Deckplate Leadership

In the Navy, when someone begins their transition into the Chief Petty Officer ranks, one of the things that must be memorized is “The Difference Between A Chief And An E-7″. You can read the whole thing HERE, but one of the phrases in it is “The Chief works harder than the E7 and always has more time. The E7 is always too busy to do what is necessary.”

It is a classic excuse, isn’t it? You hear it all of the time. Deckplate leaders are busy people. There are meetings to get to, Sailors to talk to, administrative matters to tend to, and then we have our own personal lives to lead. There just isn’t enough time in the day to do everything, so you have to prioritize and exercise good time management. Any reasonable person will understand that not everything on your to-do list will necessarily get done as fires emerge that will ultimately push other things further down on the list until they appear on the next day’s to-do list.

Stop Making Excuses

Deckplate leaders create results, not excuses. Either you get it done or you don’t. The first step to eliminating such excuses is to start being honest with yourself….Not having enough time is simply an excuse. Instead, just admit that whatever didn’t get done was just not as important to you as the things that did get done. I mean, that’s the real truth isn’t it? When people don’t exercise the reason you will usually hear is because they don’t have enough time to work out. The truth of the matter is that there is time. You always have time. If you really thought that exercise was important then you’d make the time to do it.

It is also the same when it comes to your people. Do you stay up until three in the morning completing annual evaluations so your people get them in time? Or do you cut out when the whistle blows and just push the deadline back? When one of your employees comes to talk to you, are you typing or checking emails? Are you taking phone calls? All of your actions indicate to your people where they fall on your priority list. And it is vital that your people believe that they will always take precedence on that list.

Just remember, you always have time. It is really how you choose to use that time that means anything. If you feel your kids are important, you will make the time. If you feel working out is important, you will make the time. If you feel education is important, then you will make the time…I think you get my point.

In a nutshell, not having time is nothing more than an excuse. Be honest with yourself and say that whatever didn’t get done just wasn’t as important to you as the things that did. And if you’re letting things slip by and you really believe them to be important, then you’re wasting a whole lot of time accomplishing the unimportant things, and you need to rethink your system of time-management.