Stop Teaching People to “Prioritize” When Your Organization Has Absolutely No Idea What Actually Is Important: How Priority Planning Training Fails in Dysfunctional Workplaces
Let me about to dismantle one of the most common false beliefs in organizational training: the belief that teaching workers better “prioritization” techniques will resolve efficiency problems in companies that have zero clear direction themselves.
With seventeen years of training with businesses on productivity issues, I can tell you that task management training in a poorly-run organization is like showing someone to arrange their possessions while their home is actively collapsing around them.
Let me share the basic reality: most organizations experiencing from efficiency issues cannot have efficiency challenges – they have leadership dysfunction.
Traditional task organization training presupposes that companies have consistent, stable goals that staff can learn to identify and work with. Such assumption is entirely disconnected from reality in the majority of contemporary organizations.
I consulted with a major communications agency where employees were continuously complaining about being “struggling to prioritize their responsibilities effectively.” Executives had invested enormous amounts on time management training for every workers.
The training covered all the typical approaches: urgency-importance grids, ABC classification methods, calendar management strategies, and detailed project management applications.
But efficiency continued to decline, staff stress levels got higher, and work delivery schedules turned worse, not more efficient.
After I investigated what was genuinely going on, I found the underlying issue: the organization itself had no consistent strategic focus.
This is what the daily reality looked like for staff:
Regularly: Executive leadership would declare that Client A was the “most critical focus” and all staff needed to work on it as soon as possible
24 hours later: A different top leader would send an “immediate” communication declaring that Initiative B was really the “most important” priority
48 hours later: Yet another team head would organize an “emergency” meeting to communicate that Project C was a “must-have” deliverable that had to be delivered by end of week
Day four: The initial senior manager would show anger that Client A was not advanced as expected and insist to know why employees had not been “focusing on” it as instructed
By week’s end: Each three initiatives would be incomplete, several deadlines would be missed, and workers would be held responsible for “poor priority planning skills”
Such scenario was occurring week after week, month after month. Absolutely no degree of “priority planning” training was going to help employees handle this management insanity.
The basic challenge wasn’t that employees did not learn how to organize – it was that the agency itself was entirely unable of creating consistent priorities for more than 72 hours at a time.
The team persuaded management to scrap their focus on “individual task planning” training and rather implement what I call “Strategic Direction Management.”
Instead of trying to teach employees to prioritize within a constantly changing environment, we worked on creating genuine company priorities:
Implemented a single senior decision-making committee with specific power for establishing and maintaining company direction
Implemented a systematic priority review procedure that occurred regularly rather than whenever someone felt like it
Created specific guidelines for when initiatives could be modified and what level of authorization was required for such changes
Established enforced coordination protocols to guarantee that all priority adjustments were communicated systematically and consistently across all teams
Implemented buffer periods where zero priority modifications were permitted without emergency justification
Their transformation was immediate and substantial:
Worker stress instances fell substantially as staff finally understood what they were required to be focusing on
Productivity improved by over 50% within 45 days as employees could actually concentrate on finishing tasks rather than repeatedly switching between conflicting requests
Client quality times improved considerably as teams could organize and complete projects without constant changes and re-prioritization
Client satisfaction increased dramatically as deliverables were actually delivered according to schedule and to requirements
The reality: prior to you train staff to manage tasks, make sure your company actually maintains consistent priorities that are worth prioritizing.
This is one more approach that task management training fails in dysfunctional companies: by presupposing that staff have actual power over their schedule and priorities.
The team worked with a municipal organization where workers were repeatedly getting blamed for “poor task organization” and required to “efficiency” training workshops.
This actual situation was that these employees had essentially no control over their job time. Let me describe what their typical day looked like:
About 60% of their time was consumed by required sessions that they had no option to decline, regardless of whether these meetings were useful to their core responsibilities
A further one-fifth of their workday was dedicated to processing bureaucratic documentation and paperwork tasks that provided zero usefulness to their actual job or to the citizens they were meant to serve
This leftover 20% of their schedule was expected to be used for their real responsibilities – the activities they were employed to do and that actually was important to the agency
However even this tiny fraction of schedule was continuously disrupted by “emergency” requirements, unexpected meetings, and bureaucratic requirements that couldn’t be postponed
Given these circumstances, absolutely no amount of “priority organization” training was able to help these staff turn more productive. This problem wasn’t their employee priority organization skills – it was an systemic framework that made productive activity virtually unattainable.
We helped them create systematic improvements to fix the actual obstacles to productivity:
Removed pointless sessions and established specific standards for when conferences were genuinely required
Simplified paperwork obligations and eliminated redundant form-filling processes
Implemented dedicated blocks for real professional tasks that couldn’t be disrupted by meetings
Created clear procedures for deciding what represented a genuine “emergency” versus routine tasks that could be scheduled for scheduled periods
Established delegation approaches to make certain that work was allocated equitably and that not any single person was carrying excessive load with unsustainable responsibilities
Staff effectiveness improved dramatically, job fulfillment improved substantially, and their agency genuinely started delivering better outcomes to the citizens they were intended to help.
The crucial insight: companies won’t be able to fix efficiency problems by teaching individuals to operate more successfully within chaotic organizations. You need to fix the organizations first.
Now let’s address perhaps the most ridiculous aspect of priority management training in poorly-run workplaces: the assumption that staff can magically prioritize work when the management at leadership level shifts its priorities numerous times per day.
We worked with a software startup where the founder was well-known for having “innovative” revelations numerous times per week and expecting the entire team to immediately shift to pursue each new idea.
Staff would arrive at the office on any given day with a clear knowledge of their priorities for the week, only to find that the management had determined over the weekend that everything they had been concentrating on was suddenly not relevant and that they must to right away commence focusing on something entirely new.
This cycle would occur numerous times per month. Projects that had been declared as “highest priority” would be dropped halfway through, departments would be repeatedly redirected to alternative work, and enormous portions of resources and work would be wasted on projects that were ultimately not finished.
The company had spent heavily in “flexible task organization” training and advanced priority organization software to enable employees “adapt quickly” to evolving directions.
Yet no level of education or tools could overcome the fundamental issue: people can’t efficiently prioritize perpetually evolving objectives. Constant modification is the opposite of successful planning.
I helped them create what I call “Focused Priority Stability”:
Created scheduled priority assessment periods where important strategy modifications could be discussed and implemented
Created firm standards for what constituted a legitimate basis for modifying set directions beyond the scheduled review sessions
Created a “direction consistency” period where absolutely no modifications to current directions were acceptable without emergency circumstances
Created defined communication protocols for when priority adjustments were absolutely essential, including full consequence analyses of what initiatives would be delayed
Mandated documented sign-off from multiple stakeholders before each major priority changes could be implemented
Their improvement was remarkable. After 90 days, actual project completion statistics improved by nearly 300%. Employee stress levels dropped substantially as employees could finally focus on finishing projects rather than constantly beginning new ones.
Creativity surprisingly got better because groups had sufficient resources to thoroughly implement and test their concepts rather than repeatedly changing to new initiatives before any project could be fully completed.
That point: successful planning needs objectives that stay unchanged long enough for employees to actually focus on them and achieve meaningful results.
This is what I’ve concluded after extensive time in this field: task management training is only valuable in workplaces that genuinely have their leadership systems functioning.
When your organization has clear organizational objectives, achievable demands, functional management, and processes that facilitate rather than prevent effective activity, then task organization training can be helpful.
However if your organization is marked by continuous dysfunction, competing priorities, incompetent coordination, unrealistic demands, and reactive management styles, then priority management training is more counterproductive than ineffective – it’s actively destructive because it holds responsible individual choices for leadership dysfunction.
Quit throwing away resources on time management training until you’ve addressed your leadership dysfunction initially.
Start building organizations with consistent organizational focus, competent leadership, and processes that really support productive activity.
Company workers will organize extremely well once you give them direction worth prioritizing and an workplace that really enables them in completing their jobs. carrying excessive load with unsustainable workloads
Staff productivity improved substantially, job fulfillment improved substantially, and the organization actually commenced offering better results to the community they were intended to support.
This important insight: you won’t be able to address time management challenges by training people to operate better efficiently within dysfunctional organizations. Companies must fix the systems initially.
At this point let’s address possibly the biggest laughable element of time planning training in dysfunctional workplaces: the belief that workers can magically organize responsibilities when the organization as a whole modifies its priorities several times per week.
We worked with a IT company where the CEO was well-known for having “game-changing” ideas numerous times per day and expecting the entire organization to right away shift to implement each new priority.
Staff would show up at work on any given day with a defined understanding of their tasks for the period, only to find that the CEO had determined suddenly that everything they had been working on was not important and that they must to instantly begin focusing on an initiative completely unrelated.
That behavior would repeat numerous times per period. Work that had been declared as “critical” would be abandoned mid-stream, teams would be constantly moved to alternative projects, and massive amounts of effort and work would be squandered on initiatives that were ultimately not finished.
Their organization had poured heavily in “flexible task organization” training and sophisticated priority management tools to assist employees “adjust efficiently” to evolving directions.
However no amount of skill development or tools could solve the basic challenge: you can’t successfully prioritize constantly changing priorities. Perpetual modification is the antithesis of effective prioritization.
I helped them implement what I call “Strategic Direction Management”:
Created scheduled planning assessment sessions where major priority changes could be considered and adopted
Established strict requirements for what represented a legitimate reason for changing agreed-upon objectives outside the scheduled review periods
Established a “objective consistency” time where zero adjustments to established directions were acceptable without extraordinary circumstances
Established clear coordination procedures for when priority modifications were absolutely necessary, with full impact assessments of what initiatives would be interrupted
Established documented authorization from several stakeholders before each major strategy shifts could be approved
This transformation was outstanding. Within three months, real project delivery rates increased by over dramatically. Worker stress rates dropped significantly as people could finally focus on delivering tasks rather than continuously starting new ones.
Creativity surprisingly got better because departments had adequate time to completely implement and evaluate their concepts rather than constantly switching to new projects before anything could be fully finished.
The lesson: successful planning demands priorities that stay stable long enough for people to really work on them and complete substantial progress.
This is what I’ve learned after decades in this field: priority management training is exclusively valuable in companies that already have their leadership priorities working properly.
When your organization has consistent organizational direction, realistic expectations, functional management, and systems that enable rather than obstruct efficient work, then task organization training can be useful.
However if your workplace is characterized by constant dysfunction, conflicting priorities, poor organization, unrealistic workloads, and reactive management cultures, then time organization training is worse than useless – it’s actively harmful because it holds responsible employee choices for systemic failures.
Stop throwing away time on task management training until you’ve addressed your leadership priorities first.
Begin building workplaces with consistent organizational focus, functional leadership, and structures that genuinely support efficient accomplishment.
Company employees would organize extremely effectively once you offer them direction worth focusing on and an organization that actually enables them in completing their work.
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