Your Team is Fatiguing You. Now What?

Sometimes it hits us: We are pretty tired of managing our team. They each have needs, career aspirations, and opinions (strong or not), make mistakes, and need feedback. This, in part, defines the aspects that a manager can expect. We often focus on how to be grounded, to help you provide the necessary assistance your team needs and wants. But, sometimes, focusing on everyone but yourself leads to burnout. Especially when you are still responsible for your own deliverables and work streams.

What’s more, blurred boundaries and increased workloads cause stress. Additional stress seldom causes us to be the best versions of ourselves, as described in my last post. So what gives? How can you re-energize yourself to feel less fatigued and show up for your team?

First, you need to understand burnout. Burnout is a sure way to feel not only out of juice but will contribute to sparking additional conflict on your team. Next, you need to employ tactics to defuse burnout.

• Overcome your need (or desire) to micromanage.
  Surely you must set expectations and follow through on accountability. But you must also remember that if you are seeking perfection, micromanagement is its close friend. To counter micromanagement, one study suggests a decrease in meeting time. A weekly check-in is more than reasonable, but a daily run down to look at your team’s work through a microscope will only fuel the micromanagement bug.

• Make time for yourself.
  What does rest look like for you? You must make the time to rejuvenate in order to put your best foot forth for your team. Take a walk, go to the gym, spend time with friends, etc. Keep these plans in the diary each week.

Managing People, Under Pressure

I naturally can’t help but think of Bowie and Queen when I consider being “under pressure” – and what a relevant description for many working people. We are often under pressure whether that pressure is because of a deadline or the amount of work we need to accomplish. 

What has become commonplace in most of Corporate America is high pressure and high stress. It’s no surprise that Americans work long hours, increase revenue goals YOY, and mandate higher work output (in less time). 

But how does being under pressure affect your ability to manage? It won’t take us long to think of an example when we were pressed for time and reacted poorly to a colleague or subordinate in response to the external stress factor. Stressors can leave you with a short fuse, and will inadvertently create an environment where your team may fear your inconsistency in mood. If you are fostering an environment of fear, trust will be hard to come by and collaboration/idea sharing will slow. 

Since KPIs, deadlines, and aggressive goals aren’t going away any time soon, what can you do to balance the pressures of work while also managing well? 

First, a great practice is being able to acknowledge your feelings without judgment. If you need pointers, revisit my post about mindfulness in management. When you observe that you are mad or anxious about something, you will be more likely to communicate your concern and not misplace your angst on a team member. 

Second, answer what is the worst outcome of the situation you are facing. When you work through worst-case circumstances, you are better equipped to deal with them, according to Hendrie Weisinger and J. P. Pawliw-Fry.

Third, and this may be counterintuitive but it’s proven, slow down. We are more likely to make mistakes when we are in a rush, and are most certainly more likely to make a mess both interpersonally and with the task at hand when we are only processing in our emotional brain (thank you amygdala). By pausing, breathing, and engaging our prefrontal cortex (the most developed part of our brain) we will be poised to solve problems, reason soundly, and even be more creative. 

The Four Pillars of Character

Character can be defined as the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. 

When you think about your character, what pillars govern your day-to-day life? If you are a person who manages people, it will serve you well to subscribe to a set of values, which in turn directs your character. 

It may be useful to think about an attribute of a leader whom you revere. Is this something you practice? Self-reflection can give you a reinvigorated purpose to strive to be more like the leader you want to be. 

In addition to using the information you have in front of you to help shape your behavior, and leveraging self-reflection as a tool for continued self-betterment, look also to the four pillars of character, which include: 

1. Trustworthiness

2. Respect

3. Responsibility

4. Fairness

To get you well on your way, refer to the below when aiming to give your character a tune-up.

Trustworthiness is the most complex of the four values in that it includes honesty, integrity, reliability, and loyalty. If you choose to put emphasis on this pillar of character, know that you must be honest. You must also be reliable (do what you say you are going to do) and must not deceive, cheat, or steal. Further, you must have the courage to do the right thing.

Treating people with respect is a surprisingly easy way to not only connect with others but to actively create a trustworthy environment. Remind yourself to be tolerant of differences and be considerate of others. Respect is a noticeable behavior: get caught in the act! 

Responsible people demonstrate self-restraint and exhibit the ability to respond to expectations. While you must persevere to be a responsible person, you must also think before you act. Responsible people must both consider the consequences and be accountable for their choices. 

Fairness implies adherence to a balanced standard of justice. This means you must play by the rules while remaining open-minded. Be sure to not blame others or take advantage. 

It may go without saying, but embracing these pillars of character will poise you to be a more effective manager and in turn, a more ethical person.

Learnings based on the academic findings of the Josephson Institute, 2008.  

Mood Contagion

Did you know that a leader’s mood most influences your company’s bottom-line performance?

It’s the secret sauce most companies are missing. And it’s not hidden information. Year after year I hear CEO horror stories (I also know fantastic CEOs!) and I often seek to understand more about performance as there is often a correlation between how well the company is doing, and what the overall perception is of the CEO.

Not only does a leader’s persona (personality, EQ, stress management, awareness, etc.) tie directly to performance, it drives everyone else’s moods and behaviors. This process is called mood contagion. Mood contagion is the unintentional transfer of feelings to others. Think of the old adage, smiles are contagious.

One might think about this notion through the lens of “emotional leadership.” Meaning, how is a leader leveraging emotional intelligence to engage, communicate, inspire, and problem-solve? The inverse will not only instill fear in team members, but it will also make performance suffer. When individuals are not encouraged to share ideas, innovation and collaboration will take a hit.

As a reader, if you are a CEO, take note. If you are a manager of a team, realize that you also have a great deal of influence and that mood contagion applies to you, too. What tone would you say your team is exhibiting? How can you adjust your behaviors to support your team’s attitude and ultimately, performance?