"One thing leads to another"

That was a song by the Fixx that was released in 1983. For the young readers on this blog you have probably heard some sort of remix of the song in the last 5 years. It has been re-released many times in many different ways.

So, what does that saying have to do with accountants? I am sometimes shocked how accountants do not always see the interconnectedness of their "personal" time management with those around them.

If your colleague manages his time real poorly, does that affect you?
If your staff or boss manages their time badly, does that affect you?
If you are bad at project/client management, does that affect your personal time management?

It is all connected ... one thing does lead to another. So how do you improve others' time management skills? You can't! Only they can. What you can do is ask yourself questions, such as:

1.) What behaviors am I reinforcing? Specifically, when someone else does a great job in managing their time and the results are obvious, do I reinforce that through specific praise?
2.) Do I make others aware that we are all part of a team and the efficiency and effectiveness of a team helps or hurts all of us? Do I encourage group accountability and feedback?

One last point -- you start asking questions like this and pretty soon one thing will lead to another -- your teams will start asking them too.