Jenny Fernandez, an adjunct lecturer in the Columbia SPS Strategic Communication program and vice president of marketing at Loacker USA, believes that you can absolutely improve your business productivity by utilizing time-management strategies. In a recent article for Fast Company, Fernandez, who teaches the courses Content Strategy and Digital Communications Strategy and has more than two decades of experience turning businesses around, offered her greatest tips. Here’s a sampler:
- Prioritization. Fernandez emphasizes the importance of prioritization and planning. Allocation of the time and resources needed to accomplish each goal is an effective time-management practice. “Having a mental picture of what you want to achieve and what the most important projects and their impact are will help you prioritize and manage your focus and attention.”
- Teamwork. Fernandez recommends a mental shift for leaders from doers to enablers who can strategically resolve and avoid the time dilemma by empowering their teams. The team dynamic requires trust and delegation, helping leaders remove bottlenecks and automatically motivating workers to complete tasks.
- Letting Go. Abandon the idea that longer working hours equals higher productivity. Time is not the only standard for measuring contributions. Also: Leaders should aim to create a “culture where your employees feel seen, connected, and empowered to solve problems,” Fernandez says. “As you advance in your career, your goal is not to ‘do more’ but to do more through others.“
Read the article in Fast Company and learn more about the M.S. in Strategic Communication program.
