Dear Coach Laura,
I supervise a man in my office who is a big help. I just need him to get more done in a day. How can I encourage him to multi-task. Help, I’m a very Frustrated Supervisor.
Dear Supervisor,
This points to a distinct difference between men and women. In general, men don’t do multi-tasking very well. When they try it often times slows them down. My advice to you is to honor the fact that men are single-focused. This is something very valuable for many reasons that go beyond the scope of your situation. Nonetheless, think about what projects you can assign him that require a strong focus. Most likely that is where he will excel. If there is a way that he can prioritize the projects so that getting them done sequentially is more efficient, you can let him know. Honestly, you cannot teach a man how to muliti-task if he doesn’t already do it. Accepting this fact will ease your frustration. Good luck,
Coach Laura