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36 NOVEMBER 2017 | EMSWORLD.com raising any issues. You can use a reporting system that lets you track issues from shift to shift and makes a record for retrospective analysis. You can have regular meetings or conference calls among functional units to share information. In the end this issue is best addressed by awareness and constant vigilance. Always be on the lookout for someone "playing" you in this way, and you can take a few steps personally to help prevent it from happening. First, slow down in your deci- sion-making. We have a natural instinct to try to resolve issues as quickly as possible and move to the next fix, but in doing so we often skip steps and fail to get the best outcome. Ask why something is happening and if someone else has been involved in the process. Then take a few minutes to validate the information you have. Check the records, pick up a phone and call some- one or send a quick e-mail inquiry. If you have to make a snap decision and it turns out you got played, don't let that go unad- dressed. Make sure you close that loop with the other supervisor or manager involved and go back to the employee and ensure it never happens again. 3. Lateralize Yourself It's extremely common for leaders to fall into the trap of staying in their own domains. They end up in a silo or get "ivory tower" syndrome. Maybe you're overworked, so it's all you can do just to get your own work done. Or perhaps you have a colleague who's not pulling their weight, and if you look over the fence into their area, you'll get sucked into doing their work in addition to yours. The most successful managers work diligently to break down the silo walls and know what's going on in other functional areas. This is very hard work, as it requires additional effort to work outside your com- fort zone. Often other managers will see this as threatening and might not want to share their toys in the sandbox. The key to solving this issue, as discussed above, is regular communications. If you share your toys, people are more likely to share theirs in return. Give information, look for collabora- tive solutions and remember that the goal is a department that excels. 4. Vary Your Communication Eve r yo n e h a s th e ir s tr e n g th s an d weaknesses, and that extends to their methods of communication. Some people excel at written communications, while others are skilled at public speaking. Some people prefer e-mail or telephone calls or memoranda. In fact, some people are terrible at communicating and prefer to keep their heads down and not be noticed. This is not, unfortunately, a recipe for long- term leadership success. You should learn multiple ways of com- municating, because your employees have different ways of consuming information. If you're a verbal rock star, preferring to talk to people face to face or via telephone, you're going to miss an entire segment of the population with whom you can't make personal contact. Similarly, if your prefer- ence is to shoot off a quick e-mail, there are large numbers of people who skim those without really processing the information or just delete them without ever reading them. Remember the marketing rule that peo- ple do not retain a message until they've heard it three times. If you're concentrating on one form of communication over oth- ers, you're not getting your message heard. Finally, with written communications have a second person proofread every sin- gle thing you send out to both general and "important" audiences. Nothing destroys your credibility faster than having a spelling or grammatical error in your e-mail or letter. It's also extremely helpful to have someone watch your back for tone and for sensitive topics you might have missed. Have a trust- ed source help you with this process—it will improve your communication, help break down those silos and prevent you from being embarrassed. 5. Learn How to Manage Time In hiring employees I believe the single most important quality to look for is a strong work ethic. You can teach people the skills of a job, but you cannot reach them how to be a hard worker. Similarly, once you reach the manager level, the most important skill you can learn is time management. You can learn or develop the functional skills you need to do your job, but not if you don't have enough time to get the job done. The first part of time management is to learn how to budget time. Learn how long it takes to get things done, and make sure you have enough time to make them happen. Set deadlines knowing how long it will take to accomplish tasks. Calculate travel time to and from meetings, including walking, so you're not late. And be realistic about your expectations, as you're only hurting yourself if you underbudget. Next, develop a system for managing your calendar and ongoing tasks. There are countless systems for this, from pen and paper to extremely advanced electronic systems. Figure out what works for you and make sure it works with the technology in your system. Don't keep a paper calendar nobody else can see if your department expects you to put all your appointments in Outlook so people can send you invites. The most important part of your system is that it has to be with you where you work. If you have a paper planner in your office, it's not going to do you any good at a meet- ing out of the office. If you have Outlook on your desktop computer but cannot access it remotely, it presents similar issues. Look for interoperable solutions, but those you can use wherever you're working. Finally, protect your time as much as you can. There are constant, regular ero- sions of this precious resource in the work- place. People will invite you to meetings you don't need to attend or schedule meetings where a phone call or e-mail might suffice. They will schedule meetings at times that interrupt your normal workflow and limit your productivity. But you can also have self-inflicted wounds when it comes to time management: Distractions to answer e-mails or telephone calls while working on a project will derail your activity, and it takes longer to get back on task than to keep working in the first place. Try to limit the periods where you answer e-mails and The most successful managers work diligently to break down silo walls and know what's going on in other functional areas. This requires additional effort to work outside your comfort zone.