Liberating the Overworked Manager: Proven Tools to Reclaim Time, Align the Organization, and Boost Human Potential

By Brian Irwin

Every day, managers suffer an onslaught of varying tasks, seemingly constant interruptions, and never-ending demands. Is your calendar filled with meetings that could have been an email? Are you bombarded by random requests, leaving you little choice but to catch

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brian Irwin Group, LLC
• Release date: Oct 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9798991460811

Brian Irwin

Brian Irwin is a Family Physician and Travel Medicine Physician. A climber, skier, fisherman and writer, Dr. Irwin’s work has been published in over a dozen magazines and newspapers. Inspired by the natural world and the cultural interactions that he has seen through his travels, he has won awards for both his writing and photography. He lives in Madison, New Hampshire, with his two sons, Andy and Reid.

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Liberating the Overworked Manager

Proven Tools to Reclaim Time, Align the Organization, and Boost Human Potential

Brian Irwin

Brian Irwin Group, LLC

Copyright © 2024 by Brian Irwin

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and expressly disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional when appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, personal, or other damages.

ISBN 979-8-9914608-0-4 paperback

ISBN 979-8-9914608-1-1 eBook

Cover Design: Bogdan Matei

1st edition 2024

This book is dedicated to the memory of my son,

Shane Irwin

While I was still writing this book, Shane tragically lost his life in a motorcycle accident—four days before his 19th birthday. He taught me more about myself and life than I could have ever learned on my own. Shane had an enormous personality, and I am so proud he was my son. I will never fully recover from his loss, but the memories of the times we shared will keep my heart filled with warmth for the rest of my life.

Two Wheels Down!

Acknowledgements

Writing a book is an endeavor that involves many people. I would first like to thank you—the reader. I hope that you receive much value from the book's contents. I sincerely appreciate you purchasing the book. If you like it, please tell others about it. If you don't like it, please tell me so I can make it better.

Bogdan Matei, thank you for an excellent cover design. I appreciate your diligence and attention to detail.

I want to extend thanks to my editor, Steve Shimchick. The feedback and suggestions you provided were invaluable and ultimately made the book better than it was when it was delivered to you.

My colleagues at the SEAM Institute and fellow SEAM intervener-researchers John Conbere, Alla Heorhiadi, Mary Demain, and Sarah Skillman have helped me polish the craft I practice. I have learned much from their collaboration. You are a pleasure to work with, and I thank you for our free exchange of ideas during our philosophical circles, but mostly for your friendship.

Finally, I'd like to thank the special lady in my life—Jill. Without your love, support, and encouragement, I would have crumbled many times. Thank you for being there when I needed you and providing a shoulder to lean on and a smile to brighten every day. I love you!

-Brian Irwin

Contents

Introduction

What Type of Manager Are These Tools For?

Your Book Roadmap

How to Read the Book

Laying the Groundwork for Liberation

From Frustration to Breakthrough

My Story

From Skepticism to Success

Conquering the Status Quo

Liberating Managers with Effective Tools

Reclaim One Month in Five Days

The Time Management Tool

Accelerate Strategy by Creating Internal Capacity

The Internal/External Strategic Action Plan

Increase Organizational Alignment and Ensure Balance

The Priority Action Plan

Avoid Becoming a Bottleneck

The Delegation Tool

Boost Human Potential

The Competency Grid

Creating a Sustainable Business Cadence

Management Tools Process Flow Diagram

Tool Synchronicity

Integrating the Tools to Maintain Alignment

Management Tools Action Checklist

A Step-by-Step Guide for Each Management Tool

Maximizing Your Management Impact

Leverage AI as Your Assistant

Prompts to Help You Manage

Grow Team Cohesion on a Deeper Level

Four Activities to Foster Human Connection and Build Trust

Hiding in Plain Sight

The Staggering Cost of the Status Quo

Should You Get Implementation Help?

Shorten Your Time-to-Results

About the Author

To begin utilizing the tools presented in the book, download your copy of the management tools workbook at:

https://www.brianirwingroup.com/5e8d905b

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Introduction

As a manager, I knew I should be spending the majority of my time aligning the organization, helping my team develop, and working on the business. Yet, I was constantly interrupted, sitting through unscheduled meetings that were unnecessary and putting out the fire of the day, which always seemed to crop up out of nowhere. With the tyranny of the urgent often interrupting and determining the day, it can feel like being in a hamster wheel. The more you do, and the faster you do, it only serves to cause the wheel to accelerate. Exceptional management isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing the right things and cutting out what doesn’t really matter.

Several years ago, while leading an agile transformation at a large organization, I was confronted with a seemingly straightforward question. The question was posed during a training class I was facilitating for a group of middle- and upper-level managers. For the majority of the day, I led them through group exercises meant to help them understand agile concepts.

Near the end of the class, an insightful director asked, How does all of this affect me? I don't see a 'manager' title or role listed in anything you covered today. What am I supposed to do differently at 9:00 a.m. on Monday morning that I was not doing at the end of the previous Friday?

The question caught me off guard. I cannot remember precisely how I responded, but I'm sure my response was more of a platitude than a firm answer. I imagine it was something along the lines of, You need to start leading in a more servant leadership style. Your job in agile is to enable the success of the teams.

While the answer was, technically, true, it did nothing to help the director understand tactically what was different in an agile model compared to a traditional waterfall delivery model. Having access to these tools would have been beneficial.

Thinking back on my time as a manager, I realize that few tools existed to help me steer (align and synchronize) the organization. In the absence of practical tools to help managers better manage, the job is approached in an ad hoc manner. Then, interruptions and administrivia win the day, and time is lost to tasks that provide low strategic value.

In early 2019, while enrolled in a doctoral program, I finally discovered the tools I did not realize I was missing. The story of how that discovery unfolded is told in the next chapter. Suffice it to say that I finally discovered a concrete set of tools to provide managers that would help them reclaim time in their day, better align the organization, and boost the potential of the individuals and teams reporting to them. This book will introduce you to the tools and provide you with a snapshot of the results you can expect to obtain if you utilize them with a disciplined approach.

What Type of Manager Are These Tools For?

Any organization would benefit from tools that help managers better align and grow the organization and the people within it. Regardless of whether you are managing a small team of two to three people or a company with thousands of employees, you will need alignment on strategy, a way to improve how the organization operates, and a means to grow the potential of employees. Every manager can benefit from implementing the tools discussed in this book.

Consider the example of Bill, whose story is told in the chapter dedicated to the time management tool. He is the director