lot of time preparing going-away speeches for colleagues moving to another job. Now I know what to say based on my experience.
I used to spend a lot of time preparing difficult feedback conversations. I can now prepare them in the secrecy of my mind on the way to work, saving me a ton of time (and distraction).
Being a great communicator will also help in getting great at email. I still receive multiple-paragraph emails (terrible communication) and will always reply with a couple of sentence emails (which, of course, recognizes the central point of the sender’s email).
Getting great at communicating takes time, and practicing is the best way to improve. Put yourself into positions where you can practice.
Rewrite your multiple-paragraph email until your message can be said in just a few sentences. In time you will not know any better.
Give feedback often. Give speeches often. Volunteer to give presentations and lead at meetings.
Make practicing your communication skills a habit.
Final Thoughts
Many years have transpired between my 80-hour workweeks and today, and the critical ingredient that has remained constant is my ambition. My ambition is to do my best work and always to keep improving.
The more I constrained myself (habit #1), the more effective and creative I became, and this motivated me to implement even more time constraints. I did not (only) move from an 80-hour work week to 36 hours for a better work-life balance. The primary stimulus was the experience that sticking to my schedule made me a better leader.
I hope it will do the same for you.
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