On Getting Big Things Done
How to accomplish your biggest goals when you're drowning in urgent tasks and running on empty
Within a year, I was able to implement a plan for free community college, draft and release a state plan for higher education, and develop a new funding formula for New Jersey’s public colleges and universities. On a shoestring budget and with a staff of less than 20 people (this was AFTER I went on a hiring spree) no less.
Recently at a grantee convening for a funder, I was asked, how was I able to do all of this in such a short time frame? Of course, I didn’t do it alone. I led a small but mighty team and took a self-led crash course on leadership and project management. I want to share with you some of what I learned about accomplishing great things with limited time, capacity, and resources, in case you too have bold vision but always feel crunched for time and energy.
The Mandate
When I started as the Secretary of Higher Education for the state of New Jersey, I had a mandate from the Governor: help me to enact free community college for students in the state. This had been a key campaign promise, and now that he was elected, the Governor was looking for someone to help him implement what had been portrayed by his detractors during the campaign as a fanciful, impractical idea.
During our first conversations about the role, he also mentioned an interest in developing a state plan for higher education and a funding formula for its 4-year colleges and universities. College presidents in the state had been pressing him on both issues.
So, I came into the role of Secretary with a clear sense of what I wanted to accomplish: develop a policy outline and implementation plan for free community college, develop a funding formula for the state’s public 4-year colleges, and develop a state plan for higher education. Clear, simple–right?
Reality Check: Day 1
Of course, this is a tall order at any time, but it is especially challenging when, as I realized on Day 1 in office, you have very few staff and those that do work there are already overworked and underpaid. After some weeks trying to power through with myself and my deputy, I realized I needed help–and a lot of it.
I realized I needed not only people-power in the form of more humans, but I also needed to up my own game in terms of leadership and management. I had managed people before, but not at this scale and not with this level of responsibility.
I had managed people before, but not at this scale and not with this level of responsibility.
So, I found resources where I could. (Shoestring budget, remember?) I took a course on “Managing to Change the World” at the Management Center. I dug into book after book on leading teams and people. I listened to podcasts on effective management and leadership. I basically went down the rabbit hole on how to lead people and manage my time most effectively. None of the resources I found offered specific leadership advice for those working in government; but I adapted to my circumstances.
What I found in this journey was that most of our management and leadership challenges are not novel–some version of each challenge has been encountered by someone else. The real challenge is in being humble enough to realize when you need help and then in figuring out how to adapt the lesson for your individual context.
You will likely have trouble accomplishing your most challenging goals and feel constantly overwhelmed unless you look beyond yourself for guidance and create some systems and structures to support your work.
So, what did I learn from this plunge into the world of leadership and management of myself and others? In a previous post, I mention that we are often bringing our worst selves to perhaps society’s most important moment of this generation. I shared a list of books you can read to help you work smarter, not harder.
But you’re busy- you barely even have time to read this post. (Thank you in advance.) What can you do if you don’t feel like you have the time to dig into it all?
Three Things You Can Do Right Now
If you don’t have time to read the books, but still want to do something to work towards bringing a better version of yourself to the moment, I have three suggestions for what to do in the near term. You can even start right now.
Make time to set some goals for the year.
This is a perfect time of year to do some reflection and goal-setting for the year ahead. Notice that I didn’t say “set some goals”-- the first step is actually to find the time to do this thoughtfully. You’ll need to find a good chunk of time if you want to do this well. Look at your calendar for the next 3 weeks and identify a one or two-hour block that you can dedicate to this task. (One or two days would be even better, but baby steps…)
I take time each year for a personal retreat, where I bring a planner to reflect on what happened over the past year and consider how I want to use my time, talents, and energy in the new year. A planner with guided questions like this one helps me reflect on the past year and plan for the next one.
I like to take this time solo, away from work and family distractions, but do what you can. This helps me enter the new year feeling grounded, with direction about what to prioritize and what can’t make the cut if I want to preserve my energy for the most important tasks.
Set and prioritize your goals; delegate ruthlessly for everything else.
After making time to set goals, and preparing to use that time well, you will come up with a list of things that you want to accomplish. Even if you think you can or must do everything on this list, just for kicks, prioritize your top three priorities. Then, be intentional about sharing power and tasks with others on your team and in your network for other things that need to be done. This not only helps you focus on the areas where you most want to spend your time, but also grows the capacity of your team.
I mentioned above that I accomplished three big things in one year. There were, of course, other things that came up throughout the year, and at times I had to consider whether those other things should become more important than the three things I identified.
For example, during the year the Governor announced a priority to develop the state’s wind energy plan and infrastructure and he wanted to ensure that higher education was at the table in terms of workforce development and research related to this plan. This is a fantastic goal and priority–but was NOT one of my three priorities.
So, I delegated responsibility for this work to another team member with interest and capability in this area. It was a growing opportunity for this staff member, and I still was kept abreast of major developments and milestones in the work, offering feedback and guidance along the way.
However, that person attended most major meetings on the topic (even with other cabinet members), communicated directly with business and industry leaders on the initiative, and generally led the work for our office. This allowed me the brain power and capacity to lead on the three things that were most important for me to accomplish.
Prioritize your day.
Decide what 3 things are most important in a day and put your focus there. Similar to prioritizing your annual goals, at some point you realize that you cannot do it all at once, even as frustrating as that is to come to grips with. You will disappoint some people and that’s ok.
You can either acknowledge this and decide what those three things will be, or you can neglect this and have the day determine at random what you are able to accomplish. So, before you move forward with the next task, take 5 minutes to figure out what the most important things are for you to accomplish today, and figure out when you will take time to get them done. Hopefully the things you prioritize each day and week are connected to the major goals you have set for yourself at the outset of the year.
If you’re like me, your to-do list includes dozens of items that all feel incredibly urgent and/or important. It IS a real challenge to prioritize and to accept that there are some things that may not get done today. Building the habit of taking time each day (and/or week) to prioritize what must happen above all else (in ways that are connected to the goals you set for yourself) and then identifying the time in the day when you will be able to work on these items will transform your ability to do big things.
My Daily Practice
Something I do (almost) every single workday is sit down with my planner, look at my goals for the week, and determine what I need to get done today to advance those goals. I literally write these three things out by hand.
Then, I look at my calendar for the day (this step is key!) and after a quick review of what I have on my docket for the day, I see what time within the day I have to get these three things done.
If I have back to back meetings scheduled all day, but these three things are literally must-do items, I must either 1) acknowledge that they will need to happen after work hours or 2) cancel something on my calendar to make time for my priorities. This is mundane and tough, but it doesn’t take long, and has been a profoundly impactful practice for me.
The Learning
I learned these things the hard way in real time—on the job as Secretary of Higher Education in New Jersey. There was simply too much to do in a given day to NOT delegate, and too much on the line to NOT share power with my team. I was forced to prioritize or risk not getting anything done. I am not perfect, and am still learning these lessons each day, but abiding by these principles (among others) allowed me to accomplish those big goals in a short amount of time. I hope you’re able to take these insights and use them to advance goals in your work as well.
***I’ll likely write more about each of these topics in greater detail in the future, as I know I’ve only scratched the surface here. As I plan for future posts, I’d love to know: What resonated with you? What would you like to see me write more about?