“How do you manage competing priorities when everyone is right?”
A General Manager recently asked me this question. His direct report had just completed 6 months of coaching and shared they learned to “manage up” to better manage incoming requests.
The conversation brought to light a fundamental truth in leadership: success isn’t just about getting things done – it’s about getting the right things done.
The GM’s curiosity and humility also highlighted how important it is for organisations to equip leaders at all levels with tools to enhance their effectiveness.
So how do you manage competing priorities?
- Don’t confuse activity with achievement. “Busy” doesn’t mean productive. Instead of chasing everything, take time to pause and get clear on your goals. What truly moves the needle?
- Put on your “Enterprise” vs “Functional” hat. It’s hard to prioritise if you’re down in the weeds. To get perspective, step out of your role as a cog in the machine to view priorities through the lens of the organisation as a whole. By gaining a broader perspective of overarching goals, leaders can make more informed decisions aligned to strategic imperatives.
- Master time and energy. While some tasks may be time sensitive, it’s important to be time sensible. Prioritise the “big rocks” that will deliver significant value. This includes self-care and rest so you’ve got the cognitive resources to make smart decisions.
- Embrace the art of managing up (and across). It’s not uncommon for the left hand to not know what the right hand is doing in an organisation. Shifting from a top-down approach to collaborative dialogue enables leaders to navigate complexities and drive meaningful progress. Collectively explore what projects are key to the organisation’s mission and strategy, and what are the risks if we try to do everything at once?
Beyond the individual: The bigger picture
It’s important to recognise that navigating competing priorities isn’t solely an individual challenge, but often a broader reflection of organisational dynamics.
Take a high performing Practice Manager overseeing 3 clinics and struggling with under-resourcing. Placing her on a leadership program to refine her delegation and time management skills may seem like the solution. However, overlooking the systemic imbalance of workload distribution (with other Practice Managers only managing 1-2 clinics of comparable sizes) runs the risk of disempowering talent. Organisations can’t grow if they’re watering plants but not changing contaminated soil. To truly master competing priorities you’ve got to do more than juggle tasks. You need to navigate complex organisational dynamics, step out of victim mentality and take a birds eye view of where the system needs to change.
