Do I have enough projects?

Traylor

Registered
I run a Sales/Distribution facility for a CPG company. As a 'General Manager' when I'm creating my projects list I end up with only a handful of projects that I'm responsible for completing myself and a laundry list of projects my direct reports are responsible for completing that I'm ultimately accountable for.

Outside of some weekly routines like 'Prepare for Weekly Staff Meeting' and 'Completing Weekly Forecast Process' my projects I actually need to take action to complete are typically things along the lines of leadership development activities for my staff which we do a handful of times throughout the year and a few projects assigned to me by the company (typically presenting in an upcoming meeting or participating on a company wide project). I usually have 5 to 10 of these projects going on at any given time.

The MUCH long list of Projects falls under ones my direct reports or another department are responsible for completing that I'm ultimately accountable for as the facility manager. My involvement with these projects is usually coaching the team through the project to ensure they achieve the desired outcome. For example: we have a half-dozen new product launches each year. My warehouse is responsible for making sure we have the product, sales team is responsible for selling and ordering the product, and distribution is responsible for delivering. I'm accountable for achieving our Sales targets for the new launch.

I currently do not capture the projects my team is responsible for carrying out so my project list in Todoist is typically only the 5 to 10 projects I'm personally working on.

Should I be capturing the Projects my team is responsible for in my GTD system? If so, what is the best way to do that? I don't typically dictate specific actions needed to my team as they are the experts. I just make sure the understand the desired outcome, due dates, etc. and then monitor progress. What 'Next Actions' would I include in a Project somebody else is responsible for completing.
 

mcogilvie

Registered
I currently do not capture the projects my team is responsible for carrying out so my project list in Todoist is typically only the 5 to 10 projects I'm personally working on.

Should I be capturing the Projects my team is responsible for in my GTD system? If so, what is the best way to do that? I don't typically dictate specific actions needed to my team as they are the experts. I just make sure the understand the desired outcome, due dates, etc. and then monitor progress. What 'Next Actions' would I include in a Project somebody else is responsible for completing.
No offense, but you made my jaw drop. You make it sound like you are barely doing anything, and are not really responsible for these projects at all. Maybe you should ask for more challenging responsibilities at work.

Some managers have a specific list of delegated projects, while others don’t. I have some that are delegated and some that are shared, and I don’t separate them that way. For delegated projects, ticklers and agendas tend to be very important. Email can also be an important context. Most importantly, ask yourself why your job exists, and what kind of manager you want to be.
 

Botany_Bill

Registered
I disagree w/ mcogilvie. I think you just don't do the nitty gritty of each project. That's fine. However, since you're responsible for them, you own them and they should fall on your project list. This way, when you do your weekly review, it will help trigger your mind about each. Maybe you need to see how so-and-so is doing with x so you can identify whether a you can help (at your higher level in the company). There must be check-ins and deadlines you want to track, no? Basically think about what would happen if a project stalled or failed and, if that matters to your job, it's your project!

I would think you'd have a lot of @agendas for each staff person.
 

Gardener

Registered
Should I be capturing the Projects my team is responsible for in my GTD system?
I think that they should be in there somehow, yes. Not necessarily in a project-for-project way--instead, maybe you would have a checklist or checklists for monitoring those projects, so that you have one project perhaps representing dozens of delegated projects.

And I would think that now and then there's an actual project for you? For example, Joe tells you that his project is going to go above the projected budget, so you have to get him to produce an updated budget, and you have to go get budget approval? That's more than one step, so I'd call it a project.
 

mcogilvie

Registered
I disagree w/ mcogilvie. I think you just don't do the nitty gritty of each project. That's fine. However, since you're responsible for them, you own them and they should fall on your project list. This way, when you do your weekly review, it will help trigger your mind about each. Maybe you need to see how so-and-so is doing with x so you can identify whether a you can help (at your higher level in the company). There must be check-ins and deadlines you want to track, no? Basically think about what would happen if a project stalled or failed and, if that matters to your job, it's your project!

I would think you'd have a lot of @agendas for each staff person.
It’s not clear to me how you think we disagree. I don’t think we do.
 

Botany_Bill

Registered
It’s not clear to me how you think we disagree. I don’t think we do.
It's this part: "You make it sound like you are barely doing anything, and are not really responsible for these projects at all. Maybe you should ask for more challenging responsibilities at work."

I think his description of his job sounds very busy and like he has plenty of responsibilities.
 
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