What can you do when you notice that your team is feeling stressed out and overwhelmed to the point that efficiency and effectiveness are compromised? When people are exhausted from trying to keep up?
The answer might surprise you!
SLOW DOWN.
When calendars are full and everyone's feeling completely overextended,
it’s time to stop, take a break, and reassess what's really important.
Ask the right questions
I like to ask two questions:
What are the priorities?
How are we, as a team, going to get them done?
Asking these questions helps cut through the clutter of the day-to-day and refocus everyone on the work that matters most. They also reduce overwhelm by helping people determine what tasks can be put aside or dropped completely.
As a facilitator who often goes into organizations grappling with conflict or overwhelm, I highly recommend having an outside, third party like myself to assist you with this process. We can see the big picture clearly and keep your organization’s purpose front and center while you figure out the priorities.
The result?
Your team is less stressed, and moves forward doing the work that truly matters!
How about a retreat?
I also highly recommend trying a good ol’ retreat - a dedicated time and space that allows you and your team to ‘retreat’ from your day-to-day pressures, ideally somewhere away from your regular work space.
This works for a lot of reasons.
First - Stepping out of the busyness and away from the daily overwhelm gives people a chance to breathe. The pause helps people to think more clearly.
Second - A retreat lets you reground your team in the purpose of your organization. Asking what work is aligned with that purpose helps in figuring out what the priorities should be. It helps people to assess for themselves:
“How am I spending my time? What are the priorities, and how can I be as effective as possible?”
Third - A retreat shows tangible support for your team. The right retreat design will acknowledge the overwhelm and stress within your organization, and the stress of things happening in the world.
A great retreat reinforces how important and valued every team member is.
When you create a safe, inviting space to:
Step out of the crazy for time to reflect, regroup, reground, and recommit,
Acknowledge how your team members are feeling, and
Reframe work and opportunities by aligning them to your purpose
You move from overwhelm to opportunity!
If you need help with this, I'd love to be part of the solution for you. Contact me for a free consultation!
*Authentic content written by Kimberly Lyall, Lighting up Leaders
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