Get Organized, Reduce Stress

Get Organized, Reduce Stress

February 8, 2005

Get Organized, Reduce Worker Stress

One piece of copier art (you know, the flyers posted in any
room where the copier and fax machine are) really struck
me. It said, "A crisis on your part does not automatically
constitute an emergency on my part."

I’ve done workshops in time management, personal
organization, goal-setting, balancing multiple priorities
and similar topics that have to do with getting things
done. One of the principles in any of these seminars is to
get out from under "the tyranny of the urgent." The real
problem, however, is to get out from under the tyranny of
urgent people.

Some of us are severely overworked and carrying multiple
responsibilities in this sluggish economy. Others are
compulsive and take on all kinds of work, saying "yes" to
every project. Many, however, work for managers and
executives who are perpetually disorganized or impulsive—so
everything’s a crisis. Others work for skinflints who, for
the sake of wringing out every penny of profit, won’t staff
the workplace sufficiently. Others have enormously high
(some would say unrealistic) expectations of what can be
done in a period of time. Maybe you work for someone who is
some combination of these several factors.

There’s an ethical issue here, and it has to do with humane
treatment of people. Crisis-oriented workplaces and
disorganized or demanding managers create an unhealthy
amount of stress on all others who work in the setting. So
often the manager or executive does not see himself as the
origin of the problems that result—poor performance, low
morale, nonexistent customer service, or problematic
quality, to name a few.

Instead, he or she plays the blame game—whining about
difficult employees, growing angry when everything can’t
get done, including the last-minute project, insisting
employees just aren’t very dependable any more—or worse,
berating employees for their poor performance. Who has the
courage or honesty enough to say, "When you can become
organized, we can do our jobs?" And would the manager or
executive be humble enough to listen?

Time management, personal organization, and priority
balance are not really about clock hours, to-do lists, or
clean desks. These issues really are about how we approach
ourselves and our work, and how we consider the needs of
others. They address the issue of personal discipline and
order, and how managers and executives facilitate,
coordinate, and empower the work of others.

Years ago, I learned this lesson when I held an executive
position in a intenational association. The association
grew rapidly, and, despite the growth, I persisted in my
control needs and wanted to see or be aware of everything
passing through the company.

As a result, my desk became a wasteland, but more
importantly, the people I hired to do the work felt that I
was interfering constantly with their ability to let the
work flow freely. I had trouble relaxing and enlarging my
span of control, and the work of the association
suffered—and, the people who worked with me suffered, too.

Ultimately, someone approached me who had been an executive
in the same company. "Think of it this way," he said. "Your
job has changed but you haven’t. You’re not the baggage
handler anymore, nor the flight attendant, nor even the
pilot. You’re the person who makes sure each of these
people can get the plane out on time—but even more, that
everyone is clear about the destination. Let the others do
their jobs, and make sure you know where the planes are
going."

I’ve never forgotten this advice. One more seminar about
organization and a resolution to clean my desk would not
have addressed the real problem: keeping the people in
focus who have to do the work, and looking at how I did my
job.

No Tyranny of the Urgent

Jn. 11:4-7 Jesus was not driven by the tyranny of urgent!
Hearing that Lazarus was sick, Jesus did not hop a camel
and hurry to his side, He actually waited 2 more days.
Jesus walked in moment-by-moment obedience. No urgency
dominated His pace other than the urgency of obedience.
NOTE: Jesus’ timing enhanced the miracle. Instead of
healing a sick man, He raised a man from the dead!