As a new supervisor, it is sometimes difficult to prioritize where to spend your time. In addition to completing all of the tasks that have short-term deadlines, you must keep a focus on the future and dedicate time to things in preparation for “tomorrow” (even if that is years down the road.) And if you’re a visionary thinker, you’ll probably have some ideas that impact other departments or those outside of your supervisory purview.
One way to frame your work is through a matrix that considers supervision scope (whether it is within your area of responsibility or outside of it) and ease or difficulty of implementation. You should consider where your tasks fall on the matrix to assess whether you are spending your time in the proportion that you desire.
If you spend all of your time on things that are easy, it’s likely that you are not considering the long-term as much as you should. If you only work on tasks within your direct scope, you may wish to adopt a more external focus for some projects. By evaluating your responsibilities and where you spend your time, this matrix can help you assess a holistic view of the work ahead of you.
Thanks, Brian!
