Embrace the Tension

Managing team workload is always an interesting challenge.  The first thing to realize is that this is not a problem to solve, it is a tension to manage.  A problem to be solved is fixable. Solvable.  We can make it go away.  But workload is a tension that needs to be managed. It is never going to go away, and that’s not a bad thing.   One of our unique traits as humans is that we have an opposable digit. This allows us, if we apply the right tension to do some pretty cool things…hold a pen, or throw a curve ball.  Tension can be good if we manage it well.  The organization, if it’s healthy and growing, is always on this horizon of creating more work to do and determining when more hands are needed. There should be not too little and not too much work, and that’s where the organization thrives, is by striking a balance, although balance may not be the right word. because truly it’s next to impossible to achieve, it requires constant monitoring and adjusting and tweaking the dials to get it to work right for that season.  In fact, this is part of what makes leadership so necessary.  This system, your team’s workload, is the system that you own, and it’s perfectly designed to get the results that you’re currently getting. We’re going to look at different strategies you can explore to help manage this particular tension together.  Let’s take a look at how.