March 25, 2025 • 40 mins
We all have the same amount of time in a day. So, why are some managers better people leaders than others?
In this episode of the Shedding the Corporate Bitch Podcast, host Bernadette Boas delves deep into a common challenge faced by corporate and entrepreneurial leaders alike: effectively managing time to prioritize your people. Bernadette shares her insights and strategies for putting your team first, highlighting the pivotal role employees play as the number one asset in any organization.
Key Challenges Addressed:
- The conflict between existing commitments and dedicating time to employee engagement.
- Leaders’ struggle to make their people a top priority due to overloaded calendars.
- Difficulty in setting boundaries and learning to say "no" to less critical tasks.
Key Talking Points:
- The Priority of People: Bernadette challenges leaders to question if they’re truly making their people their number one asset. Through global client experiences, she reveals the disconnect many employees feel despite leadership’s intentions.
- Time Management and Prioritization: The episode dives into practical methods for time management, urging leaders to re-evaluate their schedules. Bernadette emphasizes the importance of creating ‘white space’ on calendars to engage with team members.
- Setting SMARTY Goals: Bernadette introduces her unique approach to goal-setting, integrating the idea of personal accountability (the ‘Y’ for ‘You’) and aligning leadership goals with these metrics.
- The Four Ds Strategy: Delegation, Delay, Deletion, and Doing – learn how harnessing these can streamline tasks and safeguard time for people-focused activities.
- Time Blocking as a Tool: Discover how strategic time-blocking has transformed productivity and well-being for leaders and can create a balance between professional obligations and personal life.
For leaders eager to elevate their approach, this episode is a valuable resource for understanding and overcoming time management barriers. Tune in now to uncover ways to truly put your people first!
Subscribe and Review: Don’t miss our weekly episodes! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you enjoy your podcasts. Be sure to check out our visual content on the Shedding the Bitch YouTube channel.
Call To Action: If this episode resonates with you, consider booking a discovery call with Bernadette Boas to discuss transforming your leadership and team engagement strategies.
Keep shedding, keep growing, and keep thriving as a leader.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Today, I'm challenging you as to whether or
not your people are truly yournumber one asset, and the reason
why I say that is I work withclients all around the world who
have teams of two to hundreds,and yet, when you start digging
in and having conversations withtheir employees whether that's
(00:22):
through 360 assessments orthrough focus groups or some
other form of communication allof a sudden they're voicing a
whole different take on whetheror not they feel that they are
the company's number one asset,whether they are treated as the
company's number one asset and,given the opportunities, as the
(00:45):
company's number one asset.
So today I'm going to reallyhave you think about what can
you be doing to manage your timein such a way that you can
indeed put your people first?
We're going to talk all aboutthe tips and the strategies and
(01:06):
tools you could be using inorder for you to really be the
powerhouse time manager for yourpeople, for your company and
for your own success.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Welcome to Shedding the Corporate Bitch, the podcast
that transforms today'smanagers into tomorrow's
powerhouse leaders.
Your host, bernadette Boas,executive coach and author,
brings you into a world wherethe corporate grind meets
personal growth and success ineach and every episode.
With more than 25 years incorporate trenches, bernadette's
own journey from beingdismissed as a tyrant boss to
(01:38):
becoming a sought-afterleadership coach and speaker
illustrates the very essence oftransformation that she now
inspires in others with her tips, strategies and stories.
So if you're ready to shed thebitches of fear and insecurity,
ditch the imposter syndrome andstep into the role of the
powerhouse leader you were bornto be, this podcast is for you.
Let's do this.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
So what is it that makes it so hard for company
leaders to really put theirpeople first?
Well, ask that question to anycorporate or entrepreneurial
leader and they'll basicallytell you time.
My immediate response to that,however, is well, you make time
(02:23):
for what is important to you,and at first, their reaction
will then be no, I'm in meetingsall day.
I have a to-do list pages long.
I have people calling andbarking at me all day long.
I don't have the time.
Well, let me ask you this.
Don't have the time?
(02:47):
Well, let me ask you this Ifthere was something that you
really, really, really wanted,say it was that new, beautiful,
just released, souped up carthat just rolled off the dealer
showroom floor and that startsbeckoning you to purchase it and
to be that first, or one of thefirst people to have it, what
(03:10):
steps and what actions do youtake to make that happen?
You probably will start saving.
You'll probably startsacrificing and compromising on
where you are spending yourmoney so you can put away the
monies for this new toy, whetherit's a car or a big trip or a
(03:31):
big adventure that you want togo on.
When you really truly wantsomething, when something's
really important to you.
You make it a priority, youfind the time, you rework
whatever you need to rework inyour life in order to achieve it
.
Don't you Think about it foryourself?
(03:53):
It could have been a diet inthe past.
It could have been a car, or anew toy, a new house that you
wanted, even a new relationship,a new career opportunity.
And the minute you made thedecision that that's what you
wanted, you all of a suddenstarted getting very active in
(04:14):
putting together a plan for howyou were going to achieve it.
What sacrifices, whatcompromises, what time schedule,
what form of coordinationneeded to go in to you actually
being able to pursue andeventually accomplishing that
goal and objective that you havefor yourself?
Same thing that you do at work,right, same thing that you do
(04:38):
at work.
You're given a task, given agoal, and especially if it has
incentive around it, and you getvery laser focused on being
able to to achieve it.
Well, think about if your goalof making people being your
number one asset a reality, justthink of what you actually
(05:02):
might be able to all of a suddenput into motion in order to
make it happen.
And that's where theconversation around time
management, and time managementspecifically for leaders came to
me Because I've been having alot of conversations with a lot
of my corporate executiveclients corporate executive
(05:27):
clients and it all centersaround their people, both from
an employee engagementperspective to a manager
effectiveness perspective.
And the number one key issueand challenge that is coming up
is employees don't feelconnected and engaged and valued
and included, and yet theirmanagers just don't have the
cycles, they don't have the time, they don't have the white
(05:48):
space on their calendars inorder to provide the employees
what it is that they really need.
But without their employees,the manager's never going to.
You are never going toaccomplish the goals and the
dreams and the metrics thatyou've set out for yourself, and
(06:09):
I'm going to say bothpersonally and professionally,
because obviously you knowyou're working your tail off in
the workspace so you can havewhat you want in your home space
.
So what we as leaders need tothen do is figure out okay.
So then, what do I need to doin order to raise up the focus
(06:31):
on my people, in order to thenraise up the success chance that
I have in getting and achievingthe goals that I have for
myself, my team, my family, mywhole life?
And so I want to share sometips and strategies for you in
order to be able to do that.
(06:52):
All right, and the first onewould really center around
making it a goal.
I'd like to say tell you thesecond tip first, which is
priority.
But I think priority only comeswhen someone really puts laser
focus on a goal.
So we're going to start there.
(07:14):
So you, as a leader, have thechoice to make people a goal of
yours, officially,non-officially, on paper, not on
paper, communicated to a groupor not communicated and just
kept for yourself.
But that is the goal that youset for yourself is I want to
make my people the number oneasset of my team and of the
(07:37):
business.
It's a win-win for everyone.
After all.
Right, you know, you makeyourself, you make the people
and put the attention to thepeople as their number one asset
.
The people thrive and youthrive.
Serving others serves you.
That is a mantra or a saying,actually a quote from the Bible
(08:00):
that I all of a sudden clung onto seven or eight years ago.
Didn't understand it at first,thought it was very selfish.
Wait a minute, I'm not going toserve others, to serve me.
But then realize that, no, takecare of those around you, those
that are in more need, thosethat have wants and desires of
their own, and you'll be takencare of too.
(08:21):
So the first thing would be tolet's define a goal around your
people, and if that goal is Iwant to make my people the
number one asset on my team,then you can get even more
specific around that, and wetalk a lot about smart goals
(08:41):
here in the Shedding, theCorporate Bitch community and in
my work in Ball of Firecoaching, and I call it smarty
because I add Y at the end,which is you.
So make your goals reallycentered around what you want,
and in this case, it's to makeyour people the number one asset
of your team.
Make it as specific as possible.
(09:03):
Determine how you're going tomeasure yourself in doing that.
There's a lot of ways.
Of course, we have employeeretention, engagement,
satisfaction, but even make itmore personal.
Make it about the fact thatyou're having better
relationships with them.
You're really empathetic andcompassionate and a good
(09:26):
listener for them.
You're there for them, you havetheir back, you can listen to
their ideas, you consider them,you even implement them.
There's a lot of different waysthat you can measure your
success.
Making your people, your numberone asset.
All right, then, of course, youneed some actions as part of
the smart smarty methodology.
(09:50):
You need some actions againstit.
So what can you be doingdifferently with your people in
order for them to feel moreengaged, to feel more included,
to feel more valued, tocontribute more, which will
elevate their productivity andeffectiveness, which will
ultimately be a win-win foreverybody?
All right, so define theactions to go with those goals
(10:11):
and then, of course, you know,make them realistic and make
them time bound.
Now, these goals that you set,there could be multiple goals.
You know I want to be a mentorand a coach and develop my
people to where they areelevated, you know themselves,
in their own career.
(10:31):
I want to see my people, youknow, climb the ladder and and
and succeed and achieve as well.
I don't need them just to be ataskmaster for me.
I do want them to, you know,have their own path that they
take.
So my goal is to be a mentorand a coach.
My goal is to be a goodlistener.
(10:54):
I'm not going to be justsomeone who listens so I can
respond and tell them what to door what not to do, or what's a
good idea.
What isn't a good idea, it's toreally listen, understand them,
walk in their shoes and really,you know, experience them for
who they are.
So come out with whatever thosepeople goals are, and even you
(11:17):
can share them with your team oryou can, again, you can keep
them to yourself.
You can put them in yourpersonal or professional goals
for your development plan oryour performance plan, or you
can keep them to yourself.
As a coach, especially toexecutives, I always strongly
advocate that team leaders forthemselves, their peers and
(11:41):
their own people, actually putthem into their yearly
performance goals, make itmeasurable, make it accountable,
make them, you know, have to,you know, be responsible and to
report out on it and to beultimately compensated for it.
But, you know, taking this onfor yourself, you can, you know,
(12:02):
take it on formally, so tospeak, or you can just take it
on for yourself.
Then find yourself anaccountability partner.
Now, this can come in two wayswhen it comes to your
accountability partners and yourgoals.
If you shared them with yourteam, for instance, then ask
(12:23):
your team to hold youaccountable to them.
If you said that you were goingto be meeting with them once a
month, you were going to makesure that you had some face time
with each one of them.
Well, ask them to hold youaccountable to that, you know.
Ask them to, you know to followup with you that you are, you
know, taking the actions thatyou stated that you were going
(12:46):
to be taken.
Again, serving others servesyou and therefore it's a win-win
for everybody.
But the other form ofaccountability partner could be
that you do ask a peer or amanager or a friend to hold you
accountable to following throughon what it is that you said, or
a friend to hold youaccountable to following through
(13:06):
on what it is that you said.
Now I will advise as well is notmany business functional
leaders really leveragestrategically their HR partners?
And when it comes to yourpersonal professional
development, leadership type ofgoals, such as your people goals
, they make great, greatpartners.
(13:34):
As you know, they should allthe time anyway and you building
and establishing and managingand and achieving your business
goals, but at the same time,when you have something to where
, okay, I have these goals formyself and I'd like to kind of
lean on you as an accountabilitypartner to ensure that I'm, you
know, taking the steps thatI've committed to and I'm
following through.
So they make greataccountability partners.
(13:56):
But find someone that, again,you can share your goals with,
how you're going to measure,what actions you're going to
take, what timeline you put tothem, and you know that
individual can then be there tokind of challenge you ask.
You know how things are going.
They could even go as far asproviding tips or advice, for
you know whatever you might bedealing with or you're
(14:18):
challenged with, but findsomeone that can ensure that
you're following through on whatit is that you need Because,
just like outside of work, youknow if you do go on a diet plan
or a fitness program or whatnot.
You know you always are like,oh, I wish I had somebody that
was kind of over me telling meyou know to get out of bed or to
(14:40):
get off the couch or don't openthat refrigerator door.
Yes, I'm talking about myself,but you know.
So look at having anaccountability partner, even for
your business goals, all right.
So you know, get your smartygoals in place and you know, and
just put the focus on makingyour people their number one
(15:04):
asset.
Now add a layer to this.
And when it gets complicated formany leaders and I totally
appreciate and understand.
It is then when life comes intoplay, which it always does, but
especially work life and workdemands, and the demands of your
(15:24):
people, the demands of yourbosses, the demands of your
customers, the demands of HR,whatever the case might be, the
demands of the marketplace andthe economy puts a lot, a lot, a
lot of pressure on managers and, tactically, that can look like
where all of these people, allthese tenants, are coming in and
(15:45):
they're demanding your time.
And the next thing you know,your calendar white space is now
completely full, sometimes evenoverlapped with meetings and
obligations, and you can't evenopen up a space for any people
time that you then had alreadylaid out as goals to have people
(16:06):
time.
Well, this comes down topriorities.
This comes down to priority,and so many managers, slash
leaders that I talk and meetwith, whether one-on-one or in a
group, will raise up thechallenge that they have as far
as being able to follow throughon making their people their
(16:28):
number one asset and they'll sayI just don't have the time.
Look at my calendar, look at myto-do list and I'll remind them
.
If it is a priority for you,you'll make the time Because,
like anything else, if it's apriority and really important to
you and you truly believe thatin every cell of your being,
(16:51):
then you will do whatever ittakes to follow through on that
goal that you set for yourself.
And if you don't believe me,think outside the workplace of
other goals and dreams that youhave and aspirations that you
have for yourself, how far youwill go to achieve them, and it
(17:12):
could be even the workplace ifit has anything to do with a
raise or a promotion or a newbusiness opportunity.
When you're starting toquestion or doubt or make
excuses which is the challengethat I then put back on to the
executives is are you surethey're not excuses?
Times and places, evencurrently, that maybe you're.
(17:40):
You know you're kind of beinghypocritical, almost, and you're
contradicting yourself becauseyou certainly put the priority
and the emphasis and thesacrifices and the compromises
elsewhere, and yet you know, inthis particular situation that
we're talking about, they arebubbling up as more excuses than
anything.
So making something a prioritytakes a daily practice and
(18:04):
discipline for anything you know, looking at your goals, looking
at your tasks, looking at thatyou know that calendar of
meetings and really ensuringthat you have a very laser
focused clarity around where thepriority lies.
That's not something that couldbe looked at, you know, once a
(18:27):
week, once a month, once a year.
It has to be on a daily basis.
What can I, you know, be doingand what do I need to be doing
in order to keep my focus andattention on the goal?
It might slip a day or two, itmight slip even a week, yet I'm
not losing focus and I'm notlosing the priority that I have
(18:50):
for this particular goal.
In this instance, it's aroundpeople.
So look at it daily, okay,question it daily, challenge it
daily, which brings me to mynext point around priority, and
that is too many leaders have avery difficult time saying no,
(19:14):
no to that meeting, no to thatextra task, no to that new
project or new initiative or newworkload.
That's not even coming to you,maybe it's coming down to your
people and they have a hard timesaying no.
Well, it's my fault, well, Ihave to.
Well, it's coming from adifferent function and I have to
(19:36):
do it.
Well, do you?
Is the challenge that I wouldgive you to be thinking about.
Do you need to go to thatmeeting?
What will happen if you don'tgo to that meeting?
Do you even need to have thisparticular meeting.
Maybe you're adding to your ownpressure when it comes to not
having that time, to your ownpressure when it comes to not
(20:01):
having that time.
Do you need to, you know, fillthis time block with something
that isn't as priority assomething else or as this people
goal that you've set foryourself?
So learning to say no isabsolutely critical for anyone,
from floor level to the CEOoffice, and yet it's even more
(20:23):
and more and more important forpeople leaders to be able to
find those places where you cansay no, and so you can always
open up or keep white space onyour calendar for your people.
It's absolutely critical, andif you truly believe people are
your number one asset andthey're going to be the ones
(20:44):
that and are the ones that youknow help you and get you to
achieve your goals, then youneed to prioritize finding how
you can keep them engaged,included, valued and with the
opportunities that they'relooking for.
So you have to look at sayingno.
Now, another little formula Iuse with my clients as well,
(21:07):
whether that be corporate orentrepreneurial, quite honestly,
is what I call my four Ds.
So you're looking at your listof to-dos, you're looking at
your list of meetings, you'relooking at your list of other
obligations that you have andyou get laser focused on making
(21:28):
a decision around.
Is there a way to delegate,delay, delete, or I have to do
it?
So let's break these four downdelegate, delay, delete or do so
, delegate.
(21:50):
It's shocking to me how manythings are on many, many
managers to-do list that couldbe delegated out, and the
reasons that they don't are many.
One is I don't have time toteach them.
Two is you know I don't want togive it up, I like doing it.
It's easy, it's simple, itdoesn't take a lot of time, to
(22:14):
the extreme of that person youknow, kind of identifying
themselves as controlling a job,security that you know.
Intimidation and fear of.
You know that person that theydelegate to does a better job
that they do.
A lot of reasons why they don'tdelegate and very few reasons
(22:34):
why they do.
And I'm telling you, if youcould, as a powerhouse leader,
what will differentiate you fromanybody else is ensuring that
you can not dump.
That's another D, but I don'tlike to use it.
Not dump, but delegateactivities, initiatives, whole
(22:55):
projects that are on your plate.
Delegate them to somebody else.
Because, again, if you want asurefire way of elevating
employee engagement and employeesatisfaction and retention,
it's to provide themopportunities to actually
contribute, do something new, dosomething different, even if
(23:19):
there's a risk that they couldfail at it or not do a good job.
But that's your job as a leader.
Your job as a leader is todevelop others, regardless if
they're ready for it or not.
Give them the opportunities tochallenge themselves, push
themselves, stretch themselves,even fail, so they can then
(23:42):
learn and then move on, sodelegate, and then there is
delete.
I could have a laundry list ofto-dos that my manager will show
me, my client manager will showme, and I can easily go through
and in a conversation with them, we can get 20% of those things
(24:03):
off their list.
That is on their list, but theyjust one automatically think
they have to do it, or two thatyou could go back to delegate
and they keep it on the list.
And again, there's a lot ofdifferent reasons for you know
(24:25):
for that, and but yet what youwant to do as a powerhouse
leader and as someone who'sputting your people first, is
you really want to open up thatwhite space for your people,
make that time for your people,and therefore you have to be
able to delete things off Now.
There's also the other D, whichis delay.
You know, again, this is anarea where many of my clients
(24:46):
struggle with the fact thatpeople just throw work at them
and everything's a priority toeverybody.
Oh, it needs to be doneimmediately.
Oh, it needs to be done by theend of the day, oh, it needs to
be done by tomorrow.
And yet if you, as a leader,would challenge them to say a
couple of things, challenge themto say or ask them is this
(25:09):
really a priority for today?
Do you absolutely need it today?
And, if so, for what reason andhow is it going to be used?
If I was to take time today toget it done, you'd be surprised
that all of a sudden, somebodywill be like, once they're
challenged, will be like oh, no,no, no, I don't need it for a
few days, or I don't need iteven till next week.
So that's one thing is tochallenge whether or not the
(25:33):
priority or the timeline thatthey've put on a you know task
or or a activity they need youto do is actually real, because
in a lot of cases it is not Okay.
The other one would the otherangle to take with this is show
them your to-do list and thisgoes to your boss, this goes to
(25:56):
anyone that comes to you withsomething.
Show them your to-do list andsay okay, so if you want me to
get this done today, what do yousuggest?
I not get done Because they allsay that they need it today,
tomorrow, by the end of the week, so which one of these should
be deprioritized so I can tellthem that you had a higher
(26:20):
priority item?
You ask them that question andit's not a question that anybody
should feel intimidated by.
If all of a sudden, you're likeI'm not going to say that to my
boss, why not by?
If you know, if all of a suddenyou're like I'm not going to say
that to my boss, why not?
You're engaging them and youknow, and actually you're also,
(26:40):
you know, kind of passingaccountability to them of this
is all the work that I have todo, and they all have high
priority, and you're just simplyasking me to do something, and
I'm just trying to understandwhat's going to have to give in
order for me to then bring inand do what you need me to do.
You will be surprised 99% ofthe time and I am not
(27:01):
exaggerating someone will say toyou oh no, no, no, I don't need
it right away.
Oh, no, no, no, those are.
You're right, those are moreimportant.
Or they may say okay, no it.
You know, this is moreimportant than this one and I'll
I'll talk to them and I'll getyou a delay, an extension on on
on that activity, on thatinitiative, whatever the case
(27:22):
might be.
So you know, you're justengaging them in your priority
setting and it's absolutely ifyou could learn that.
One skill that will elevate yourproductivity, elevate your
success in accomplishing yourgoals whether it's your people
goal or any other goal is if youcould learn that discipline.
(27:46):
One, say no.
Two, using the delegate, deleteor delay and challenging the
priorities people are giving you.
And then the last D is do.
There are gonna be things thatyou absolutely must do and those
, if you absolutely must do themand you can't delegate, delay
(28:06):
or delete, then they then gointo that priority process that
you're looking at on a dailybasis.
That then could take precedenceto you having any white space
for your people.
But still there's going to beother overlapping schedule,
overlapping meetings, meetingsyou really don't need to be at
(28:26):
and meetings you shouldn't be at, even though you might be
feeling, oh well, I want to stayin the know, or, you know, I
want to be part of it.
You again, if you wantsomething really, really bad,
you will make the sacrifices andthe compromises to achieve it,
won't you?
And therefore, treat your goalaround your people the same way.
(28:48):
Don't make it as an excuse that, oh, I have too much to do.
Same way, don't make it as anexcuse that, oh, I have too much
to do.
If people are that importantand they should be then that's
what you want to do.
Okay, all right.
So we talked about goals, wetalked about priority.
The last one would be timeblocking, and this is a specific
tool you could be using aroundtime management.
(29:10):
Okay, is time blocking and I'vebeen doing this probably for 15
years now and trust me when Isay for myself and for my
clients, it has been a boosterto productivity, to achievement,
(29:30):
to sanity, to breath, to peaceand calm, to opening up tons of
white space.
Personally, let alone from awork perspective is time
blocking?
Now?
What is it?
Time blocking basically meansthat you treat and we're just
going to be talking about yourwork calendar right now, but
(29:52):
you're going to treat your workcalendar as seriously as you
treat your personal calendar.
Now I'm going to sound almostcontradictory because there's
going to be some personal thingsthat all of a sudden get into
your work calendar.
But what I'm talking about isyour nine to five assume nine to
five is your work hours.
That calendar is what we'retalking about.
(30:13):
From you time blocking it.
Okay, so there's typically fromtime blocking.
It simply means create theblocks of time and put them on
your calendar of those thingsthat are of priority that you've
just determined based on thegoals that you have.
And the goals, again, could bebusiness, you know, and personal
(30:33):
, personal being like yourpeople leadership, development,
personal business goals andmaking sure your calendar is
reflective of you being able toput time toward any goals that
you've set for yourself orothers have set for you.
And so, in this calendar, thefirst, the easiest things to do,
is to put like standardmeetings that you have on your.
(30:56):
You know that you have on yourcalendar, but the must attend
meetings, not the meetings thatyou're optional or you're even
on the list, but you know what.
It has nothing to do with you,but you never say no to it.
I'm not talking about those.
I'm talking about the must,must, must, meetings that you
have to have, whether you'rehosting them or you're a
(31:17):
participant.
So you lay those out on yourcalendar first, then I would
move to all right, what arethose time blocks that I want to
put toward a specific goal,such as your people goal?
I want to put toward a specificgoal, such as your people goal.
(31:37):
So I do this very similarlywith my administrative office
day.
I have my own business, so Ihave to take care of my clients
in the main blocks of time.
But then I need time to get allmy other stuff done.
And I do work to where I wantmy personal time to be
completely free of any businessactivity.
So to do that, I have to getvery, very focused on when I
(32:02):
plan my time and how I plan mytime.
So I put certain blocks of timefor administrative office work,
clean out the desk, so to speak, before I would be able to
freshly go off into my personallife.
And you want to do the same aswell.
You want to look at yourcalendar as well and say what
(32:22):
must, must.
That goes back to priority.
Must I do you know to andaccomplish this day or this week
so I can end my day and go andplay pickleball, like I do, or
go with the family, meet somefriends out, or ensure that
Friday at four I can take offand have my weekend without
(32:42):
being disruptive other than whatI call 911s with my clients.
But you might have 911s withwork to where they might
interrupt, you know, interruptyour weekend.
But you've done everything inthose that goal setting and that
daily prioritization, to ensure, and now you've blocked your,
your calendar to where you canensure that by the end of the
(33:04):
week you've done what you needto do and you can go off and
have life, okay.
So time blocking, you know,literally means blocking periods
of time.
Now let's break it down.
It could be 15 minutes of yourdaily prioritization or goal
setting.
Okay, you can have a block oftime for 15 minutes.
It could be where you put 20minute walk.
(33:27):
Maybe you need to get out ofthe office and just you know,
you know, get some fresh air,whether you work in an office or
at home.
Maybe it is where you have acritical, you know, doctor's
appointment or some otherpersonal appointment that cannot
not because you choose not to,but cannot be scheduled outside
(33:47):
of the work time.
But you know because, well, letme finish this first time.
But you know because, well, letme finish this first.
And so you also then fill yourcalendar with blocks of time for
those things that you know youhave to do, and then you would
have that white space for thingsthat come up at the last minute
or things that are added,especially by others, and now
(34:09):
they can see that you do havesome white space.
But I would ensure that youhave those blocks of time of
your goals, especially when itcomes to people, that if you
should decide that, okay,fridays between 12 and four, I'm
gonna block it out and it'sjust gonna be for touching base
with my people, whether that'sface-to-face or via phone call.
(34:29):
But you're ensuring that,excuse me, you're ensuring that
you have all of those blocks oftime put on your calendar.
Again, if you want it and it'simportant to you, you'll
prioritize it and you'll do it,okay.
So consider that for yourpeople, or your number one asset
(34:51):
goal.
Now, going back to what I wassaying, too often I find that
you know, even corporate, letalone entrepreneurial, but
corporate leaders will putappointments on their calendar,
personal appointments on theircalendar that they could have
scheduled outside the work time.
(35:12):
Now they often do that.
I will do that because theywant a break.
They want to do it on businesstime work time as opposed to
their own personal time.
But again, I'm going to go takeyou back to priority.
If you don't have time in yourcalendar and yet you have this
people asset goal for yourselfin your calendar and yet you
(35:35):
have this people asset goal foryourself, but you're filling up
your work calendar with personalappointments, well, you're
losing the opportunity to usethose blocks of time, just like
you prioritize them for yourdoctor's appointment or your
personal appointment for yourpeople.
And so when clients tell methey don't have time for their
people, I do it with someclients, not all my clients.
(36:00):
But I just want to say I wantto see your calendar for the
next three months and the pastsix months, because I'm going to
rip it apart and find all ofthose spaces, those blocks that
were put toward things thatcould have been done outside of
the availability of their people, to where they actually did
(36:23):
have time for their people.
And I challenge you as towhether or not that's true for
you as well.
Challenge you as to whether ornot that's true for you as well.
So consider your calendar oftime blocks, appointments that
you take as seriously outside ofwork, and use some for inside
(36:44):
people appointments, and then,when you are, you know kind of
time blocking.
When you are, you know kind oftime blocking.
Another key aspect of that aswell is to set expectations with
those around you, whetherthat's your team members, your
peers, your bosses, not onlyabout your goals but more so,
(37:05):
the expectations around you.
Know your calendar, yourappointments.
So, when it comes to meetings,set the expectations that you're
going to come if it'sabsolutely mandatory, you know
if, if I'm, if you specificallyhave a piece of the agenda, you
know set the expectation but I'mnot going to come if I'm just
optional.
Just so you know.
(37:26):
If you don't see me in thesemeetings that I'm CC'd, not sent
as a to, but I'm CC'd, I'm notgoing to be there.
So set also the expectation.
So then they're not questioningor, you know, kind of
disappointed when you don't showup because you've set the
expectations.
(37:46):
Set expectations with everyonearound you around how you want
to manage your time, because youdo have this goal that you want
.
You need to make time for yourpeople, so communicate that out.
We talked about the sharing ofyour goals.
When it comes to your timeblocking, share that as well.
There are times I'm putting onmy calendar for my people and my
(38:10):
team that I, you know, I willnot and cannot compromise on Now
.
If all of a sudden you have,you know, people, even your boss
, challenging you on that ordisrespecting that by planning
meetings or that, well, thatjust tells you a lot about other
people.
(38:30):
But stay true to what your goalis if it's that important to
you.
So, when it comes to overalltime management for leaders, you
have the time.
If you want the time foranything, so define those goals,
set those priorities, look atthem daily, because they will
(38:52):
change, and then time block yourcalendar and stay true to it.
Now I'm making it sound reallyeasy, you know, and making it
sound just so general, withoutall the noise that is, you know,
bombarded around you, and Iunderstand that and I totally
(39:13):
get that.
Trust me, I do.
So.
If you are having challenges,if you do have questions, if you
are curious as to really howyou could be implementing any of
these tips or strategies, thenbe sure to book a call with me
and let's talk about it.
You can go tocoachmebernadettecom forward
slash discovery call and let'shave a conversation about it.
Let me give you some tips andstrategies.
(39:35):
Let me look at your calendar,let me, you know, kind of
challenge you on various thingsBecause, again, if it's
important to you, you knowyou'll do it.
So it's just making thedecision as to where do your
people fit into what it isyou're trying to accomplish.
All right, I am so gratefulthat you were here with me this
week on this particular episodeand I'll look forward to having
(39:58):
you on our next episode.
I'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 2 (40:01):
Bye.
Thank you for tuning intotoday's episode of Shedding the
Corporate Bitch.
Every journey taken together isanother step towards unleashing
the powerhouse leader withinyou.
Don't miss any of our weeklyepisodes.
Subscribe to our podcast onApple Podcasts, spotify or
wherever you love to listen.
And, for those who thrive onvisual content, catch us on our
Shedding the Bitch YouTubechannel.
(40:22):
Want to dive deeper withBernadette on becoming a
powerhouse leader?
Visit balloffirecoachingcom tolearn more about how she helps
professionals, hr executives andteam leaders elevate overall
team performance.
You've been listening toShedding the Corporate Bitch
with Bernadette Boas.
Until next time, keep shedding,keep growing and keep leading.
Today, I'm challenging you as to whether or
not your people are truly yournumber one asset, and the reason
why I say that is I work withclients all around the world who
have teams of two to hundreds,and yet, when you start digging
in and having conversations withtheir employees whether that's
(00:22):
through 360 assessments orthrough focus groups or some
other form of communication allof a sudden they're voicing a
whole different take on whetheror not they feel that they are
the company's number one asset,whether they are treated as the
company's number one asset and,given the opportunities, as the
(00:45):
company's number one asset.
So today I'm going to reallyhave you think about what can
you be doing to manage your timein such a way that you can
indeed put your people first?
We're going to talk all aboutthe tips and the strategies and
(01:06):
tools you could be using inorder for you to really be the
powerhouse time manager for yourpeople, for your company and
for your own success.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Welcome to Shedding the Corporate Bitch, the podcast
that transforms today'smanagers into tomorrow's
powerhouse leaders.
Your host, bernadette Boas,executive coach and author,
brings you into a world wherethe corporate grind meets
personal growth and success ineach and every episode.
With more than 25 years incorporate trenches, bernadette's
own journey from beingdismissed as a tyrant boss to
(01:38):
becoming a sought-afterleadership coach and speaker
illustrates the very essence oftransformation that she now
inspires in others with her tips, strategies and stories.
So if you're ready to shed thebitches of fear and insecurity,
ditch the imposter syndrome andstep into the role of the
powerhouse leader you were bornto be, this podcast is for you.
Let's do this.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
So what is it that makes it so hard for company
leaders to really put theirpeople first?
Well, ask that question to anycorporate or entrepreneurial
leader and they'll basicallytell you time.
My immediate response to that,however, is well, you make time
(02:23):
for what is important to you,and at first, their reaction
will then be no, I'm in meetingsall day.
I have a to-do list pages long.
I have people calling andbarking at me all day long.
I don't have the time.
Well, let me ask you this.
Don't have the time?
(02:47):
Well, let me ask you this Ifthere was something that you
really, really, really wanted,say it was that new, beautiful,
just released, souped up carthat just rolled off the dealer
showroom floor and that startsbeckoning you to purchase it and
to be that first, or one of thefirst people to have it, what
(03:10):
steps and what actions do youtake to make that happen?
You probably will start saving.
You'll probably startsacrificing and compromising on
where you are spending yourmoney so you can put away the
monies for this new toy, whetherit's a car or a big trip or a
(03:31):
big adventure that you want togo on.
When you really truly wantsomething, when something's
really important to you.
You make it a priority, youfind the time, you rework
whatever you need to rework inyour life in order to achieve it
.
Don't you Think about it foryourself?
(03:53):
It could have been a diet inthe past.
It could have been a car, or anew toy, a new house that you
wanted, even a new relationship,a new career opportunity.
And the minute you made thedecision that that's what you
wanted, you all of a suddenstarted getting very active in
(04:14):
putting together a plan for howyou were going to achieve it.
What sacrifices, whatcompromises, what time schedule,
what form of coordinationneeded to go in to you actually
being able to pursue andeventually accomplishing that
goal and objective that you havefor yourself?
Same thing that you do at work,right, same thing that you do
(04:38):
at work.
You're given a task, given agoal, and especially if it has
incentive around it, and you getvery laser focused on being
able to to achieve it.
Well, think about if your goalof making people being your
number one asset a reality, justthink of what you actually
(05:02):
might be able to all of a suddenput into motion in order to
make it happen.
And that's where theconversation around time
management, and time managementspecifically for leaders came to
me Because I've been having alot of conversations with a lot
of my corporate executiveclients corporate executive
(05:27):
clients and it all centersaround their people, both from
an employee engagementperspective to a manager
effectiveness perspective.
And the number one key issueand challenge that is coming up
is employees don't feelconnected and engaged and valued
and included, and yet theirmanagers just don't have the
cycles, they don't have the time, they don't have the white
(05:48):
space on their calendars inorder to provide the employees
what it is that they really need.
But without their employees,the manager's never going to.
You are never going toaccomplish the goals and the
dreams and the metrics thatyou've set out for yourself, and
(06:09):
I'm going to say bothpersonally and professionally,
because obviously you knowyou're working your tail off in
the workspace so you can havewhat you want in your home space
.
So what we as leaders need tothen do is figure out okay.
So then, what do I need to doin order to raise up the focus
(06:31):
on my people, in order to thenraise up the success chance that
I have in getting and achievingthe goals that I have for
myself, my team, my family, mywhole life?
And so I want to share sometips and strategies for you in
order to be able to do that.
(06:52):
All right, and the first onewould really center around
making it a goal.
I'd like to say tell you thesecond tip first, which is
priority.
But I think priority only comeswhen someone really puts laser
focus on a goal.
So we're going to start there.
(07:14):
So you, as a leader, have thechoice to make people a goal of
yours, officially,non-officially, on paper, not on
paper, communicated to a groupor not communicated and just
kept for yourself.
But that is the goal that youset for yourself is I want to
make my people the number oneasset of my team and of the
(07:37):
business.
It's a win-win for everyone.
After all.
Right, you know, you makeyourself, you make the people
and put the attention to thepeople as their number one asset
.
The people thrive and youthrive.
Serving others serves you.
That is a mantra or a saying,actually a quote from the Bible
(08:00):
that I all of a sudden clung onto seven or eight years ago.
Didn't understand it at first,thought it was very selfish.
Wait a minute, I'm not going toserve others, to serve me.
But then realize that, no, takecare of those around you, those
that are in more need, thosethat have wants and desires of
their own, and you'll be takencare of too.
(08:21):
So the first thing would be tolet's define a goal around your
people, and if that goal is Iwant to make my people the
number one asset on my team,then you can get even more
specific around that, and wetalk a lot about smart goals
(08:41):
here in the Shedding, theCorporate Bitch community and in
my work in Ball of Firecoaching, and I call it smarty
because I add Y at the end,which is you.
So make your goals reallycentered around what you want,
and in this case, it's to makeyour people the number one asset
of your team.
Make it as specific as possible.
(09:03):
Determine how you're going tomeasure yourself in doing that.
There's a lot of ways.
Of course, we have employeeretention, engagement,
satisfaction, but even make itmore personal.
Make it about the fact thatyou're having better
relationships with them.
You're really empathetic andcompassionate and a good
(09:26):
listener for them.
You're there for them, you havetheir back, you can listen to
their ideas, you consider them,you even implement them.
There's a lot of different waysthat you can measure your
success.
Making your people, your numberone asset.
All right, then, of course, youneed some actions as part of
the smart smarty methodology.
(09:50):
You need some actions againstit.
So what can you be doingdifferently with your people in
order for them to feel moreengaged, to feel more included,
to feel more valued, tocontribute more, which will
elevate their productivity andeffectiveness, which will
ultimately be a win-win foreverybody?
All right, so define theactions to go with those goals
(10:11):
and then, of course, you know,make them realistic and make
them time bound.
Now, these goals that you set,there could be multiple goals.
You know I want to be a mentorand a coach and develop my
people to where they areelevated, you know themselves,
in their own career.
(10:31):
I want to see my people, youknow, climb the ladder and and
and succeed and achieve as well.
I don't need them just to be ataskmaster for me.
I do want them to, you know,have their own path that they
take.
So my goal is to be a mentorand a coach.
My goal is to be a goodlistener.
(10:54):
I'm not going to be justsomeone who listens so I can
respond and tell them what to door what not to do, or what's a
good idea.
What isn't a good idea, it's toreally listen, understand them,
walk in their shoes and really,you know, experience them for
who they are.
So come out with whatever thosepeople goals are, and even you
(11:17):
can share them with your team oryou can, again, you can keep
them to yourself.
You can put them in yourpersonal or professional goals
for your development plan oryour performance plan, or you
can keep them to yourself.
As a coach, especially toexecutives, I always strongly
advocate that team leaders forthemselves, their peers and
(11:41):
their own people, actually putthem into their yearly
performance goals, make itmeasurable, make it accountable,
make them, you know, have to,you know, be responsible and to
report out on it and to beultimately compensated for it.
But, you know, taking this onfor yourself, you can, you know,
(12:02):
take it on formally, so tospeak, or you can just take it
on for yourself.
Then find yourself anaccountability partner.
Now, this can come in two wayswhen it comes to your
accountability partners and yourgoals.
If you shared them with yourteam, for instance, then ask
(12:23):
your team to hold youaccountable to them.
If you said that you were goingto be meeting with them once a
month, you were going to makesure that you had some face time
with each one of them.
Well, ask them to hold youaccountable to that, you know.
Ask them to, you know to followup with you that you are, you
know, taking the actions thatyou stated that you were going
(12:46):
to be taken.
Again, serving others servesyou and therefore it's a win-win
for everybody.
But the other form ofaccountability partner could be
that you do ask a peer or amanager or a friend to hold you
accountable to following throughon what it is that you said, or
a friend to hold youaccountable to following through
(13:06):
on what it is that you said.
Now I will advise as well is notmany business functional
leaders really leveragestrategically their HR partners?
And when it comes to yourpersonal professional
development, leadership type ofgoals, such as your people goals
, they make great, greatpartners.
(13:34):
As you know, they should allthe time anyway and you building
and establishing and managingand and achieving your business
goals, but at the same time,when you have something to where
, okay, I have these goals formyself and I'd like to kind of
lean on you as an accountabilitypartner to ensure that I'm, you
know, taking the steps thatI've committed to and I'm
following through.
So they make greataccountability partners.
(13:56):
But find someone that, again,you can share your goals with,
how you're going to measure,what actions you're going to
take, what timeline you put tothem, and you know that
individual can then be there tokind of challenge you ask.
You know how things are going.
They could even go as far asproviding tips or advice, for
you know whatever you might bedealing with or you're
(14:18):
challenged with, but findsomeone that can ensure that
you're following through on whatit is that you need Because,
just like outside of work, youknow if you do go on a diet plan
or a fitness program or whatnot.
You know you always are like,oh, I wish I had somebody that
was kind of over me telling meyou know to get out of bed or to
(14:40):
get off the couch or don't openthat refrigerator door.
Yes, I'm talking about myself,but you know.
So look at having anaccountability partner, even for
your business goals, all right.
So you know, get your smartygoals in place and you know, and
just put the focus on makingyour people their number one
(15:04):
asset.
Now add a layer to this.
And when it gets complicated formany leaders and I totally
appreciate and understand.
It is then when life comes intoplay, which it always does, but
especially work life and workdemands, and the demands of your
(15:24):
people, the demands of yourbosses, the demands of your
customers, the demands of HR,whatever the case might be, the
demands of the marketplace andthe economy puts a lot, a lot, a
lot of pressure on managers and, tactically, that can look like
where all of these people, allthese tenants, are coming in and
(15:45):
they're demanding your time.
And the next thing you know,your calendar white space is now
completely full, sometimes evenoverlapped with meetings and
obligations, and you can't evenopen up a space for any people
time that you then had alreadylaid out as goals to have people
(16:06):
time.
Well, this comes down topriorities.
This comes down to priority,and so many managers, slash
leaders that I talk and meetwith, whether one-on-one or in a
group, will raise up thechallenge that they have as far
as being able to follow throughon making their people their
(16:28):
number one asset and they'll sayI just don't have the time.
Look at my calendar, look at myto-do list and I'll remind them
.
If it is a priority for you,you'll make the time Because,
like anything else, if it's apriority and really important to
you and you truly believe thatin every cell of your being,
(16:51):
then you will do whatever ittakes to follow through on that
goal that you set for yourself.
And if you don't believe me,think outside the workplace of
other goals and dreams that youhave and aspirations that you
have for yourself, how far youwill go to achieve them, and it
(17:12):
could be even the workplace ifit has anything to do with a
raise or a promotion or a newbusiness opportunity.
When you're starting toquestion or doubt or make
excuses which is the challengethat I then put back on to the
executives is are you surethey're not excuses?
Times and places, evencurrently, that maybe you're.
(17:40):
You know you're kind of beinghypocritical, almost, and you're
contradicting yourself becauseyou certainly put the priority
and the emphasis and thesacrifices and the compromises
elsewhere, and yet you know, inthis particular situation that
we're talking about, they arebubbling up as more excuses than
anything.
So making something a prioritytakes a daily practice and
(18:04):
discipline for anything you know, looking at your goals, looking
at your tasks, looking at thatyou know that calendar of
meetings and really ensuringthat you have a very laser
focused clarity around where thepriority lies.
That's not something that couldbe looked at, you know, once a
(18:27):
week, once a month, once a year.
It has to be on a daily basis.
What can I, you know, be doingand what do I need to be doing
in order to keep my focus andattention on the goal?
It might slip a day or two, itmight slip even a week, yet I'm
not losing focus and I'm notlosing the priority that I have
(18:50):
for this particular goal.
In this instance, it's aroundpeople.
So look at it daily, okay,question it daily, challenge it
daily, which brings me to mynext point around priority, and
that is too many leaders have avery difficult time saying no,
(19:14):
no to that meeting, no to thatextra task, no to that new
project or new initiative or newworkload.
That's not even coming to you,maybe it's coming down to your
people and they have a hard timesaying no.
Well, it's my fault, well, Ihave to.
Well, it's coming from adifferent function and I have to
(19:36):
do it.
Well, do you?
Is the challenge that I wouldgive you to be thinking about.
Do you need to go to thatmeeting?
What will happen if you don'tgo to that meeting?
Do you even need to have thisparticular meeting.
Maybe you're adding to your ownpressure when it comes to not
having that time, to your ownpressure when it comes to not
(20:01):
having that time.
Do you need to, you know, fillthis time block with something
that isn't as priority assomething else or as this people
goal that you've set foryourself?
So learning to say no isabsolutely critical for anyone,
from floor level to the CEOoffice, and yet it's even more
(20:23):
and more and more important forpeople leaders to be able to
find those places where you cansay no, and so you can always
open up or keep white space onyour calendar for your people.
It's absolutely critical, andif you truly believe people are
your number one asset andthey're going to be the ones
(20:44):
that and are the ones that youknow help you and get you to
achieve your goals, then youneed to prioritize finding how
you can keep them engaged,included, valued and with the
opportunities that they'relooking for.
So you have to look at sayingno.
Now, another little formula Iuse with my clients as well,
(21:07):
whether that be corporate orentrepreneurial, quite honestly,
is what I call my four Ds.
So you're looking at your listof to-dos, you're looking at
your list of meetings, you'relooking at your list of other
obligations that you have andyou get laser focused on making
(21:28):
a decision around.
Is there a way to delegate,delay, delete, or I have to do
it?
So let's break these four downdelegate, delay, delete or do so
, delegate.
(21:50):
It's shocking to me how manythings are on many, many
managers to-do list that couldbe delegated out, and the
reasons that they don't are many.
One is I don't have time toteach them.
Two is you know I don't want togive it up, I like doing it.
It's easy, it's simple, itdoesn't take a lot of time, to
(22:14):
the extreme of that person youknow, kind of identifying
themselves as controlling a job,security that you know.
Intimidation and fear of.
You know that person that theydelegate to does a better job
that they do.
A lot of reasons why they don'tdelegate and very few reasons
(22:34):
why they do.
And I'm telling you, if youcould, as a powerhouse leader,
what will differentiate you fromanybody else is ensuring that
you can not dump.
That's another D, but I don'tlike to use it.
Not dump, but delegateactivities, initiatives, whole
(22:55):
projects that are on your plate.
Delegate them to somebody else.
Because, again, if you want asurefire way of elevating
employee engagement and employeesatisfaction and retention,
it's to provide themopportunities to actually
contribute, do something new, dosomething different, even if
(23:19):
there's a risk that they couldfail at it or not do a good job.
But that's your job as a leader.
Your job as a leader is todevelop others, regardless if
they're ready for it or not.
Give them the opportunities tochallenge themselves, push
themselves, stretch themselves,even fail, so they can then
(23:42):
learn and then move on, sodelegate, and then there is
delete.
I could have a laundry list ofto-dos that my manager will show
me, my client manager will showme, and I can easily go through
and in a conversation with them, we can get 20% of those things
(24:03):
off their list.
That is on their list, but theyjust one automatically think
they have to do it, or two thatyou could go back to delegate
and they keep it on the list.
And again, there's a lot ofdifferent reasons for you know
(24:25):
for that, and but yet what youwant to do as a powerhouse
leader and as someone who'sputting your people first, is
you really want to open up thatwhite space for your people,
make that time for your people,and therefore you have to be
able to delete things off Now.
There's also the other D, whichis delay.
You know, again, this is anarea where many of my clients
(24:46):
struggle with the fact thatpeople just throw work at them
and everything's a priority toeverybody.
Oh, it needs to be doneimmediately.
Oh, it needs to be done by theend of the day, oh, it needs to
be done by tomorrow.
And yet if you, as a leader,would challenge them to say a
couple of things, challenge themto say or ask them is this
(25:09):
really a priority for today?
Do you absolutely need it today?
And, if so, for what reason andhow is it going to be used?
If I was to take time today toget it done, you'd be surprised
that all of a sudden, somebodywill be like, once they're
challenged, will be like oh, no,no, no, I don't need it for a
few days, or I don't need iteven till next week.
So that's one thing is tochallenge whether or not the
(25:33):
priority or the timeline thatthey've put on a you know task
or or a activity they need youto do is actually real, because
in a lot of cases it is not Okay.
The other one would the otherangle to take with this is show
them your to-do list and thisgoes to your boss, this goes to
(25:56):
anyone that comes to you withsomething.
Show them your to-do list andsay okay, so if you want me to
get this done today, what do yousuggest?
I not get done Because they allsay that they need it today,
tomorrow, by the end of the week, so which one of these should
be deprioritized so I can tellthem that you had a higher
(26:20):
priority item?
You ask them that question andit's not a question that anybody
should feel intimidated by.
If all of a sudden, you're likeI'm not going to say that to my
boss, why not by?
If you know, if all of a suddenyou're like I'm not going to say
that to my boss, why not?
You're engaging them and youknow, and actually you're also,
(26:40):
you know, kind of passingaccountability to them of this
is all the work that I have todo, and they all have high
priority, and you're just simplyasking me to do something, and
I'm just trying to understandwhat's going to have to give in
order for me to then bring inand do what you need me to do.
You will be surprised 99% ofthe time and I am not
(27:01):
exaggerating someone will say toyou oh no, no, no, I don't need
it right away.
Oh, no, no, no, those are.
You're right, those are moreimportant.
Or they may say okay, no it.
You know, this is moreimportant than this one and I'll
I'll talk to them and I'll getyou a delay, an extension on on
on that activity, on thatinitiative, whatever the case
(27:22):
might be.
So you know, you're justengaging them in your priority
setting and it's absolutely ifyou could learn that.
One skill that will elevate yourproductivity, elevate your
success in accomplishing yourgoals whether it's your people
goal or any other goal is if youcould learn that discipline.
(27:46):
One, say no.
Two, using the delegate, deleteor delay and challenging the
priorities people are giving you.
And then the last D is do.
There are gonna be things thatyou absolutely must do and those
, if you absolutely must do themand you can't delegate, delay
(28:06):
or delete, then they then gointo that priority process that
you're looking at on a dailybasis.
That then could take precedenceto you having any white space
for your people.
But still there's going to beother overlapping schedule,
overlapping meetings, meetingsyou really don't need to be at
(28:26):
and meetings you shouldn't be at, even though you might be
feeling, oh well, I want to stayin the know, or, you know, I
want to be part of it.
You again, if you wantsomething really, really bad,
you will make the sacrifices andthe compromises to achieve it,
won't you?
And therefore, treat your goalaround your people the same way.
(28:48):
Don't make it as an excuse that, oh, I have too much to do.
Same way, don't make it as anexcuse that, oh, I have too much
to do.
If people are that importantand they should be then that's
what you want to do.
Okay, all right.
So we talked about goals, wetalked about priority.
The last one would be timeblocking, and this is a specific
tool you could be using aroundtime management.
(29:10):
Okay, is time blocking and I'vebeen doing this probably for 15
years now and trust me when Isay for myself and for my
clients, it has been a boosterto productivity, to achievement,
(29:30):
to sanity, to breath, to peaceand calm, to opening up tons of
white space.
Personally, let alone from awork perspective is time
blocking?
Now?
What is it?
Time blocking basically meansthat you treat and we're just
going to be talking about yourwork calendar right now, but
(29:52):
you're going to treat your workcalendar as seriously as you
treat your personal calendar.
Now I'm going to sound almostcontradictory because there's
going to be some personal thingsthat all of a sudden get into
your work calendar.
But what I'm talking about isyour nine to five assume nine to
five is your work hours.
That calendar is what we'retalking about.
(30:13):
From you time blocking it.
Okay, so there's typically fromtime blocking.
It simply means create theblocks of time and put them on
your calendar of those thingsthat are of priority that you've
just determined based on thegoals that you have.
And the goals, again, could bebusiness, you know, and personal
(30:33):
, personal being like yourpeople leadership, development,
personal business goals andmaking sure your calendar is
reflective of you being able toput time toward any goals that
you've set for yourself orothers have set for you.
And so, in this calendar, thefirst, the easiest things to do,
is to put like standardmeetings that you have on your.
(30:56):
You know that you have on yourcalendar, but the must attend
meetings, not the meetings thatyou're optional or you're even
on the list, but you know what.
It has nothing to do with you,but you never say no to it.
I'm not talking about those.
I'm talking about the must,must, must, meetings that you
have to have, whether you'rehosting them or you're a
(31:17):
participant.
So you lay those out on yourcalendar first, then I would
move to all right, what arethose time blocks that I want to
put toward a specific goal,such as your people goal?
I want to put toward a specificgoal, such as your people goal.
(31:37):
So I do this very similarlywith my administrative office
day.
I have my own business, so Ihave to take care of my clients
in the main blocks of time.
But then I need time to get allmy other stuff done.
And I do work to where I wantmy personal time to be
completely free of any businessactivity.
So to do that, I have to getvery, very focused on when I
(32:02):
plan my time and how I plan mytime.
So I put certain blocks of timefor administrative office work,
clean out the desk, so to speak, before I would be able to
freshly go off into my personallife.
And you want to do the same aswell.
You want to look at yourcalendar as well and say what
(32:22):
must, must.
That goes back to priority.
Must I do you know to andaccomplish this day or this week
so I can end my day and go andplay pickleball, like I do, or
go with the family, meet somefriends out, or ensure that
Friday at four I can take offand have my weekend without
(32:42):
being disruptive other than whatI call 911s with my clients.
But you might have 911s withwork to where they might
interrupt, you know, interruptyour weekend.
But you've done everything inthose that goal setting and that
daily prioritization, to ensure, and now you've blocked your,
your calendar to where you canensure that by the end of the
(33:04):
week you've done what you needto do and you can go off and
have life, okay.
So time blocking, you know,literally means blocking periods
of time.
Now let's break it down.
It could be 15 minutes of yourdaily prioritization or goal
setting.
Okay, you can have a block oftime for 15 minutes.
It could be where you put 20minute walk.
(33:27):
Maybe you need to get out ofthe office and just you know,
you know, get some fresh air,whether you work in an office or
at home.
Maybe it is where you have acritical, you know, doctor's
appointment or some otherpersonal appointment that cannot
not because you choose not to,but cannot be scheduled outside
(33:47):
of the work time.
But you know because, well, letme finish this first time.
But you know because, well, letme finish this first.
And so you also then fill yourcalendar with blocks of time for
those things that you know youhave to do, and then you would
have that white space for thingsthat come up at the last minute
or things that are added,especially by others, and now
(34:09):
they can see that you do havesome white space.
But I would ensure that youhave those blocks of time of
your goals, especially when itcomes to people, that if you
should decide that, okay,fridays between 12 and four, I'm
gonna block it out and it'sjust gonna be for touching base
with my people, whether that'sface-to-face or via phone call.
(34:29):
But you're ensuring that,excuse me, you're ensuring that
you have all of those blocks oftime put on your calendar.
Again, if you want it and it'simportant to you, you'll
prioritize it and you'll do it,okay.
So consider that for yourpeople, or your number one asset
(34:51):
goal.
Now, going back to what I wassaying, too often I find that
you know, even corporate, letalone entrepreneurial, but
corporate leaders will putappointments on their calendar,
personal appointments on theircalendar that they could have
scheduled outside the work time.
(35:12):
Now they often do that.
I will do that because theywant a break.
They want to do it on businesstime work time as opposed to
their own personal time.
But again, I'm going to go takeyou back to priority.
If you don't have time in yourcalendar and yet you have this
people asset goal for yourselfin your calendar and yet you
(35:35):
have this people asset goal foryourself, but you're filling up
your work calendar with personalappointments, well, you're
losing the opportunity to usethose blocks of time, just like
you prioritize them for yourdoctor's appointment or your
personal appointment for yourpeople.
And so when clients tell methey don't have time for their
people, I do it with someclients, not all my clients.
(36:00):
But I just want to say I wantto see your calendar for the
next three months and the pastsix months, because I'm going to
rip it apart and find all ofthose spaces, those blocks that
were put toward things thatcould have been done outside of
the availability of their people, to where they actually did
(36:23):
have time for their people.
And I challenge you as towhether or not that's true for
you as well.
Challenge you as to whether ornot that's true for you as well.
So consider your calendar oftime blocks, appointments that
you take as seriously outside ofwork, and use some for inside
(36:44):
people appointments, and then,when you are, you know kind of
time blocking.
When you are, you know kind oftime blocking.
Another key aspect of that aswell is to set expectations with
those around you, whetherthat's your team members, your
peers, your bosses, not onlyabout your goals but more so,
(37:05):
the expectations around you.
Know your calendar, yourappointments.
So, when it comes to meetings,set the expectations that you're
going to come if it'sabsolutely mandatory, you know
if, if I'm, if you specificallyhave a piece of the agenda, you
know set the expectation but I'mnot going to come if I'm just
optional.
Just so you know.
(37:26):
If you don't see me in thesemeetings that I'm CC'd, not sent
as a to, but I'm CC'd, I'm notgoing to be there.
So set also the expectation.
So then they're not questioningor, you know, kind of
disappointed when you don't showup because you've set the
expectations.
(37:46):
Set expectations with everyonearound you around how you want
to manage your time, because youdo have this goal that you want
.
You need to make time for yourpeople, so communicate that out.
We talked about the sharing ofyour goals.
When it comes to your timeblocking, share that as well.
There are times I'm putting onmy calendar for my people and my
(38:10):
team that I, you know, I willnot and cannot compromise on Now
.
If all of a sudden you have,you know, people, even your boss
, challenging you on that ordisrespecting that by planning
meetings or that, well, thatjust tells you a lot about other
people.
(38:30):
But stay true to what your goalis if it's that important to
you.
So, when it comes to overalltime management for leaders, you
have the time.
If you want the time foranything, so define those goals,
set those priorities, look atthem daily, because they will
(38:52):
change, and then time block yourcalendar and stay true to it.
Now I'm making it sound reallyeasy, you know, and making it
sound just so general, withoutall the noise that is, you know,
bombarded around you, and Iunderstand that and I totally
(39:13):
get that.
Trust me, I do.
So.
If you are having challenges,if you do have questions, if you
are curious as to really howyou could be implementing any of
these tips or strategies, thenbe sure to book a call with me
and let's talk about it.
You can go tocoachmebernadettecom forward
slash discovery call and let'shave a conversation about it.
Let me give you some tips andstrategies.
(39:35):
Let me look at your calendar,let me, you know, kind of
challenge you on various thingsBecause, again, if it's
important to you, you knowyou'll do it.
So it's just making thedecision as to where do your
people fit into what it isyou're trying to accomplish.
All right, I am so gratefulthat you were here with me this
week on this particular episodeand I'll look forward to having
(39:58):
you on our next episode.
I'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 2 (40:01):
Bye.
Thank you for tuning intotoday's episode of Shedding the
Corporate Bitch.
Every journey taken together isanother step towards unleashing
the powerhouse leader withinyou.
Don't miss any of our weeklyepisodes.
Subscribe to our podcast onApple Podcasts, spotify or
wherever you love to listen.
And, for those who thrive onvisual content, catch us on our
Shedding the Bitch YouTubechannel.
(40:22):
Want to dive deeper withBernadette on becoming a
powerhouse leader?
Visit balloffirecoachingcom tolearn more about how she helps
professionals, hr executives andteam leaders elevate overall
team performance.
You've been listening toShedding the Corporate Bitch
with Bernadette Boas.
Until next time, keep shedding,keep growing and keep leading.
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