Without having to complete a comprehensive behavioural assessment, you can do a quick self analysis of your core behavioural style by honestly answering the following questions:
- Are you more introverted or more extroverted? To what degree?
- Are you more people-focused or more task-focused? To what degree?
What is a behavioural style? A behavioural style is simply the observable portion of ‘how’ we do things. In my experience as a behavioural analyst and professional certified coach, my observation has been that there are two primary behavioural styles that struggle most with managing time. They are the highly extroverted (people-focused) individuals, whom I will call Promoters and the highly introverted and highly task-focused individuals whom I will call Analyzers.
Keep in mind, however, that none of us are influenced by only one behavioral style, because we are truly a blend of all of them. In other words, we may be high extroverts but we also have an introverted side. We may have a tendency to be task-oriented but we also have a people-focused side. Nevertheless, most of us have more predominant tendencies and the more extreme these tendencies are, the more challenging time management becomes.
As adults in the workplace, our ability to manage time has also been largely influenced by our upbringing. Individuals who were brought up in an environment that is disorganized and where a lot of time is wasted, will have learned some bad habits and are likely to have more difficulty managing time even if they are inclined because of their behavioural style to manage time well. On the other hand, individuals who grew up in an environment that is very structured and organized, in which they had to learn to be time-conscious, will find it easier to manage time even if they are not prone to manage their time very well because of their behavioural style. Finally, there is also a very small proportion of individuals who are born with an innate ability to manage their time effectively. For the great majority of us, managing time effectively is a learned process.
Now, let’s examine what it is about these two core styles that cause some people to have more difficulty in managing their time.
Promoters usually have nothing but the best of intentions when promising to get certain things done. They usually have a good sense of urgency and yet they continue to over-promise and under-deliver and when they deliver, they often deliver late.
There are several problems that cause Promoters to miss their deadlines. First they tend to be highly disorganized. Their desks are often cluttered with piles on their desk, on the floor, and all over the office. Their "to do" notes and "reminders" are scattered and often misplaced. So they waste a lot of time trying to find the information they need to get things done. They may know where most things are amidst all of that chaos and might be quite proud of it, but at the end, this disorganization does affect their productivity. Promoters also tend to do things very quickly, so they make a lot of mistakes. This means they have to redo their work.
Finally, Promoters tend to value people interactions. They often love to interact with others, get easily distracted from the task at hand, procrastinate, and then miss deadlines. Lunch, even a business lunch, is often a social event for the Promoter. Saying ‘no’ to other people’s requests and being unrealistic in the amount of time it will take to accomplish a specific task is also characteristic of the Promoter.
If you recognize the Promoter in yourself, don’t despair as there are quite a large number of behavioural strengths attached to the Promoter as well. Promoters often tend are very creative and excel at influencing people, at leading teams, at being charismatic, and at organizing others, just to name a few.
The Analyzer
The Analyzer’s point of pride is getting the job done right. If having to choose between quantity and quality, quality will be the Analyzer’s choice. It’s not uncommon to hear the Analyzer say “I could have done better if I had more time.” Analyzers are sticklers at following policies and procedures and hate being late for meetings.
Why does the Analyzer struggle with managing time? The Analyzer has difficulty taking things at face value and spends time looking for hidden meanings or additional information in order to achieve perfection. More facts and data means more time. This in turns, makes the completion of a project a real struggle and dilemma for the Analyzer who is always concerned that quality might be somewhat sacrificed.
Analyzers are highly fearful of making any mistakes and the double-edged sword for them is that they often do not know when to stop looking for the facts and data. Now in some cases perfection is required. In accounting, for example, financial statements must be 100% accurate. Code in programming must be accurate, otherwise the software will malfunction. However, perfection and 100% accuracy are not needed in most cases.
If you’re seeing the Analyzer in yourself, there is also no need to despair. Your attention to detail and quality is an important asset to your organization. Your analytical skills are very important in setting parameters for projects and to ensure that all aspects of a project are considered. You also tend to be reliable and hard-working.
What can Promoters do to manage time more effectively?
Learning to become better organized is one of the key factors that will help Promoters manage their time more effectively. This will mean, reorganizing their desks, their offices and how they handle the correspondence and e-mails they receive - filing systems. It means using their day timers and technology more effectively so that they stay on track when scheduling appointments and they make sure they are on time for their meetings. Most Promoters can really use the assistance of an Administrative Assistant or a Coach to help them stay focused, organized and on track.
Promoters also need to learn to say "no" to new projects, until their time is under control. This will require some discipline at the beginning but learning to say "no" will be very helpful in the long run.
Finally, Promoters need to become more aware of the time they can be wasting because of unnecessary interruptions and socializing. They can benefit from maintaining a daily log for a week, of the amount of time they waste socializing with others instead of working on their projects. If the amount is unreasonable, they may then decide to set a daily limit on their socializing activities.
What can Analyzers do to manage time more effectively?
For each project they work on, Analyzers need to set a timeline for themselves for research, evaluation of prior work, etc. If it is a large project, they will need to break down this phase into smaller sections each with its own timeline. Posting this timeline where they will see it and forcing themselves to stick to it is going to be the challenge. Analyzers will also need to evaluate for each project, the importance of seeking out further information and the magnitude of its importance in the greater scheme of things. For this purpose they may want to get a second opinion from colleagues whose opinion they respect.
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