I have over 100 Principals and managers who are invited to write a weekly progress report – The Extreme Weekly Tracker – as a catharsis for themselves at the end of each week and as a way of keeping me posted and asking questions.

This is extremely valuable on many levels, one of which is that it allows me to feel the pulse of my client base every week and spot any trends.

We are three weeks into the new year and here is what clients are telling me:

• Not enough time to get things done. Both Principals and managers comment that the task list is longer than the number of hours available and that clients are so busy coping with the present that there isn’t enough time to plan the future;
• Being called away from primary responsibilities to cover other people’s work. Managers who cannot manage their systems because they are covering for missing receptionists and/or nurses;
• UDA hunting season. We are now entering that three month period when a panicked approach to hitting UDA targets in time to avoid clawbacks begins to overshadow many aspects of leadership and management. The race is on;
• No longer tolerating difficult people. You know that team member who isn’t on the bus? We don’t have the time for this. It’s time for them to get off.

You have already spotted the trend here – it’s about not having enough time or talent to get things done.

The challenge of time and talent management is as significant today as it has ever been and yet the solutions remain constant – see here once again, my free download on 7 steps to effective time management:

If you are drowning in work and falling behind, you are not alone.

I’m spending more of my time helping Principals and managers to make more of their time.