Are You Spending Your Time Correctly?

Source:  Northwestern University

I'm looking forward to reading Harry Kraemer's new book, Your 168: Finding Purpose and Satisfaction in a Values-Based Life. Kraemer is the retired CEO of Baxter Healthcare and currently executive partner with Madison Dearborn Partners, a private equity firm based in Chicago. Kraemer also serves on the faculty at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern.   Kraemer describes a challenging exercise we can and should undertake to examine how we are spending our time each week.   Here's an excerpt from the Kellogg Insight description of the self-reflection activity:

Make a grid with six rows for each of the major aspects of your life, which Kramer defines for everyone as career, family, health, spirituality, fun, and volunteering. Then decide how much of your time you would ideally like to be devoting to each of these activities. Next, figure out how much you actually are devoting. Finally, calculate the difference.

“Only attempt this exercise if you’re in a really good mood,” cautions Kraemer, the former CEO of Baxter International who is now a clinical professor of leadership at Kellogg. The reason: very few people match what they want to be doing with what they actually are doing.

“Every one of us has 168 hours” in a week, Kraemer says. “Do you know where you’re spending your time? And are you spending it where you believe it matters most?”

The exercise indeed may be eye-opening and perhaps will challenge us in ways for which we are not fully prepared.  However, I think we could all benefit from this opportunity for self-reflection. 

Self-Reflection, Blind Spots, and Your Team

I recently read a terrific blog post by Peter Friedes, retired CEO of Hewitt Associates. He writes about the importance of self-reflection for leaders. He begins by noting that, "We humans tend to evaluate others through the lens of our own best traits."  In other words, if someone has strengths similar to our own, we tend to evaluate them very positively.   On the other hand, he notes that, "Less flexible managers undervalue traits they are not personally good at."   That's one reason we end up hiring people who are fery similar to us.  

Friedes argues that we should take a slightly different approach.  We should engage in self-reflection, identify our strengths AND weaknesses, and evaluate others accordingly.   We should not undervalue the skills and capabilities that we lack.  Instead, we should look for people who excel where we do not.   A good team has people with complementary skills and abilities.  Moreover, we should then try to learn from the people around us, so that we can enhance our own capabilities.   

Friedes argues that self-reflection can help us think about whether we are undervaluing people whose strengths differ from our own. Given that the end of year is approaching, it seems a good time to consider his advice and look in the mirror a bit. Of course, the best leaders engage in self-reflection on a routine basis, not just at the end of the year. Consider Harry Kraemer, former CEO of Baxter International.  For years, he has advocated for the value of 15 minutes of self-reflection on a daily basis.  At the end of each day, Kraemer thinks about his priorities and his values. Kellogg Insight explains a bit about his nightly routine: 

Of course, after priorities have been defined, it is important for action to follow. To prevent a gulf between word and deed, Kraemer writes out his self-reflection each night, creating a record of what he has done and what he says he will do. He also checks continuously with family, friends, and close colleagues to ensure he is holding himself accountable and “not living in some fantasy land.”

The Importance of Self-Reflection

Former Baxter International CEO Harry Kraemer recently described an important daily ritual to Kellogg Insights (Kraemer now teaches at Kellogg).  Kraemer has engaged in a nightly practice of self-reflection for nearly four decades.  He found this ritual highly useful throughout his career as a very successful business executive.  Kraemer argues that self-reflection has three important benefits:

1. It helps you set priorities and adjust them over time.   You can evaluate whether you are dedicating time, attention, and other resources in a way that is aligned with your priorities.  
2. It protects you against the possibility of a painful surprise.  Self-reflection enables you to anticipate what might go wrong and be better prepared for those contingencies.  
3. It helps you lead your team more effectively.  You can assess how the team is performing and what adjustments need to be made to enhance performance (including changes in the way you lead the team).