The digital landscape is revolutionizing how we do business and increasing in speed as web 3.0 takes shape. While technology allows us to live in a world that is always powered on and eases collaboration across borders, we need to establish ground rules not only to mitigate the fear of missing out but also to balance our time.
But how does one adapt without sacrificing what matters most?
For starters, there needs to be boundaries and commitments that are tied to both personal and professional goals. Without a vision, the course of the year will lose itself spinning out of control with no mini-wins tied to levels of achievement. The plan doesn’t have to be a 3 or 5 year journal, but something that is realistic to chart a path through a short period of time and course correct when needed.
To help attain proficiency and stay motivated, executives can share their goals at the beginning of each year with their executive assistant. This step is pivotal in carving out the time in the weekly schedule to focus on the areas that will bring the most value throughout the day as well as track against objectives.
Keep in mind that there are different levels of engagement for executives that are shaped based on the structure of the organization and size. The CEO’s balance of engagement externally should be higher because they are charged with overseeing strategic initiatives wherein an SVP’s internal engagement will be higher to strengthen the employee value proposition.
The executive assistant can leverage the Microsoft outlook tools to assign categories to the calendar entries so that all appointments/meetings can be tracked for the amount of time that the executive spends in the areas that are tied to their overall performance. Of course, the categories for internal and external engagement will vary based on the organization’s charge of business. However, there are two categories that can apply to all executives to start with—external and internal engagement. Looking at the role of a CEO, their external engagement will be the driving factor in performance for the company so their ratio may look like 60% external vs 40% internal. And the role of an EVP in marketing may also have the same ratio because of the relationship build they need to maintain with external partners as well as committing to a regular social media schedule. Learn how to create outlook categories here.
The earlier in the year an executive gets started on developing an engagement plan and track the journey, the executive assistant can extract data from outlook that will reveal whether or not time carved out each week demonstrates commitment to what matters most. Overtime, there will be less overlapping conflicts because the ares that make a difference in living life will intrinsically balance out.
