Why Your To-Do List Never Gets Done

Managers, on average, spend just over two days of every work week doing tasks that they should not be doing. And new research suggests that organizational systems are more of a hindrance than a help. Results from a new study found that, on average, managers were operating at just 55% of effectiveness. The research findings were recently unveiled at a global conference of management consultants, executives and government officials in South Korea.

So why are most managers not as productive as they would like to be? Well, first of all, it is not their fault, said Mr. Dwight Mihalicz, a co-researcher of the study told the audience in presenting the findings. Most managers, he said, are hard-working and well-meaning.

The problem appears to be a lack of understanding about the key drivers that impact effectiveness. The reality, said Mr. Mihalicz, is that the research that could have helped executives eliminate this waste of talent, time and money just did not exist. In fact, Mr. Mihalicz was unable to find any academic studies quantifying manager effectiveness.

That is why Mr. Mihalicz, President of Effective Managers^TM and Prof. Swee Goh of the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa partnered to fill this void in the management sciences literature, and to help CEOs understand how they can improve productivity in their organizations. The research is focused on measuring the effectiveness of managers in organizations and understanding the key drivers that impact effectiveness.

In a study of more than 200 manager participants in eight organizations, the researchers found that managers only spend 55% of their time on value-added work, that is, work appropriate for their position and capability. The rest of their time was spent doing work they weren’t hired to do or performing tasks that could be delegated to an administrative support position.

More importantly, the researchers have identified key measures that correlate with manager ineffectiveness. There are six measures that correlate directly with manager effectiveness, and a seventh measure that is an indicator. If a CEO can understand the relationships between these measures and effectiveness in their organizations, action can be taken that will improve manager effectiveness.

The research findings have important ramifications for the success of an organization. According to Gallup, work groups that are ineffectively managed are 50% less productive and 44% less profitable.

“Imagine a 10% increase in productivity in an organization with 100 managers – it’s like engaging an extra 10 managers to focus on key organizational objectives,” said Mr. Mihalicz. “The opportunities for improvement are tremendous.”

More information on the survey approach, the researchers, and the findings can be found here.