End Teaching People to “Organize” When Your Organization Has No Idea What Actually Should Be Priority: Why Task Management Training Is Useless in Dysfunctional Workplaces
Let me going to destroy one of the biggest popular myths in workplace training: the assumption that teaching workers more effective “time organization” methods will resolve time management issues in workplaces that have no clear priorities themselves.
After nearly two decades of consulting with organizations on productivity problems, I can tell you that time planning training in a dysfunctional organization is like teaching someone to organize their possessions while their house is currently burning down around them.
This is the core issue: nearly all companies dealing with from productivity crises do not have productivity challenges – they have leadership problems.
Standard task organization training assumes that workplaces have consistent, reliable priorities that staff can be taught to recognize and work toward. Such idea is completely disconnected from actual workplace conditions in the majority of contemporary companies.
I worked with a significant marketing agency where staff were continuously expressing frustration about being “failing to manage their responsibilities effectively.” Leadership had poured massive sums on priority planning training for each staff.
Their training covered all the usual techniques: urgency-importance systems, ABC classification methods, time organization techniques, and sophisticated task tracking software.
However efficiency kept to get worse, employee overwhelm rates increased, and client quality results got longer, not better.
When I examined what was really going on, I found the underlying cause: the company at the leadership level had absolutely no clear strategic focus.
Let me share what the typical experience looked like for workers:
Regularly: Executive executives would declare that Initiative A was the “top focus” and everyone must to focus on it as soon as possible
24 hours later: A separate senior executive would announce an “immediate” email stating that Initiative B was now the “top important” objective
Day three: A third team manager would call an “urgent” meeting to announce that Project C was a “essential” requirement that required to be delivered by end of week
The following day: The initial executive executive would voice anger that Client A hadn’t been completed as expected and require to know why staff weren’t “prioritizing” it properly
End of week: Every three clients would be behind, several deadlines would be failed, and staff would be criticized for “poor time organization abilities”
Such pattern was happening week after week, regularly after month. Absolutely no amount of “priority organization” training was able to help employees manage this organizational chaos.
This fundamental challenge wasn’t that workers didn’t know how to organize – it was that the agency at every level was entirely incapable of maintaining stable priorities for more than 48 hours at a time.
The team persuaded executives to eliminate their concentration on “individual task organization” training and rather establish what I call “Organizational Direction Systems.”
In place of attempting to show employees to organize within a constantly changing system, we worked on building real organizational direction:
Created a central executive decision-making group with clear responsibility for determining and enforcing organizational priorities
Implemented a structured project assessment system that occurred monthly rather than constantly
Established written criteria for when initiatives could be modified and what degree of approval was required for such modifications
Created required communication procedures to ensure that all project adjustments were shared explicitly and to everyone across every teams
Established protection periods where absolutely no project disruptions were permitted without exceptional justification
This improvement was instant and outstanding:
Worker frustration levels dropped substantially as people finally understood what they were expected to be focusing on
Output rose by over 50% within six weeks as employees could actually concentrate on finishing tasks rather than constantly switching between conflicting priorities
Work quality results got better significantly as departments could coordinate and complete tasks without constant disruptions and re-prioritization
External relationships increased dramatically as deliverables were genuinely finished as promised and to requirements
This point: prior to you show employees to manage tasks, guarantee your organization actually possesses stable direction that are suitable for prioritizing.
This is one more way that priority organization training fails in poorly-run workplaces: by presupposing that workers have genuine control over their work and priorities.
I worked with a government agency where workers were constantly being blamed for “poor time planning” and sent to “productivity” training sessions.
The truth was that these workers had almost absolutely no control over their work schedules. Here’s what their normal workday looked like:
About 60% of their schedule was occupied by mandatory conferences that they had no option to avoid, regardless of whether these sessions were useful to their core job
A further significant portion of their time was dedicated to completing mandatory documentation and bureaucratic obligations that contributed no usefulness to their primary job or to the citizens they were intended to help
This final small portion of their schedule was expected to be dedicated for their actual responsibilities – the activities they were employed to do and that actually mattered to the organization
However even this tiny portion of time was constantly disrupted by “emergency” requests, last-minute meetings, and management requirements that couldn’t be delayed
With these circumstances, no degree of “time organization” training was going to help these employees turn more productive. This issue wasn’t their individual task organization techniques – it was an organizational framework that ensured productive activity almost unattainable.
The team assisted them create structural changes to resolve the actual barriers to effectiveness:
Eliminated pointless meetings and implemented strict requirements for when gatherings were actually justified
Reduced bureaucratic requirements and got rid of redundant reporting requirements
Established reserved time for core job responsibilities that couldn’t be invaded by non-essential demands
Created clear procedures for deciding what represented a legitimate “emergency” versus standard demands that could be planned for scheduled periods
Created task distribution processes to make certain that tasks was allocated appropriately and that not any employee was carrying excessive load with impossible demands
Staff productivity increased dramatically, work happiness increased substantially, and the agency finally commenced providing improved services to the citizens they were meant to serve.
The crucial lesson: companies can’t address productivity issues by teaching people to work better efficiently within chaotic structures. Organizations must repair the organizations before anything else.
Now let’s examine possibly the biggest absurd element of time planning training in chaotic workplaces: the belief that staff can magically prioritize responsibilities when the company at leadership level modifies its priorities numerous times per day.
I consulted with a technology startup where the CEO was famous for having “innovative” insights multiple times per period and demanding the complete company to instantly redirect to accommodate each new priority.
Staff would show up at work on Monday with a specific awareness of their tasks for the day, only to discover that the leadership had concluded overnight that all work they had been working on was no longer relevant and that they must to instantly begin working on something completely unrelated.
That cycle would repeat numerous times per month. Initiatives that had been announced as “critical” would be abandoned before completion, departments would be repeatedly moved to alternative projects, and massive quantities of effort and investment would be lost on work that were ultimately not delivered.
Their company had invested heavily in “flexible work planning” training and advanced project management tools to enable workers “respond efficiently” to evolving requirements.
Yet no amount of skill development or software could address the fundamental problem: you can’t efficiently prioritize perpetually shifting directions. Continuous modification is the enemy of effective organization.
We assisted them create what I call “Focused Priority Stability”:
Created quarterly strategic review periods where significant strategy adjustments could be discussed and approved
Developed strict criteria for what constituted a legitimate justification for modifying established objectives apart from the scheduled planning sessions
Created a “objective consistency” time where absolutely no changes to set priorities were permitted without extraordinary justification
Implemented defined notification procedures for when direction modifications were genuinely essential, including complete consequence evaluations of what work would be interrupted
Required written sign-off from several decision-makers before any significant strategy modifications could be enacted
Their improvement was remarkable. Within 90 days, real project completion statistics increased by over 300%. Staff frustration levels dropped substantially as staff could actually work on finishing work rather than continuously initiating new ones.
Creativity remarkably improved because groups had sufficient resources to fully develop and test their concepts rather than continuously moving to new projects before any project could be properly finished.
This reality: effective planning requires directions that remain unchanged long enough for people to genuinely concentrate on them and complete meaningful progress.
This is what I’ve concluded after decades in this field: time organization training is exclusively effective in organizations that already have their leadership systems functioning.
When your company has stable business objectives, reasonable workloads, competent decision-making, and systems that support rather than obstruct productive activity, then priority planning training can be helpful.
However if your company is marked by perpetual chaos, competing priorities, incompetent planning, unrealistic workloads, and crisis-driven management cultures, then time management training is more harmful than ineffective – it’s directly destructive because it faults personal choices for organizational failures.
Stop squandering resources on time organization training until you’ve addressed your leadership dysfunction before anything else.
Begin establishing workplaces with stable business direction, competent management, and processes that really enable meaningful accomplishment.
Company workers will prioritize perfectly well once you offer them direction suitable for focusing on and an organization that genuinely supports them in doing their responsibilities. overwhelmed with unrealistic demands
Staff productivity rose dramatically, work satisfaction increased notably, and their department finally commenced delivering improved outcomes to the citizens they were supposed to serve.
That important point: organizations won’t be able to address productivity issues by teaching people to work better productively within broken organizations. You need to improve the structures initially.
Currently let’s address perhaps the greatest absurd component of priority planning training in dysfunctional companies: the assumption that staff can somehow manage work when the management as a whole changes its priorities several times per week.
We consulted with a software business where the executive leadership was well-known for going through “brilliant” ideas multiple times per period and expecting the entire organization to instantly shift to pursue each new direction.
Workers would come at work on regularly with a specific knowledge of their objectives for the day, only to learn that the CEO had concluded overnight that everything they had been working on was not relevant and that they needed to instantly begin concentrating on an initiative totally different.
That cycle would repeat several times per month. Projects that had been declared as “critical” would be abandoned before completion, groups would be constantly re-assigned to alternative work, and enormous quantities of time and work would be lost on initiatives that were not completed.
Their startup had spent extensively in “adaptive work organization” training and complex task tracking tools to assist staff “adjust quickly” to shifting directions.
But absolutely no amount of training or tools could overcome the core problem: you cannot effectively prioritize continuously evolving directions. Perpetual change is the enemy of good prioritization.
The team helped them create what I call “Disciplined Direction Stability”:
Established regular planning review periods where important priority changes could be discussed and approved
Established firm criteria for what represented a legitimate basis for modifying established objectives beyond the regular planning periods
Established a “direction consistency” period where no adjustments to established objectives were acceptable without exceptional approval
Implemented clear notification systems for when direction modifications were absolutely essential, with thorough consequence evaluations of what work would be interrupted
Mandated written approval from senior stakeholders before any major strategy changes could be enacted
This change was dramatic. After three months, measurable initiative completion statistics rose by more than three times. Staff frustration levels dropped significantly as people could finally work on completing work rather than repeatedly initiating new ones.
Creativity remarkably increased because teams had adequate time to fully explore and refine their solutions rather than continuously moving to new initiatives before any work could be properly developed.
This point: successful organization demands priorities that keep unchanged long enough for people to really focus on them and accomplish significant progress.
Here’s what I’ve learned after years in this field: task planning training is exclusively useful in companies that genuinely have their leadership priorities functioning.
When your company has clear strategic priorities, achievable workloads, functional decision-making, and systems that facilitate rather than prevent efficient performance, then priority management training can be beneficial.
Yet if your organization is marked by constant dysfunction, conflicting messages, inadequate planning, impossible demands, and reactive leadership cultures, then task organization training is worse than useless – it’s systematically destructive because it holds responsible employee performance for organizational dysfunction.
Stop wasting money on task organization training until you’ve fixed your systemic priorities first.
Start building workplaces with clear business focus, competent management, and processes that really enable meaningful accomplishment.
Your employees will prioritize perfectly well once you give them priorities suitable for focusing on and an environment that genuinely supports them in doing their work.
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