Many of us are experiencing overwhelm, with multiple demands for our time and attention. It’s more challenging than ever to prioritize.
There are many good techniques for prioritizing when you have a lot on your plate. One of the best (and often overlooked) ways is to ask yourself a key question that I’ve been posing to leaders and teams for over a decade, always with the same result.
That magic question is:
“What are you paid to do?”
When I ask it, there’s typically a pause. And then most people say, “That’s a really good question.”
Here’s why it works:
Many times, when there’s so much to deliver, we’re thinking about our busy-ness and measuring our contribution by our jammed calendars and completed tactics.
Asking what you are being paid to do is a VERY different question. It cuts through the HOW you spend your day and WHY you do it. It makes you think in terms of value, impact and results.
Here’s a powerful reframe to get at what really matters:
What goals did my organization hire me to reach?
Do you have absolute clarity on what you’re being paid to do and how that ties into your organization’s goals? Does your team know what they are paid to do and also how they ladder up to your goals? Are you certain your boss or other key stakeholders hold the same viewpoint?
Making sure you and key stakeholders are aligned:
In my experience, at least 50 percent of the time executives and their bosses or key stakeholders don’t actually have alignment on what they’re being paid to do. Gallup at Work research confirms this and adds that 50 percent of employees surveyed don’t know how their role ties to the overall business strategy.
Often, this happens because priorities change quickly, and the changes aren’t well communicated.
When this lack of alignment occurs, it often means executives and their teams suffer overwhelm from trying to do too much, with competing priorities. Burnout occurs and performance can suffer.
Getting this clarity accelerates your performance and your team’s. And it becomes easier to make daily decisions. Anything that isn’t driving toward the organization’s higher goals (and what you’re being paid to do) gets prioritized down on your list — even if it’s how you’ve been spending the majority of your time.
Here’s how to be sure you’re aligned:
My advice is to be proactive. Have this conversation with your boss or other key stakeholders. Sculpt your work and your team’s work so that everyone is aligned to what they are being paid to do, and your higher goals.
In her book RISE, my mentor and colleague and recognized business leadership expert, Patty Azzarello, talks about Negotiating Ruthless Priorities.
She describes Ruthless Priorities as those few (1-3 at most) things that you refuse to put at risk. You get them done. It doesn’t mean that you don’t also work on other things, but it means that you get your Ruthless Priorities done first. And best. No matter what.
Revisiting daily what you’re being paid to do and what your Ruthless Priorities are increases your value to your organization by keeping you focused on what matters most. And, it reduces overwhelm for you and your teams by giving you a clear process for ruthless prioritizing.
