Productivity isn’t just about doing more—it’s about doing what matters most in the most efficient way possible.
Balancing strategic decision-making with day-to-day operations and personal development can be overwhelming but with the right approach, it’s possible.
Here are four actionable ways you can start focusing on productivity as a leader.
Practice Time Blocking
Time blocking is a time management technique where you divide your day into dedicated blocks of time. This method helps maximize focus and productivity by preventing distractions and multitasking.
This system is especially beneficial for leaders who tend to get pulled in many different directions, which is most leaders these days. In fact, Inc. shared that managers are struggling with productivity, “ranking their ability to minimize distractions and interruptions for their team at only 5.3 on a 1-10 scale.”
“Creative productivity thrives when balanced with intentional energy management. Capture what you need to do, but also manage your energy with time blocking,” shared Rachel Wolfe, Business Advisor and Chief Integration Officer at The Miracle Manager.
Time blocking doesn’t just apply to getting work done; you can use it to schedule office hours, breaks, time to eat, stretch, take a walk, or read.
If your behavioral style is less structured and you balk at the thought of so much scheduling, understand that you can adjust time blocking to your needs. At the very least, it will give you a better sense of how your time is being spent.
Focus on Continuous Learning
It might feel counterintuitive to take on more information if you’re looking to increase productivity, but continuous learning is actually a productivity booster. Focusing on continuous learning can stave off complacency and increase personal engagement, all while updating your skills and knowledge.
Gallup research highlights that companies that actively invest in continuous learning see a 17% increase in productivity and a 21% boost in profitability. This is because a sense of learning leads to better, more efficient ways to accomplish tasks and keeps employees invested in work.
Executive leaders can get siloed in their positions; that happens when they stop being curious, rely on others to keep them up to date with new information and processes, or lose perspective compared to their entry-level employees. This disconnect impacts their productivity and the productivity of their organizations because it takes extra time to get leaders up to speed and can affect the engagement of teams. “If our executives can’t be bothered to know this, why should I?” might be a question your employees find themselves asking.
Continuous learning prevents this isolation; by taking a curious, learning-first approach, leaders will focus on their development and demonstrate a growth mindset for their teams.
Delegate Effectively
You might feel pressure to do it all as a leader, but that approach is going to lead to stress and, eventually, burnout.
Empower your team by assigning tasks that align with their strengths, freeing you to focus on strategic decisions. Assessments can clearly demonstrate what your employees are skilled at and passionate about, helping you know where to delegate.
“Letting go is the most difficult thing to do, for every leader, but the most critical to scaling and achieving personal and professional freedom to focus on what you love to do, and where you have the most impact,” said Rachel.
Rachel shared that doing so requires a clarity on vision and a true understanding of your personal super powers. Leaders should focus on those and delegate everything else. “If you are trying to be everything to everyone, you will be nothing to no one,” she said.
Build the Right Relationships
“Being more productive is all about relationships,” said Whit Mitchell, Executive Coach and Team Dynamics Specialist at Price Associates. “As a leader, you need to build the right relationships to help your productivity.”
When Whit works with executive clients, he has a system for how they set goals together. The executive will select a group of people. This group can be made up of direct reports, peers, or entry-level employees, and they give feedback about how the leader can achieve their goals.
“The group then offers feedback over the coaching period,” Whit explained. “We want extremely specific and truthful feedback from that trusted group, and ask them to pick something they’d like to sharpen as well. When I check in with the executive client, I also check in on the development of the selected group.”
This method of leadership development boosts the productivity of the leader and their team, no matter the goal. Focusing on self-improvement, actionable feedback, and consideration of others helps increase engagement, quality of work, and trust in each other.
Remember, building productivity as a leader is a marathon, not a sprint—by building habits thoughtfully and implementing practices like time blocking, continuous learning, delegating effectively, and tracking progress through meaningful relationships, you can create a leadership style that is both efficient and sustainable.
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