Three Things: Work Smarter

Are you working hard but not seeing results? Are you so busy, you hardly have time to think? Are you constantly putting out fires? You need a firehouse! Professor Lynn Isabella explains the concept and how you can achieve more meaningful results in your work.

Professor Isabella teaches courses in organizational behavior, leadership and change, and team interaction at the University of Virginia Darden School's MBA, Global Executive MBA, MBA for Executives and Executive Education programs.

Three Things is a Darden School of Business series designed to explain tips to help you and your business succeed.

TRANSCRIPT:
[00:00:00.00]
[00:00:09.28] Are you working hard, but not seeming to get meaningful results? Do you find yourself saying, if I just get through today things will get better, but better never happens? Are you so busy you hardly have time to think?
[00:00:28.57] If you're spending most of your time on the proverbial fire grounds fighting fires, that is trying to get the job done, then you need three things to get more meaningful results in your work. First, you need a fire house. The purpose of a fire house is to provide you the time or space to gain perspective, build relationships, learn, and reflect. Maybe your firehouse is no email or phone time, or a quiet interval to simply think. Maybe it's lunch with a colleague to get to know them better.
[00:01:12.36] Whatever you create, make it a place that provides the kind of deep learning that changes how you think and behave. Second, you need more firehouse time for yourself. While firehouse time does not mean a lot of time, you need to find ways to spend more time in your firehouse.
[00:01:34.77] Consider arriving at work 15 minutes early, so you can reflect upon your tasks for the day. Take time in a Monday morning staff meeting to ask your team members what challenges they're facing this week. Or you could even send a note to someone whose mom is sick. No matter how you achieve it, find more firehouse time.
[00:02:00.72] Finally, in addition to creating more firehouse time for yourself, you need to give more firehouse time to the people who work for you. If you need it, so do they. The folks who work for you need time to learn new skills, practice, and absorb new challenges. The firehouse is a place to build personal connections, train and practice together, and review a team's effort after fighting a fire.
[00:02:30.90] These activities foster relationships, build trust, and most importantly generate learning. But keep this in mind, firehouse time is not when you go home. Most of us go home to an entirely different fire grounds.