Introduction
You will find that, as Headteacher of a school, you find your time, as a resource, is very scarce. It is impossible to store, or stretch, or restore, once it has passed. As a Headteacher you will appreciate how important it is for you to manage your time if you wish to achieve your objectives. Consequently, you and your staff will need to reflect regularly on how you use your time to ensure that you are making the best use of it. Making the best use of the available time is a key element of good management. It is the aim of this unit to help you become a better time manager as part of your own self‑development.
Individual study time: 4 hours
Learning outcomes
By the end of this unit you should be able to:
· list your main tasks which take up your time
· identify your main time wasters and time savers
· budget your time accordingly
· design and implement your own action programme on time management
· build up more disposable time
· rank tasks in the order of their importance
· delegate effectively.
Understanding the role of the school Headteacher
Before you can manage your time efficiently, you should first know and thoroughly understand the tasks you are expected to perform. It is worth your while to refer to Unit 4 on 'Job Analysis' before proceeding. Once you have mastered the tasks you are expected to perform, you will be in a better position to determine which ones you have to do as a Headteacher and which ones you can delegate. This will further assist you in allocating time to each task.
Activity 5.1
1) List what you believe are the major types of task a Headteacher is expected to perform.
2) Divide the types into those important ones you must undertake yourself and those you can delegate.
3) Allocate time to each task you perform. This may be done by using percentages. Thus in a 40 hour week, 4 hours = 10 per cent
4) Ensure that you describe the role as a leader and not just an administrator
5) Ensure that you include monitoring and evaluation (clinical supervision) as a significant proportion of your work
Comments
We hope you have identified a number of broad types of tasks you are expected to perform, namely:
· setting the standards of the school
· monitoring the quality of learning and teaching
· coaching and developing staff
· personnel duties: management of personnel issues
· thinking: allocating time to creative tasks designed to improve the operations of your school
· problem‑solving: allocating time to solving unexpected and routine problems.
· routine tasks: duties repeated at specific periods (daily, weekly or monthly)
In an ideal world, a Headteacher who is a leader would not be carrying out routine tasks as this is not the best use of his / her time. Such tasks should be delegated. However, it is understood that limited human resources may mean that there is no-one to delegate to.
Having a clear understanding of how you spend your days will help you to identify the main ways you spend your time. Having a clear understanding of what your duties are will assist you to rank the users of your time in order of their importance. It may surprise you to discover that the operations of your school would not be adversely affected if you did not attend to some of your time users or if someone else attended to them on your behalf!
Activity 5.2
Fig 3 above shows some of the parties / issues that claim the use of your time. In the light of your own experience, fill in the rest of the boxes. (The boxes are drawn in different sizes to help suggest differences in the amount of time each party / issue may claim. If you need more boxes then add them in.
Activity 5.3
Fig 4 shows potential time wasters in Column 1. Indicate the causes of these time wasters in Column 2. Leave Column 3 for the moment.
Comments
Arising from this activity, you should now realize that all the parties / issues listed above are not only time users but also potential time wasters. You will need to plan and budget your time and determine criteria for deciding which parties / issues you have to attend to as a Headteacher. In particular, it is important for you to make time available just for yourself, for preparation, reading, training and planning.
Fig 4 Potential time wasters
TIME WASTERS POSSIBLE CAUSES SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS
1) Lack of planning
2) Lack of priorities
3) Over‑commitment
4) Management by crisis
5) Paperwork & reading
6) Meetings
7) Indecision
8) Unclear objectives
9) Postponed decisions
10) Procrastination
11) Lack of delegation
12) Lack of self‑discipline
13) Unnecessary meetings
14) Lack of managerial skills
15) Incompetent subordinates
16) Inconsistent actions
17) Socialising & interrupting others
18) Cannot say 'No'
Comments
From this activity we hope you will now appreciate that some of the time wasters may be caused by yourself! It is essential that you always bear in mind the central purpose of your being in the school as follows:-
Once you have identified these time wasters you need to take steps to eliminate them, delegate them or minimise them. That is, anything that stands in the way of this central purpose. The process of eliminating time wasters is not an easy one. It involves tight budgeting of your time and developing efficient work habits. Efficient time management is a process that takes time and, like everything else the manager does, should be continuously reviewed and refined.
We hope you now have a clear picture of what constitutes time wasters. In the next section we will explore ways through which you can prune off time wasters, thus managing your time more efficiently.
Strategies for saving time
Activity 5.4
Now complete Column 3 'Suggested Solutions' in Fig 4.
Comments
Here is a checklist of some solutions to the time wasters listed in Column 1. See how many you got and whether you have any additional suggestions:
¨ recognizing the importance of planning
¨ completing a well structured School Improvement Plan (Strategic Plan)
¨ formulating a clear vision for the school with selected objectives and targets which have been discussed and agreed with your staff
¨ learning to say 'No'
¨ tackling the most difficult issue first to clear it from your mind
¨ putting first things first
¨ encouraging rapid communication
¨ taking time to do a task well to avoid having to do it again
¨ differentiating between urgent and important tasks
¨ attempting less and delegating more
¨ reading selectively
¨ taking time to plan
¨ setting goals and sticking to them
¨ screening visitors
¨ screening and grouping telephone calls
¨ staying uninvolved with all but the essentials
¨ not planning or attending unnecessary meetings
¨ getting facts, setting targets and investigating alternatives
¨ training subordinates well and allowing for mistakes
¨ giving credit to your subordinates.
Delegation
As a Headteacher, you will appreciate that one way of creating more time for yourself is to ask some of your staff members to perform some of your duties on your behalf. This is what delegation is all about. It may also have an added advantage of helping to create a team spirit amongst staff. But before you delegate you must take steps to ensure that it won't lead to confusion.
Activity 5.5
What steps would you suggest you should take before you delegate some of your duties and responsibilities to your staff?
Comments
You may have identified some of the following:
¨ identifying the strengths and weaknesses of your staff
¨ recognizing the existing skills and competencies of your staff
¨ clarifying your own attitude towards those with whom you work
¨ ensuring you have the necessary authority to delegate
¨ preparing a clear statement of the task to be delegated
¨ getting acceptance and commitment from the delegates
¨ establishing control or checking mechanisms
¨ having a “no blame” “risk taking” culture
If you delegate effectively, you will find yourself doing mostly those tasks which you alone have the necessary qualifications, authority and judgement to do. This will free you to devote your time to creative thinking and reading. Thus to delegate means to manage time and this means working better, not harder or quicker.
Building efficient work habits
Once you have identified old habits that lead to time wasting, you should take steps to eliminate these by:
¨ beginning a deliberate campaign against the old habits
¨ not tolerating exceptions
¨ beginning straight away to change your behaviour and not waiting
¨ getting started
¨ avoiding decision‑dodging by committees.
Persistence and determination can produce dramatic results that are well worth your effort.
Avoiding the dangers of working too hard
1) What do you think are the physical, professional and psychological dangers of working too hard?
2) How do you think these manifest themselves?
The job of a Headteacher, when carried out properly with dedication, can be a very challenging one. Apart from the feeling of isolation and the fact that the success or failure of the school, and indeed of the children, lies in your hands, there are numerous facets to the role. This is why it is essential that, as an individual, you look after your own health and wellbeing as a first priority as no one else is likely to do it for you.
Sometimes, one who always puts the job first and works very long hours is referred to as a “workaholic”. Such people often try to do too much, expect the same from others and are in serious danger of damaging their own health and lifestyle. Sometimes it is necessary to work like this for short periods of time but one must recognize what is happening and take precautions. This is sometimes caused by a lack of planning and poor budgeting of time, resulting in the workaholic having far too much to do.
The physical and psychological dangers of not “keeping everything in perspective” can be numerous and must be avoided at all costs as they can be seriously injurious to health and wellbeing. They are sometimes caused by some of the following
¨ over‑dedication to work
¨ compulsive belief in task completion
¨ pushing oneself to the limit
¨ having a disorderly work routine
¨ failure to delegate appropriately
¨ working long hours in the workplace and taking work home
¨ crisis management
¨ never taking a vacation
¨ setting too tight deadlines and failing to meet them.
If this profile fits you, you may need to look at your planning and take immediate action. Prioritize your tasks and determine which need to be completed first, which can be delegated and which can wait. You can only be on top of the situation if you manage your time carefully.
Being aware of myths on time
Many people believe that working hard will, of necessity, lead to the attainment of the desired goals. However, as a Headteacher you will appreciate that you become less efficient if you spend too much time on one task. The fact is that work tends to expand to fill up the available time. You are sure to have experienced it at your work place, where eight hours of work can easily stretch into twelve hours.
You will find that the less time you assign to a task the more work you get done.
There is, in fact, no direct relationship between hard work and positive results. What is true is that time spent on planning can save several hours' work. Furthermore, some people believe that the most active person gets the best results. It is, however, true that many active individuals have no objectives and plans and therefore do not get results. To become an effective time manager avoid these myths or misconceptions.
Remember the old adage:
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”
Time log or inventory
Before you can begin to manage your time effectively, you must know how you are using it now. A time log will help you discover where you may be wasting your time and indicate to you how you can become more efficient.
1) List all the activities or tasks that you perform in a day or a week.
2) Allocate time to each activity or task.
3) Objectively analyse whether you are using your time effectively.
Comments
After logging your activities for a day or a week it is likely you will discover a few surprises in the manner you have been using your time. It should have helped you to:
¨ calculate the time you spend socialising, doing the work of others or simply not being productive.
¨ discover the areas you are most effective in your use of time
¨ identify the areas where you are least effective
¨ determine the areas that need improvement
¨ discover that perhaps far too much time is being spent on one task
¨ realise the importance of prioritising your work
¨ discover that some of your meetings could be cancelled or given to others to attend to.
¨ realise that you cannot attend to all visitors just at their wish
¨ delegate more frequently to others. After all, how will they learn to do your job when you are no longer there to do it?
You should take the initiative to identify areas where you can save time and make the best use of the time that you save.
Having read this unit, and undertaken the activities, we hope that you have not only realised the advantages of a properly planned and budgeted use of time, but that you are going to start a programme in your school that is aimed at a more efficient use of time. Initially, this could perhaps start with the Senior Leadership Team as their efficiency or lack of it will have an impact on your own work.
In initiating such a programme you may need to consider the following:
¨ selling the idea to all SLT
¨ convincing all your staff of the benefits
¨ setting objectives in full consultation with the team
¨ setting strategies for implementation and evaluation
¨ instituting follow‑up strategies to check implementation by everyone.
Evaluation
Once your time management programme is in place, you will need to monitor its implementation and assess whether, in fact, time is being utilised in an effective and efficient manner.
A warning
Occasionally you find managers who are the opposite of what is being described above; they can be so expert at delegating that they are, in fact, quite idle. They may spend a lot of time with casual visitors, will often not meet deadlines and will be part of a blame culture, holding others responsible for issues they should have dealt with themselves . Such people usually have an autocratic leadership style. As Headteacher, this would be an inappropriate way of behaving and it would be your role to ensure that others do not act in the same way.
Summary
We hope that through this unit you are now a strong believer in time management, and that you are in a position to identify what constitutes time wasters and time savers in your job. The extent to which you are an effective school Headteacher will depend on your ability to make the best use of all your available time.
Indicate whether, in your opinion, the following statements are True or False. Write two short sentences for each to support your answer.
1. Effective use of time is a key element of good leadership.
2. Some of the main users of the Headteacher’s time could be time wasters.
3. Understanding the Headteacher’s tasks is not a prerequisite of good time management
4. Your ability as a planner is likely to have a positive or negative effect on your management of time.
5. Delegation could have positive benefits for you and your staff.
6. If your approach to delegation is inadequate, confusion could result.
7. A Headteacher who fails to take account of good time management will have a negative impact on the success of the school.
Comment
You will probably have decided that all of the above are true except for number three. The Headteacher must be very clear about the tasks that he / she is expected to undertake and the impact they will have on the school, its staff and pupils. It is worth remembering that if a task does not have a direct or indirect effect on the quality of learning and the standards in the school, it should be considered to be a very low priority or not worth doing at all.
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