Bottoming out
All vehicles are designed to carry loads, and beyond a certain point, life gets interesting until the load becomes unmanageable and the car just bottoms out.
It would seem that humans are similar.
Right now, many of the leaders I work with tell me they are all dealing with additional load and tighter constraints. However, even more challenging than the load each leader may be experiencing is the knock-on effect to their team, accompanied by the high risk of their people bottoming out and resigning, just at a time when the company needs them most.
They say prevention is better than cure, and when it comes to retaining key people, that’s definitely the case. If you can relate to this, now might be a great time to work with your direct reports to help them streamline their tasks by prioritising fewer key areas to focus on over a defined timeframe.
Helping people know what not to focus on right now can be just as crucial as helping them to know what to focus on. The load may still be the load, but streamlining and creating some short-term points of focus, could create a temporary easing in what’s being carried. That might just make the difference in helping them believe they can stay the course.
Humans are built to carry a certain amount before they bottom out. Helping your team focus on what’s most important right now, is a great way of helping harness their capacity to manage the longer-term load realities.
I regularly coach good leaders who are traversing tough times. If I can help, let me know, and you can also check out my Ruthless Productivity course for in-house teams.
Ray
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Rayism of the week: Helping people know what not to focus on can be just as crucial as helping them to know what to focus on.
ray@rayhodge.com.au; www.rayhodge.com.au; +61 403 341 105
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Great image, great sentiment. Spot on as usual Ray. Have a restful and enjoyable weekend, my friend.
Cheers
Russ