I remember reading an article one time about how business leaders spend their days, and I remember a high percentage of the time was “reading”. I tried to find the article and I never found it, but I saw anywhere from 15% to 30% of their time is spent in reading and reviews. But what are they reading, exactly?

I was in a group conversation the other day and we were discussing how in many organizations the volume of information that comes to most of us is really, really high. Most of us receive ridiculous amounts of emails, instant messages, dashboard alerts, and other flows of information. How do you keep on top of all this?

I did make the comment that one thing I am always worried about is that buried in one of these emails there might be a single sentence that describes a new process, or a process change, or something like that. And if I miss that information, and now I’m not following a process correctly, I don’t really have any good excuse because “I was notified via email”.

What this means is, despite the fact that it takes a lot of time I do try to at least briefly scan all my emails, all my instant messages, and at least glance at all the various dashboards and reports that relate to my role. The response from a lot of the other persons in the group setting was interesting, in that a lot of people state that they just don’t bother trying to keep up with all the information because there’s just too much.

My personal opinion is that, as a senior business leader, it may be a lot of work but its just something that you have to do. In fact, if you are in a meeting later on and there’s a decision that comes to you, how can you make an effective decision if you don’t have all the information? What I’ve found is since I’ve taken the time to read all the emails, the chat conversation threads, the documents and reports and dashboards, is when I’m in a meeting or a decision crosses my desk, I’m usually familiar with the topic and the situation.

So it may be a lot of time, but it is a key part of your job to read all your emails. So practice reading and learn to read quickly, because it will make you a better leader.