Best Of | Why Everything Feels Urgent at Work

About this episode

Dermot Crowley discusses the impact of urgency on team productivity and how leaders can manage it effectively.

When everything feels urgent, teams become trapped in reactive work—and the strategic priorities that matter most keep getting pushed aside. In this Best Of conversation, productivity expert and bestselling author Dermot Crowley explains why workplace urgency is not simply a personal time-management problem. It can become part of the team’s culture, particularly when people feel they must immediately respond to every request from a senior leader. In this Best Of, we discuss: – Why teams become stuck in constant firefighting – The two reactive patterns that reduce productivity – Why a request from the boss is not automatically urgent – How leaders can unintentionally create urgency for their teams – The importance of giving people permission to negotiate priorities – Why teams should consider importance before urgency – How clearer expectations can help people focus on work with greater impact Dermot Crowley is a productivity expert, bestselling author and founder of Adapt Productivity. He has spent more than 25 years helping leaders and teams work more effectively. His books include Smart Work, Smart Teams, Lead Smart and Urgent. Claire Gray is a leadership and team facilitator…

People in this episode

Host: Claire Gray

Guest: Dermot Crowley

Topics covered

• workplace urgency
• productivity
• team culture
• leadership
• time management

Keywords

• urgency
• reactive work
• productivity expert
• team effectiveness
• leadership

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Adapt Productivity

Books & works: Smart Work, Smart Teams, Lead Smart, Urgent

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