How can you provide feedback to team members who struggle with time management?

I often find that poor time management is a byproduct of clear prioritization of work load. In Venture, we all wear many hats in service to our firm, LPs, portfolio companies etc. Being able to prioritize and at times triage is extremely important. Many times it is in large part the fault of their direct manager for not outlining and ranking priorities. Other times it is treating everything as "most important" and running out of time. I typically employ a Done, Working on and lastly Need help system with my team. This helps prioritize and have visibility of current open work and log jams to completion. I learned this system from a good friend many years ago - John Rydell - and it has been an amazing system for accountability.

I would often ask my team to read books of great leaders who have always emphasised the importance of time management. It is important to simplify the daily chores into actionable items. Identify the top 3 things that one wishes to accomplish; get it done. Time management is not just about discipline, it’s also about how one is excited to work to deliver for a common purpose. If one has a clarity on purpose, the person will never be late for any important projects or time management.

A good root cause of poor time management is often fear. Fear? You may think that odd. But think about the last time you poorly managed your time. Or missed a deadline. You likely knew exactly what needed to be done. You probably also knew when it needed to be done. So clearly, it’s not a lack of knowledge. You most likely skipped on a task, or allocated your time to something urgent. Or towards a task that you feared or didn’t want a certain outcome from. So always add buffer in your day to allocate time to the unexpected. And 2. Start with items you fear a particular outcome the most. These will generally be items you classify as important

Providing feedback to team members struggling with time management starts with identifying the root cause of their challenges. It's like diagnosing a problem before prescribing a solution. From my experience, it's crucial to have a one-on-one conversation to understand their perspective—be it workload, prioritization issues, or personal distractions. This approach not only shows empathy but also helps in tailoring support that directly addresses their specific hurdles. Offering strategies like setting clear priorities, breaking tasks into manageable chunks, or using time management tools can then be more targeted and effective, leading to meaningful improvements.

I do two things that seem to help my team and clients: 1. I encourage them to think about a day when they are most productive. For ex: Did they do creative tasks in the morning and administrative type tasks/meetings later in the day? Many people are able to get into flow state better during certain times of day. Figure out the time of day/week that creates ease and block it off for the creative/original thinking projects. Responsibilities like responding to emails/project management/meetings should be scheduled during a time of day when they need to use less creative energy. 2. Run me through your to do list that feels overwhelming. Let's sort by realistic due dates, your natural flow state timing and ignore the rest until it is done.

Providing feedback to team members struggling with time management should involve specific and actionable suggestions. It's about offering a roadmap, not just a destination. From my experience, it's effective to share concrete strategies like prioritizing tasks using the Eisenhower box or employing techniques such as the Pomodoro Technique for focused work intervals. Suggesting tools for scheduling and task management can also be a game changer. Tailoring advice to their unique challenges makes the guidance more applicable. This method empowers them with practical steps to improve, fostering a sense of support rather than criticism.

Dealing with a team member in VC goes back to the VC goal: profit and earnings. I always give actionable feedback by having my team do two things: 1. Go through their calendar and for every meeting, calculate the cost of the meeting (how many people, salaries, room, beverages + more) 2. Then determine if that meeting was worthwhile, what could have gone better, could it have been shorter I have them do this for months (I also have founders do this too)... it recalibrates time management and priorities.

Having a regular and scheduled follow-up meeting or message is going to help a project keep on going, it also gives the opportunity to punctually provide feedback; during this follow-up sessions it may help assigning the team member the responsibility to define their own deadlines, because that way they are compromising themselves to do something in a time lapse that they consider enough, and they’ll push to get to the goal cause it’s a personal objective and not a request or demand from someone else.