Last week, we talked about how Timyo can improve email between colleagues. Today, we’ll look at what Timyo can do for those of us in leadership positions.*
Out of Sync is A-OK!
When managing a team, it is natural to want everyone to be on the same page. We learn from a young age that teams work best when everyone is moving at the same time and in the same direction.
But it’s different when you are the team’s captain—the people working under you will naturally be focusing on smaller, constituent efforts. It’s your job to see the big picture.
And that means you will often be ‘out of sync’ with your team. As you focus on different aspects of the end goal, your focus will not always completely align with your subordinates’, and that’s not just okay, it’s essential: if you were always in perfect sync with your team, they wouldn’t need you.
Your value as a manager lies in your ability to ensure that everything is building to a meaningful whole.
To that end, Timyo helps you quickly and easily share your expectations with employees. You are considering a Q1 report but final numbers won’t even be available for a couple weeks? No problem, and no need to write yourself a reminder to send an email then: with Timyo, you simply enter the date by which you expect a reply (in two weeks) and move on to other things. With Timyo, you just set it and forget it, end of story.
Do as I Say, Not as I Do.
Your job is your passion, and that’s fantastic, but you shouldn’t expect that same level of 24/7 dedication from the people working under you. Much has been written about the perils of off hours email. As Maura Thomas says in her article “Your Late-Night Emails are Hurting Your Team”:
“Being ‘always on’ hurts results. When employees are constantly monitoring their email after work hours […] due to a fear of missing something from you […] they are missing out on essential down time that brains need.”
But it can also be frustrating and bothersome to have to hold off on sending an email just because it’s 4am on a Sunday and sane people are nowhere near their work computers (or, hopefully, any other kind of heavy machinery).
With Timyo, this isn’t a problem. Go ahead and send that late-night or weekend email, with a clear expectation that you aren’t expecting a reply until normal, healthy, human hours.†
Do as I Say, AND As I Do.
Finally, one of a manager’s most important—and most intangible—jobs is to set the tone of the company’s culture. By setting a clear example, you show your team that you also expect them to write to you with clear expectations.
But it’s one thing for the boss to send out assertive directives, and quite another for subordinates to feel comfortable telling a superior exactly when they need something. Timyo takes out the guesswork and awkward attempts at wording by offering clear but polite language so that your team can be sure that you know what they want without having to resort to verbal gymnastics.
And as the boss, it’s a huge timesaver to get an email that says at a glance “Please know that I’m not expecting a reply until Thursday”, instead of “so if that makes sense please let me know and it would be great to get this in time for the Thursday call but of course no worries if not and please let me know if that would be a problem and no worries and please…” etc. etc. etc.
Your team is confident that they’ve set clear expectations without bugging the boss, and you don’t have to wade through half a paragraph of overpolite gibberish waiting to get to the point of every email.
Timyo is a win-win for employees and managers alike.
*“Us” here being used loosely, since I haven’t been in charge of anybody since my days on the Churchill County High School Student Council (Go Greenwave!), but my boss graciously offered his input to help with this post—thanks, Fabrice!
†Fabrice also helpfully notes that sending these off-hours emails will correctly convey to your team how incredibly hard you work, thus dissuading any potential Brutuses from attempted coups. I can vouch for the efficacy of this technique, because I definitely do not want Fabrice’s job.
