One key attribute of effective technical leaders is a recognition of the extreme value of time. Technical leaders are pulled in many different directions. Your time is limited. Responsibilities get added and your time becomes taxed. Set your priorities and act accordingly to demonstrate you value your time as an executive.

Set your priorities. So many times I see leaders who haven’t decided what their top two or three priorities are for the month or quarter. When you don’t set your priorities you have no idea where you should (and shouldn’t) be spending your time. If you consider a list of ten or more things as priorities, you have already lost the battle of focusing your time on the key projects. Consider using the bullseye. Commit to your priorities and know what it looks like when you are spending your time on the most important things.

I recall feeling sunk is a sea of priorities as a junior executive. I had no clear direction from my boss where I should be spending my time. I came across an article that said, “if you’re a manager you are probably being paid to think, decide and communicate.” It was both obvious and surprising - I was being paid to lead an organization, not continue to do the tactical work that my previous jobs held. I had previously thought of these as tasks to be done in between the “real” work. Once I realized the importance of these tasks on my delivering results, it became easier to prioritize my time.

Don’t overlook people. For many technical leaders, people are a bigger priority than they have ever been in previous roles. You are leading people and you are reliant on others to get work done. When you prioritize people, you are sometimes taking actions that you previously thought of as wasteful. Take time to build up relationships with key people. Learn what those people value and how you can help them.

I recall a time thinking small talk and relationships were a low priority at work. I felt I was serving work best by avoiding small talk and getting straight to my job. Over time, I realized the negative impact my behavior had on my work relationships. One honest person said “I always thought you were a stuck up jerk because you never said hello." I have since prioritized building relationships and getting to know my coworkers as an important priority that improves my results.

Email isn’t a priority. A common trope among managers in big organizations is the time it takes to get through all their email. Email is a key part of any communication strategy. Email itself is not a priority. When you spend more than an hour or two a day on email, you are taking a dramatic amount of important time away from your real priorities. Read and respond to key people on key topics. Limit your time with email to avoid it taking up more than it proportionally deserves. Get up, walk around and interact with people directly.

Challenge time requested of you. A key attribute of effective technical leaders is they choose how they spend their time. This means not accepting every meeting, or agreeing to the time commitments requested by others. How often have you gotten all the time your requested from a senior executive? Consider each meeting request as subject to your priorities, and decline or delegate when it doesn’t fit in your top three. Negotiate the right amount of time you give; when a peer asks for an hour you can respond “let’s get through it in 15 minutes.”

Delegate lower priorities. As you develop your staff, you are creating a team of people who are capable of tackling jobs you previously performed. Consider each task you have as an opportunity to delegate and develop someone else. You don’t have to spend time on every project in order to ensure those projects still get done. An effective technical leader accomplishes more through the team than one person could ever accomplish.

End your day. When you value your time, you make a point to end your day and go home. It may seem counterintuitive. Effective technical leaders understand that there is always work to be done. Your time needs to be spent on work, home and yourself. A leader that chooses to always work loses effectiveness. Don’t extend your day to get “one more thing” done. Be as effective as you can be in the time you dedicate to work, and choose to end your day at a reasonable hour.

Spending your time wisely doesn’t mean cutting out small talk and being rude when someone needs your time. Choose your priorities and communicate them in a way that others see you are focusing your time on your priorities. You won’t always be saying yes to everyone. Say yes to the right priorities and deliver key results and you will be acting as if your time matters.