PeopleTek Tip - Multi Tasking and Great Leaders

“A slew of research studies have proved that fragmenting your attention is neither efficient nor effective; and that actions undertaken literally with ‘half a mind’ or less show the results in lowered quality and increased mental stress”.Extracted from Slow Leadership July 3 2008


Multi-tasking is defined by Wikipedia as “the ability of a person to perform more than one task at the same time”. Initially this sounds like a skill we would all like to excel in but is it really serving us well?

We all know how important listening skills are. We’re reminded to remain attentive, paraphrase what we’ve heard, not to interrupt, and look for underlying messages. How effective a listener are we when we’re doing more than one task at a time?

Based on studies, when multi tasking occurs instead of saving time the result is more than likely that we’re wasting time. This is due to the need to “switch gears” which is linked to a higher error rate and insufficient attention to detail.

Not only is multi-tasking linked to a higher likelihood of errors but it also affects how happy we feel. We may think we’re getting more done but our level of stress seems to increase and our satisfaction levels are reduced.

We suffer from information overload, have the need to do “more” at a quicker pace but the key to being truly productive is to stay focused on our goals and remember that our true priorities are those linked with achieving our goals.

WHAT STUDIES HAVE SHOWN and What May Help You Decide . . .
Since the 1990s, experimental psychologists have started experiments on the nature and limits of human multitasking. It has been proven multitasking is not as workable as concentrated times. In general, these studies have disclosed that people show severe interference when even very simple tasks are performed at the same time, if both tasks require selecting and producing action (e.g., Gladstones, Regan, & Lee, 1989; Pashler, 1994). Many researchers believe that action planning represents a "bottleneck", which the human brain can only perform one task at a time.


Author Paul Johnson describes one kind of multitasking: “It usually involves skimming the surface of the incoming data, picking out the relevant details, and moving on to the next stream”. You’re paying attention, but only partially. Multimedia pioneer Linda Stone coined the phrase "continuous partial attention" for this kind of processing.

Multi-tasking has been criticized as a hindrance to completing tasks and feeling happy. Timothy Ferriss argues that one should rarely multitask and should instead devote full attention to completing a very small set of defined goals.

Barry Schwartz has noted that, given the media-rich landscape of the internet era, it is tempting to get into a habit of dwelling in a constant sea of information with too many choices, which has been noted to have a negative effect on human happiness.

Is your ability to be a great leader impacted by multi-tasking?

Sincerely,
Jan Mayer-Rodriguez
www.peopletekcoaching.com
888.565.9555 x711
Creatiing Individual, Team and Organizational Excellence