My manager's timesheet

Most workplaces ask their staff to complete timesheets. Presumably this has some kind of administrative purpose, and it also means the staff get paid. A good thing.

When I worked at Macquarie Bank, I had to divide my time up into tiny segments—usually 15 minutes each—and allocate them to the variety of projects I worked on—usually 10 or 12 per month. It literally took me four hours every month to complete.

By comparison, my manager typically completed just one line with one figure: one month of work on team management for my team.

It's funny that, from a timesheet perspective, large companies aren't interested in what their managers do. They pay them a lot of money to manage teams, but don't get much in the way of feedback about what they actually work on. Is that a good way to run a company? What other metrics can you use to assess the ability of a manager?

Portrait of Matt Ryall

About Matt

I’m a technology nerd, husband and father of four, living in beautiful Sydney, Australia.

My passion is building software products that make the world a better place. For the last 15 years, I’ve led product teams at Atlassian to create collaboration tools.

I'm also a startup advisor and investor, with an interest in advancing the Australian space industry. You can read more about my work on my LinkedIn profile.

To contact me, please send an email or reply on Twitter.