Why operating at the right level is crucial for business performance
Not being aware of everything that’s on your mind can be a barrier to taking control of your role. This means you are operating at a level too low and trying to do too much.
This leads to overwhelm, stress and exhaustion. Too much overwhelm creates distress and impacts our health and it can become a downward spiral as your ability to think diminishes. Finding ways to acknowledge what you are feeling, working out how to manage the workload, and filter the information that you are being bombarded with, is crucial to your wellbeing.
When you are in too much overwhelm you may go into survival mode, and do something, anything to feel like you are in control. This means, ff you are new to your leadership role, you may want to stay across everything. You may be trying to do it all while waiting for your team to come up to speed.
Leading at the right level is about doing the work relevant for your pay grade, and your team doing the work relevant for their pay grade.
You are operating at the right level when:
- You are aware of what your team is working on, but not down to the tiniest details.
- You are not doing everything yourself.
- You are letting go of the work that used to be part of your old role and focusing on the work required according to your role description.
- You have reduced the number of meetings you attend, particularly those with representation by your team members.
- You are reviewing papers or presentation packs for final edits only.
- Your team is building strong relationships with stakeholders and other areas of your organisation.
- You may start to find moments in the day when you have nothing to do!
When you level up the whole team’s productivity increases, as does team engagement and collaboration. You have some time back in your day to start focussing on that higher value, future-focused work you didn’t have time for before, and more time outside of work to relax and rejuvenate.
You start to be noticed for the good work you and your team are doing and your career will start to soar.
This is leading, which requires new skills, so be prepared to become a learner again.