The Psychology of Email

Let’s face it, one thing that takes up most of your time is Email - here is a technique used by High-Performance Teams to help you better manage it.

First a few eye-openers:

1. High-Performance Team managers rarely get an email from their team members unless it is deemed critical (it can't wait) or it is something that requires documented approval.
2. High-Performance Team members only send emails to each other on a ‘need to know basis. (Need to know is determined by a Roles and Responsibilities exercise).
3. Instead of sending emails, team members are kept up to date with team developments at the weekly team meeting.
4. When a team achieves High-Performance, the team's email traffic reduces by around 60%.

The main reasons you get email are:

1. Because you have an appropriate authority to approve or comment on something.
2. To read a document.
3. Because you were needlessly copied.
4. You get things that do not interest you or are idle chatter.
5. You get asked to comment on or approve things that are the responsibility of others.
6. You get asked about something or get copied when someone is not accepting their position accountability.

“The most valuable form of communication is face-to-face. The next most valuable is by phone or videoconference. The least valuable form of communication is email and texting.”? Alex Pentland.

How High-Performance Teams manage their Email

1.???They do a quick Roles/Responsibilities exercise.

• This requires a one-page template to be completed by each team member. It spells out responsibilities, accountabilities, complementary skill sets and who is second in charge. Here is the template: Management Guide Download - 01 - Roles and Responsibilities Template.pdf
• Doing this exercise makes it clear to all as to who needs to be copied or notified on any subject – that is, on ‘a need-to-know basis’.
• After the templates are completed, convene a team meeting to present them. Look for overlaps, conflicts or gaps.
• If a team member sends lots of emails or constantly copies others, they may be spreading their position accountabilities (not taking ownership of them). This is an issue that needs addressing. Having clear Roles and Responsibilities for everyone says who owns what and helps stop email copies dead in their tracks.

2.??? They adopt a fixed, quick email process.

1.???? Open Mail or Outlook.

2.???? Now decide within 10 seconds what needs to be done with the first email.

·?????? Delete it.

·?????? Delegate it. ?? (Pass it on.)

·?????? Deal with it. ? (Solve it or reply asking for more info and move it to Waiting.)

·?????? Do not reply to it. (There is no rule that says you must reply to an email.)

3.???? Next email, decide within 10 seconds.

3.??? They push back on sloppy email practices.

• Asking a sender why they sent you an email you didn't need, is a good practice as it teaches them to think twice about what they send you in future.
• Letting team members know that you may not look at an email for 24 hours is also a good practice. (Include a note in your signature to let people know you may not reply today.)
• Not replying is a good strategy because it teaches the sender that you will ignore certain emails and therefore, they shouldn’t send them.
• Telling team members that if something is urgent, they should call or come and see you. (This saves a lot of time, if an email is sent, often you may need to ask further questions, meaning sending more emails, a face-to-face conversation is much more efficient, is good communication and is less ambiguous.)
• Consider returning a non-urgent email, asking the sender to hold it over until the next weekly team meeting.

4.??? Everyone has appropriate autonomy and empowerment.

• When a sender is abdicating their responsibility or accountability for something (by needlessly copying you) – reply that “I did not need to know this” or “Why did you send this to me?”.
• A method of evaluating team member performance is how often and why they are emailing you. Are they just creating noise? Are they accountable and empowered or not?

5.??? They decide when they will do emails.

• The best strategy is to control when you check email, not allowing it as an interruption, only significant matters should require your immediate attention.
• Decide when you will do emails.

a.????? The reality is that most of us prefer to do emails throughout the day, few of us do them at fixed times.

b.???? If you do them at fixed times (start of day, lunch, end of day) try using Timeboxing to get through as many as possible as quickly as possible.

“One CEO on this topic told her staff not to send emails requiring her to make a decision about something - to make a decision she would probably need to ask clarifying questions leading to even more messages in her Inbox. She told her staff to ring her or make an appointment to see her instead.” The Age Newspaper.

How to do Timeboxing

Timeboxing is a most effective time management technique to speed through work, it is a time management discipline, it works like this. Have a watch, clock, phone, computer, anything that has a clock or timer. Select a task or select one that you are having trouble getting the motivation to start.

1.???? Take a few minutes to think about what you want to complete.

2.???? Set a time.

• Set a short time. 15 to 30 minutes that you know won’t be too painful to commit to.
• Set a longer time. An hour if you’re feeling motivated.

3.???? Execute, do as much work as possible.

Email example

My goal is to clear as many as I can.

• I allocate 20 minutes to do it.
• I look at the time and set an alarm.
• I then get as many emails done as is possible in the time allowed.
• When the time is up, I move on to my next job.

High-Performance Teams use Timeboxing because it is great for doing things you don’t like and for when you have a stack to do and not a lot of time to do it in.

“Work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion.” Parkinson’s Law.