Do you know that feeling? Another task completed. Check. Next. And then another task. What a feeling. And it goes on. The to-do list gets longer. I have so much to do. I have to work extremely hard, do overtime, and perform even better. Do you know that feeling? I know it all too well.
Sometimes I find myself in exactly this state. And then I always remember one of our corporate values: results. I remind myself of the distinction betweenResult Orientation task orientation." I calm myself down. I take a deep breath. And then I look at my to-do list. At my inbox. And I think carefully about which result will take me one step further? Which result serves my raison d'être here in the company? Which result will help me move the team and the entire company forward? Which result fulfills the company's purpose?
Which result is important?
What a difference. On the one hand, there is this seemingly insurmountable list of tasks, the to-dos. On the other hand, thinking backwards from the result: Which result is important right now? Which one cannot be postponed? So, I look back at my inbox, back at my to-do list that never seems to end. And with the help of this distinction, I pick out three points that I know for sure:
- Firstly, only I can solve that.
- Secondly, they are now relevant in order to be able to take the next step.
- Thirdly, these results will serve to fulfill the company's purpose and my raison d'être.
So I take the results and now know exactly what I want to have done by the end of the day. Then, interestingly, I take the other tasks, look at them, and think: Okay, I can delegate this, I can delegate that, I'll just leave that for now, it's not urgent. In doing so, I even find tasks that I can throw in the trash because they wouldn't have helped me anyway. And in this way, I repeatedly find peace in my often seemingly hectic everyday life. By looking at this distinction and really asking myself: Am I currently in a mode of frantically working through tasks? Or is it actually about results that I have to deliver – in my responsibility, in my position?
I hope my perspective on task orientation and Result Orientation has been Result Orientation to you.
Are you interested?
If you select the topic Result Orientation and find it exciting, and perhaps want more input, I can recommend our Leading Simple© book. Even better, of course, is to attend our Leading Simple© indirect seminar: Leading through Systems. There you will find the Result Orientation module Result Orientation a principle. And as a tool, the Result-Oriented Job Description.
In any case, I wish you all the best. Become the best person you can be and ask yourself every now and then: Am I currently focused on results or am I just working through my to-do list?
I wish you all the best and see you next time.
Yours, Jochen Hummel
Image source: ©MorganK Pixabay
