Considerations when using the Eisenhower Matrix

The second concept that must be mastered to be a successful priority ninja is to understand and value that the overall process must combine the technical and scientific with the organizational and political. Or, as some prefer the rational with the irrational. But that is unfair. Both sides have their own rationality, and you will be successful as you understand and merge the two into the real politics of the possible. There are a thousand aphorisms that offer insight here. The only question for you will be how to balance the technically correct without being too nerdy with political realism without being too slimy. I know none of this was in the job description, but you should get over it and wade in.

Finally, and on a very disconcerting note, none of this is fixed. Just when you think that you understand it, have balanced the tech with the human side of things, someone will come along and tip over the tea cart. It is just the nature of this work. You need to expect it, be ready to respond, spend no emotional or intellectual energy resisting, just get to making the adjustments and fixing the impact it will have on others. If there comes a time when no one is showing up to rain on your priority parade, you might want to check to see if you are still all that relevant to the processes that others value.

Using Influence

Influence is a complex undertaking that is directed in each of the three basic directions: up, out, and down. In general influencing others involves the development of trust, but it is developed in different ways as we influence in different directions.

While these techniques are not exclusive to any one direction, trust is enhanced upward by demonstrating performance and showing support and loyalty. If your competence and loyalty within the organization and in your position have not been established, then it will be challenging to influence up to your supervisor or to others that are “up” in the organization.

Outwardly trust is increased as transparency, accountability and collaboration grow, but these qualities need to grow in a reciprocal manner not just one way.

When working to improve the relationship and trust downward leaders need to commit to developing, motivating, and delegating to those that they want to influence.

Again, all of the actions will work to improve trust in any of the three directions, but they are most effective in the directions indicated. Acting in a loyal and supportive manner will enhance trust down and out, but it will have the greatest impact up.

Managing and Simplifying

Your job is managing the priorities, including the things you will not get to now or ever. To do this, you need tools. Some of the best tools are:

• The Level Set: Starting Right

• Assessment Tool: Quick Six

• Power tool # 1: Relationship Capital

• Power tool # 2: Common Ground

• The Simplifier: Make it simpler, not more complex

• Hammers, gentle and hard: Say no

What follows is a brief introduction to the tools and how they are used to set and manage priorities and simplify work. For most of these, there is a link to a longer discussion of the particular tool.

Level Set: This is the simple and easy, but often ignored, step when a project or new working relationship begins. Almost always we think the others see the work – goals, roles, key processes – the way we do. Sometimes this is the case, but often it is not. Setting a shared level about the undertaking and how we will do our work together is a great tool to make sure that re-work is minimized, duplication is avoided, conflict and hurt feelings are minimized. The agenda for the level set meeting is at this link and some suggestions about how to lead in this setting.

Assessment Tool - The Quick Six: The political side of managing priorities requires you to be situationally aware. There are a great variety of situations where a leader needs to make a very quick assessment of what is happening and decide on a course of action. This awareness of what is happening and what path you want to take in order to get the outcome that best advances your priorities is best done analytically not in reacting to the moment.   The six qualities reviewed at this link do not cover everything you need to be aware of, but most of what you need to pay attention to is in the six.

Relationship Capital: This is your stock of good will that has built up over time with the various constituencies and stakeholders, in all three directions- up, out and down. The process of influencing in order to manage priorities either builds or draws down on our relationship capital. A lot of relationship capital turns on your ability to build ties to stakeholders through trading. This is a very human undertaking. One way of beginning to build relationship capital is through conventional network building. But a deeper and much more effective method is to understand the deep human needs for reciprocity and exchange and how these are enacted by recognizing and using organizational capital. Understanding how to develop and use relationship capital to manage priorities is a power tool. 

Common Ground: This is the other power tool. The leadership work here is having the ability to develop, share and gain buy-in to a broad vision about the work you share with others that requires you to manage priorities.  This also includes knowledge about mutual gain, even if the motivation for that mutual gain varies from person to person. Your challenge here is to translate the priorities into something that can be understood and valued at the level of the people that you must influence. This does not mean “dumbing it down”. It does mean understanding the work with enough precision that as a leader you can translate the impact of the work to your team, unit, department, office or organization. Setting and enforcing priorities is often unwelcome news, but the more you can understand the shared ground and the broader you can expand that knowledge the more effective you will be.  Combining common ground with the tools of exchange that can lead to mutual gain, delayed gratification and even compensation for waiting in line, is a very powerful tool.

Simplifier: A lot of success in managing priorities can be gained by using a simplifying approach which is really a sort of a Swiss Army knife of priority tools. Here are my favorites: How much of someone’s priority needs vestigial practice from the past that has become a sacred cow, but no longer serves a function. If it is the case, cut it out. A second tool is asking what others really want or need. Often we provide all nine yards, and they only needed a foot and a half, but we did not know, because we didn’t ask. Using things that are already built instead of building anew can save a lot of time as can making things available freely to a limited public rather than setting them up so resources are spent providing what is needed to each individual. This is akin to the more general tool of setting things up in a DIY format. The secret here is always starting with the premise that it should be user made and we only intervene when that is not possible. Stop polishing the final product, have a healthy definition of “good enough” and stick to it. Ten seconds of consideration about reuse and recycling will save time and make others just as happy. A healthy dose of not needing things that are not broken will give you resources to spend on things that need them. At the core if much of the simplifier is getting ourselves out of the central role we have had in the past and that is counterintuitive - we have built up our silos, so people depend on us, but now they do and, well we don’t have enough time, energy or resource for them. Finally, making sure you are working at the right level will give you the right perspective and purchase point to simplify things, not do them.

Hammer: Sometimes staying true to your priorities means saying no. No one likes to get no for an answer, but you will need to tell them that to be successful here. First understand your psychological need to say yes. It is complex and varies across individuals, and is in general a good thing, but you need to be strong. Knowing your priorities and being clear will help. Listen to them, understand and appreciate them. Do not sleep on it. Let them down easily. Ask for ongoing updates.

Practice

If you want to get better at setting and managing priorities, you have to practice. This link is to a simple worksheet and goal setting form that can help you focus.