Free Time Vs. Freeing Time

It’s 10 a.m. on Monday, and Susan approaches her boss, John, to ask if he has a few minutes to talk later in the day.

It’s a bit of an unusual request from Susan, who has earned a reputation as a shy but skilled employee capable of completing major projects on her own.

“Hey, Susan. I might have a minute late afternoon, but today’s pretty busy,” John says. “Wednesday would be better for me.”

But when Wednesday rolls around, John is out of the office and doesn’t respond to Susan’s follow-up email.

Over the weekend, Salesforce’s Chief Digital Evangelist, Vala Afshar, tweeted a picture of a sign reading: “Some talk to you in their free time, and some free their time to talk to you. Learn the difference.”

Time allocation to those we lead is a sign of respect, compassion and appreciation. But far too often, we as leaders merely view it as a hindrance to our days.

We needlessly delay responding to emails and text messages. We put off in-person meetings that would take mere minutes. We use phrases like, “Now’s not a good time,” despite the fact we’re not doing anything of major consequence.

We as leaders must recognize that getting our teams to perform at top levels is about more than just salary increases and occasional compliments. It means exhibiting empathy and a degree of concern when those we lead ask for our attention.

Time isn’t necessarily money, as the saying goes, but it is gratitude and courtesy.

And the difference between earning credibility with our teams and being tuned out by them so often comes down to going slightly out of our way for just a few moments.

Those who must dig through their calendars to find some “free time in the days or weeks ahead” frequently end up paying a costly price when it comes to their reputations and talent retention.

But the ones who go just slightly out of their way to accommodate others typically leave an indelible mark on them.

And that level of respect is timeless.