Time Mode – "Capacity Building"

Feb. 8, 2012
Capacity Building takes two forms: building relationships and building technical skills

The previous three articles focused on “making time count”. The four categories of activities that most professionals spend doing on a typical workday: Firefighting; Attention Getters; Capacity Building; and Time Wasters. This week we will highlight the third category of activity: Capacity Building.

Capacity Building takes two forms: building relationships and building technical skills. Both are important, but both require time. People must spend time together, working on projects, talking, and visiting over lunch. Too many organizations view it as a waste of time if two employees are found visiting during “work hours”. The fact is that people build trust with each other by talking about work issues, family life, and countless other topics. Organizational theorists and psychologists actually refer to the process of building relationships as building social capital—we simply call it networking or relationship building. In a service focused organization, networking, and relationship building are two ingredients that will always enhance service delivery.

The second way to capacity build is to spend time improving your technical skills. Economists refer to this as human capital, and it is certainly an important factor in success. If you wish to build your technical capability on the job, you have to be willing to invest time in training and learning.

Though the actual amount of time you spend in capacity building activities may be no more than 10-25% of your work week, it is a crucial 10-25% of your time. It is much like the heart. In proportion to your total muscle mass, the heart is but a fraction—but it is a crucial fraction!

(“Building A Customer Service Culture—The 7 ServiceElements of Customer Service”, by Robert Hobbi & Mario Martinez)

Next Week:  Time Mode—“Time Wasters”