"I have no time to coach."
I have said it. I have heard it from many managers. And every time I have checked my own calendar honestly, the time was there. It had just gone somewhere else.
The Eisenhower matrix is an old tool, but I still find it the quickest audit a manager can do. Take last week's calendar and sort every block into four boxes.
Urgent and important. A key account problem, a hospital running short of stock. Do it now, then ask why it became urgent.
Important, not urgent. Coaching, double visits, development plans, hiring ahead. The work that grows the team, and the first thing that disappears when the week gets busy.
Urgent, not important. Most emails, many calls, some report requests. Handle them in fixed slots, or pass them on.
Neither. Meetings with no decision, reports nobody reads. Stop them and see if anyone notices.
The second box is the one to watch. Nothing in it ever shouts, so it loses every week unless it is booked first.
What works for me: double visits go into the calendar before anything else. And I repeat the audit every month, because calendars drift back.
“Your calendar is your real priority list.”
Lesson 3 of 5 in Step 1: Becoming a manager, with the full guide and a checklist for this week.