FEATURING GARRETT DELPH, CEO AND FOUNDER OF CLARITY OPS
Hello there! I’m Garrett Delph, and today, I want to discuss a crucial aspect of leadership and management that often goes overlooked: understanding when too much is too much for someone. This is the foundation of effective workload management.
In between meeting daily targets and goals, losing sight of the human element in our teams can be easy. It’s essential to remember that our teams are made up of individuals, each with their unique strengths and thresholds. As management leaders, our role extends beyond merely driving results. We’re also tasked with nurturing a work environment that acknowledges these individuals’ limits and overall well-being – all vital components for a thriving business.
So, how can we manage team workloads effectively? Here’s what I have learned from my 25+ years of experience in building worldwide scalable businesses! Let’s dive in!
The Balancing Act: Management Leaders, Workload, & BHAGs
Who are successful management leaders? They are the architects of the corporate world, balancing productivity, team morale, and strategic objectives with seamless proficiency.
Managing team workload isn’t just about assigning tasks; it’s about knowing your team’s strengths, their capacity, and their limits. It’s about understanding the delicate balance between pushing your team towards achieving Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs) and overloading them to the point of burnout. Assign tasks that challenge them but ensure they are not overwhelmed, fostering a productive and positive work environment. It is this balance of pushing for ambitious goals while prioritizing the team’s well-being that ultimately prevents burnout and propels the team toward success.
Resource Supply Ability and Goal Demands
Often, part of the supply and demand issue is businesses opting to bite off more than they can handle – a pretty standard competitive move. But my encouragement here is that if a business wants to get to its goal faster, in a healthier way, and in a more profitable way, it needs great people to sustain. They need to extend the lifetime value of their teammates.
And there are many ways to do this. But one of the ways to do that is for managing leaders to be mindful of the supply and demand part and not dump on the people they lead and manage. Your supply and demand ability is the people and the processes you have to get done, whatever you need to get done, versus your goal demands and deadlines. So you have something you want to get done that is a measurable demand. Be mindful of the people and the resources you have at your disposal to do that.
Achieving BHAGs Without Burning Out With Mindful Management
To maintain this balance, you need an effective workload management plan. Here are some workload management strategies to consider:
1. Be aware of your team’s workload: Take time to understand each team member’s workload. This will help you know who has the bandwidth to take on more tasks and who doesn’t.
2. Divide workload fairly: Learn how to divide workload in a team efficiently. Ensure that tasks are distributed based on a person’s skill set and current workload.
3. Prioritize tasks: Not all tasks are created equal. Determine which ones are most important and prioritize those first.
4. Set clear expectations: Make sure your team knows what is expected of them. This will help avoid entering a maze of misunderstandings and keep everyone on the same page.
5. Delegate: Don’t try to do everything yourself. Trust in your team’s abilities and delegate tasks accordingly. Also, delegate the right tasks to the people best equipped to handle them.
6. Monitor and adjust: Keep an eye on your team’s progress and make adjustments as necessary. If someone is struggling, step in and help redistribute the workload. Moreover, if you have new goal demands, pull back, put on pause on previous tasks, and redirect your focus.
7. Communicate: Keep lines of communication open. Encourage your team to speak up if they feel overwhelmed. And when they do speak up, LISTEN!
Avoiding Management Vertigo
Management vertigo happens when leaders lose sight of their priorities, become overwhelmed, and lose their equilibrium. It’s a dizzying state where the focus on outcomes overshadows the well-being of the team and the efficiency of the workflow. Mindful management helps avoid this pitfall by keeping a close eye on the team’s workload and making adjustments as necessary. Always be aware of your team’s capacity, even while chasing BHAGs.
Remember, achieving BHAGs is essential, but not at the cost of your team’s well-being. As leaders, our role is to guide our team toward success without pushing them to the brink of burnout. And that, my friends, is the art of mindful management.
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