One Line
The article advises managers to address root causes of distraction, model focused behavior, and foster a culture of productivity, while avoiding surface-level measurements and micromanagement, in order to improve employee productivity.
Key Points
- Managers can reduce employee distraction by addressing root causes such as scheduling conflicts and unnecessary meetings.
- Modeling indistractable behavior and creating a culture of focused work can help reduce distractions at work.
- Managers should avoid distracting their employees and instead focus on providing the right tools and resources to do their jobs efficiently.
Summary
307 word summary
The article discusses how managers can reduce employee distraction at work by addressing the root causes, such as scheduling conflicts and unnecessary meetings. The author suggests modeling indistractable behavior and creating a culture of focused work. The article also promotes Harvard ManageMentor's online leadership training courses. Managers should set an example by avoiding distractions and requiring agendas for meetings. Collaboration should not be an excuse for avoiding problem-solving. Schedule-syncing tactics can provide insight into employees' time management without micromanaging them. Managers should also foster psychological safety by creating an open dialogue about distractions. A culture of productivity can be built by following these strategies. Managers can unintentionally sabotage their team's productivity by using productivity software to measure employee performance based on surface-level activity like messages sent. This perpetuates a cycle of responsiveness where employees prioritize emails and messages over their core work. Managers can examine their management style and avoid distracting their employees by planning brainstorming sessions with an agenda, considering their employees' needs when scheduling check-ins, avoiding regular status updates, and expecting immediate responses to emails. The rise of remote work has made corporate leaders paranoid, leading to an increase in the use of employee monitoring tools. However, measuring productivity based on vanity metrics does not provide a complete picture of an employee's contributions to the organization. Managers should focus on measuring accomplishments and outcomes rather than surface-level activity. The article titled "Managers, Stop Distracting Your Employees" is available on the Harvard Business Review website. It covers various topics related to managing teams, work-life balance, innovation, gender, strategy, and leadership. The article suggests that managers should avoid distracting their employees and instead focus on providing them with the right tools and resources to do their jobs efficiently. The article is part of the HBR's collection of resources that includes webinars, videos, podcasts, newsletters, and a magazine.