Busyness
By: Andy Fry, Coach & Director of Operations, Renogize Professional Coaching
Have you ever been a part of a team that inflated the value of busyness? I recently worked with just such a team. The leader of the team, who we will call “Julia,” would frequently state how busy her employees were. She would mention how busy she was. It was the expectation that everyone was too busy. But were they really?
When a culture of busyness is rewarded in an organization, there are often negative effects both seen and unseen. Consider the following effects on stress and anxiety:
Increased levels during high demands due to not feeling that you have enough time to complete your work and due to not being able to see the end of the season.
Maintained inflated levels during low demands due to wanting to project an exaggerated view of your productivity and due to anticipation of the next frantic season.
A natural biproduct of this culture, the typical teammate will also SAY they are busy even if they aren’t. The cost? A decrease in additional opportunities that could have resulted in professional growth. Julia truly cared about her team and wanted the best for them. When new tasks came up, she took them on herself rather than delegating them so as not to overload her team.
Did you catch that? When the leader fosters an environment of busyness, it tends to create more workload for themselves and fewer opportunities for their people.
If you are a leader in this type of culture, there are things you can do to begin to change the course. Here are a few tactics that Julia implemented.
1. Define what is making you feel busy. Name it. When given a name it becomes less scary, less ambiguous, and easier to adjust or correct.
2. Remove “busy” from the office language. Focus instead on how “productive” and/or “effective” you and your team are.
3. When delegating tasks, ask what priorities will have to take a backseat to accomplish this new priority.
Consider how the words you use around being “busy” might affect the people around you. Julia’s team is improving, they are communicating better than ever, and she is finally able to pull up and focus more on leading.
Make course corrections if necessary and continue to lead well!
