What matters is concentration. Multitasking isn’t a valuable skill.

Almost anybody can multitask. How many people change a cd while talking on a phone or while drinking a smoothie or while looking for an address or while driving? How many mothers juggle adult responsibilities and the agendas of a couple of children? Managers should emphasize and reward concentration on a chosen task.

When a manager interrupts a task in progress and replaces it with a new one, there is risk that the staff won’t complete the first task. So the previous investment of effort in the first task has no result, and the ROI for the first task is zero.

If the manager interrupts or allows interruption of tasks, and if half the tasks are never resumed, then half the staff is wasted.

By completing tasks, each effort can bear fruit. So, even when more recent events suggest that the second task is “more important” than the first, managers should allow completion of the first task whenever feasible.

As a corollary, the manager shouldn’t commit staff to a task until the manager commits herself to supporting the task’s completion.