This Missing Item is Wrecking Your Team’s Ability to Concentrate and Consistently Deliver Quality Work

⬆️ Mindset Shift:

Operators take team and cross-functional collaboration very seriously when designing and maintaining a successful work culture. The difference is being laser-focused to maximize ‘Deep-Thinking Work Cycles’ so each team member can benefit from daily blocks of uninterrupted time to bring their best to the organization. A team’s number of weekly Deep-Thinking Work hours should be a Key Performance Indicator (KPI).

📋 Why a ‘Communication Escalation Protocol?’

Many leaders have inadvertently created work cultures that enable and promote constant distraction, loaded with expensive consequences. 

To illustrate this point, let’s start with a quote from Cal Newport, author of the groundbreaking book, ‘Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World.”

Consider this summarizing quote from Newport’s book:

“The ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy. As a consequence, the few who cultivate this skill, and then make it the core of their working life, will thrive.” — Cal Newport

Newport defines Deep Work as “Professional activity performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that pushes your cognitive capabilities to their limit.”

💡 NOTE: About Newport’s ‘Deep Work’ naming, I prefer the label ‘Deep-Thinking Work,’ also referenced as ‘Deep Thinking Work Cycles.’

If you are like me, you see tremendous power for your team in the Newport quote and definition. The question then becomes, ‘How do you operationalize Deep-Thinking Work in your team’s daily rhythms?’

Next, this important quote…

"It takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to work that was interrupted." — Gloria Mark

Professor Gloria Mark of the University of California Irving’s research quoted above parallels Microsoft’s findings, stating that it takes an average of 20 to 25 minutes to return to work after an interruption.

When you work the math, the interruption cost to any team is staggering. 

If you operate in a culture that tolerates constant, no-restricted interruptions, how can you expect your team to be able to get into a focused work state consistently? How can quality work be done with endless interruptions? 

Clearly, some interruptions are needed. However, non-urgent interruptions can easily be channeled through non-disruptive communication channels. 

High-performing Operators look to minimize the steep cost of interruptions and promote a work culture that interrupts only during urgent situations while selecting alternative communication mediums for the rest. This is done by publishing a Communication Escalation Protocol. 

So here is the basic structure of a Communication Escalation Protocol:

• Urgent situations call for using synchronous mediums such as phone, real-time text messages, or office visits.

• Non-urgent situations require using asynchronous mediums like non-immediate chat messages or email.

There is tremendous power when a team operates under this simple framing. 

⚡ PRO TIP: If you want to go deeper with your Communication Escalation Protocol design, check out my Com Check post. Here is a screenshot of the Com Check post showing a detailed table with more communication channels:

Importantly, your new Communication Escalation Protocol is built on ‘Async First’ thinking.

Async First means using asynchronous communication channels like email for non-urgent items with an expectation of a delayed response. This way, the recipient is empowered to respond during their next Communication Sprint.

Here are two Communication Escalation Protocol examples:

1. Non-Urgent Need: For example, imagine Susan has a non-urgent request. She needs a question answered by Oscar in the next 24 hours or sooner. Rather than texting or calling Oscar, who may be in the middle of a Deep Thinking Work Cycle, Susan instead thinks Async First. She correctly sends an email so Oscar can respond when convenient. 

2. Emergency Situation: Suppose Susan is dealing with a client emergency and needs Oscar immediately. Susan ends up calling and not getting Oscar and sends a text message with context requesting an immediate callback. 

In both examples, Susan follows the Communication Escalation Protocol, which ultimately allows her and her team to communicate efficiently and effectively while maximizing Deep-Thinking Work Cycles. 

There’s a key takeaway - Susan, Oscar, and all other team members know that if they aren’t getting phone calls or texts, they have the ability to go deep into their work, fully concentrate, and deliver great results. 

⚠️ HEADS UP: Teams switching to a Communication Escalation Protocol must adjust. It is important to set expectations for all team members to strive to be proactive with their communications, not waiting until the last minute to engage with others on the team. I call this operating in the ‘Proactive Zone’ rather than the ‘Reactive Zone.’

But what happens when you don’t operate with a Communication Escalation Protocol?

Common pitfalls and pain points include…

(1) INTERRUPTION FREE FOR ALL: Team members pick the communication channel with the least amount of friction for them with no consideration of the concentration state of the person they need to engage. This often leads to overusing instant messages without distinguishing between what is urgent and what isn’t. Costly, unneeded, and expensive interruptions soar.

(2) CHAINED TO THE PHONE: Since there is no delineation of communication channels, team members feel they need to stay chained to their phones, constantly scanning for possible urgent messages, rather than deeply focusing on their work. This unhealthy, always-on phone connection reduces work and life satisfaction.

(3) DESIRE TO GO DARK: Team members often feel the only way to get any meaningful work done is to go dark and turn off all communications. Since this is hard to pull off, it doesn’t happen often, frustrating those who desperately want to have more Deep-Thinking Work time so they can deliver their best work.

Instead, creating a Communication Escalation Protocol will:

• Reduce distraction

• Increase productivity

• Improve concentration

Your Communication Escalation Protocol will also lead to a higher rate of innovation as your team's Deep-Thinking Work Cycles increase. 

💥 Build Out Your Communication Escalation Protocol:

As a logical next step, get a consensus with your leadership team that unneeded interruptions are very expensive. Draft out a Communication Escalation Protocol and socialize with your team, making needed adjustments. Then, watch both team productivity and morale go up. 

I encourage you to take action to get your Communication Escalation Protocol published within the next 45 days or less. 

🔎 Want to Go Deeper?

My Com Check post has a detailed breakdown of how to build and document a Communication Escalation Protocol. 

💡 What Do You Think?

What are your thoughts or concerns on establishing a Communication Escalation Protocol? Consider leaving a comment or a question so others can benefit and learn. 

🛠️ Tools Mentioned:

No tools were mentioned, although Notion is used for the linked definitions and the Com Check post, as the post required a detailed table breakdown. 

☁️ AI Content Disclaimer:

ChatGPT offered some help with part of the title. Everything else is 100% human-created content.

✅ Mind Break:

Since you made it this far, to wrap up, enjoy 46 seconds of chirping baby cheetahs. 

🗓️ What’s Coming Up Next:

Next week, we will dive into the world of goal setting and leveraging practical ways to make progress faster toward your 2024 aspirations.

Keep communicating intentionally,

Steve Kahle |  ELITE OPERATORS

🔵 P.S.

P.S. If you find value, consider signing up for The Elite Operator Report if you haven’t already. I encourage you to share my content with others, which is a great way to help me build a growing community of elite operators. Also, check out my no-cost resources, like the Ideal Recurring Week Mini-Course. You can also apply for my next Productivity Accelerator, become a paid subscriber, or recommend me for executive coaching, operational and technology consulting, or speaking opportunities like this interview called Time Architecture, Transition from Stressed, and Distracted to Focused.

You can also contact me directly on LinkedIn or through this contact form.