Monkey Time Management
If you’re a manager or aspire to be one, there’s one article that is a must read: “Who’s Got the Monkey,” first published in 1974 by William Oncken, Jr. and Donald L. Wass. You can find it here: Management Time: Who’s Got the Monkey?. This classic piece, featured in Harvard Business Review, remains as relevant today as it was decades ago and offers invaluable insights into one of the most challenging aspects of management: owning your time.
As a manager, your time is divided into three main categories: working for your boss, handling administrative responsibilities, and attending to your own work. However, even within your own time, there’s an inherent split: time spent helping your subordinates and time dedicated to your personal deliverables. The challenge lies in striking the right balance, ensuring that your time isn’t entirely consumed by the needs of your team while still supporting them effectively.
The article introduces the concept of “monkeys” to describe problems brought to managers by their employees. Too often, managers take on these monkeys themselves, metaphorically walking away with a dozen monkeys perched on their back. This common dynamic leads to an overwhelming workload and a lack of time to focus on their own responsibilities. Even worse, it has effectively made the manager work for the subordinate instead of the other way around.
“Who’s Got the Monkey” provides practical strategies to avoid this pitfall. It emphasizes the importance of firm but fair management practices that allow managers to support their employees without taking on their problems as their own. Through clear examples, it demonstrates how managers can firmly but fairly address these situations without taking on responsibilities that aren’t theirs. The key is to empower subordinates to “feed” their own monkeys, ensuring that the initiative to solve a problem remains with the employee, not the manager. The article also outlines five degrees of initiative that managers can encourage and recommends the most effective ones to foster accountability and productivity within the team.
For anyone in a leadership position, this is an essential read. Its insights and actionable advice can transform the way you manage your time and your team. I highly recommend checking it out!