Not sure why you can’t take your organization to the next level? As a leader, you might be doing things that are holding you and your coworkers back.

“For some business owners, they still struggle with getting all the things on their to-do list accomplished,” says author and CEO David Finkel in Inc. “In the majority of cases, it all boils down to a few key factors.”

If productivity is stalling, you might be holding unnecessary meetings, Finkel says. Consider what you’re meeting for before pulling coworkers away from their responsibilities.

“Meetings are for creating value, not playing politics, covering your backside, or simply because ‘that’s how we’ve always done things,’” Finkel says. Worthwhile meetings focus on brainstorming ideas, making key decisions, gaining buy-in from staff, or coordinating plans.

Distractions might also be getting in the way. To remove them, Finkel suggests scheduling a weekly appointment for a three- to four-hour block of “Focus Time.” During this time, turn your phone off, mute email notifications, and focus in on one or two high-value activities that will make a difference.

In addition, unclear deadlines and deliverables could hurt productivity. It’s not enough to say, “We’d like to have the new process developed by the end of the quarter,” Finkel says. Your team should start each quarter with a clear idea of what they need to accomplish and when. Otherwise, confusion sets in.

“Your team members will either end up not meeting your expectations or will end up scrambling to finish phantom deliverables at the last minute because they weren’t prepared,” Finkel says.

The Social Media Metrics to Watch Out For

Everywhere you turn, there are metrics. But how do you use them? Check out our most recent blog post to find out more:https://t.co/pQB6oj0QTH#metricsmatter #makingmeaningfromdata #dataanalysis pic.twitter.com/LW7evvqnut

— Sidecar (@sidecarglobal) March 4, 2020

Nowadays, social media metrics are easy to get your hands on. On Twitter, you don’t even need to leave the site to access a ton of data thanks to the built-in analytics page. But what content metrics actually matter? Look at the data that tells a story of action, says Chelsea Brasted of Association Success.

“Opening things, logging in, downloading, taking actions, joining, registering, participating, subscribing, creating an account. All of those things, you start to go, ‘wow, they’re really engaging with us,’” says PEAK Grantmaking Communications and Marketing Director Betsy Reid in an interview with Association Success.

Other Links of Note

How is your workplace culture? Bloomerang’s Claire Axelrad examines the importance of employee morale.

Story time. Facebook is now testing the option to cross-post stories to Instagram. Tech Crunch has the story.

Give thanks. How associations can express gratitude to their members, according to Michelle Schweitz on the Your Membership blog.

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