Welcome to Friday 411, issue #095. In 4 minutes, with 1 insight and 1 action, you’ll determine if your leaders struggle with Capacity issues.
1 Insight
Capacity issues arise when leaders don’t have the time, energy, and attention to lead others.
This morning, Sarah, a seasoned executive, is staring at her computer screen with the kind of expression usually reserved for people trying to solve a Rubik’s cube blindfolded. Her company just unveiled this year’s ambitious goals. Sarah studies the goals then opens her calendar. The next six weeks are already slammed with four work trips plus her company’s annual leadership conference.
Sarah glances back at the goals. She takes note of her specific role in accomplishing them and what her team needs to do. She knows if they don’t start soon, they’ll create roadblocks for other departments.
At that moment, one of her driven team members busts through the door.
“Hey Sarah,” he says. “Did you see those new goals?”
Enthusiasm oozes from his pores.
He continues, “We’ve got some big work to do! I can’t wait to get started.”
Sarah flashes an agreeable smile.
“I know! Let’s get going,” she says.
But, internally, it feels like that moment in Tetris when the blocks have built up too high, but the blocks just keep coming.
Sarah feels like she’s already lost the game.
How am I going to get all of this done? Where am I going to find the time? How can I get my team moving when I already feel stuck?
Sarah’s not alone. Across the corporate landscape, leaders are doing their annual tradition of cramming new objectives into already-packed schedules.
The results:
- longer hours
- higher stress
- missed deadlines
- overlooked details
Everyone feels as if they are losing the game before it starts.
The Wrong Solution
You might think that the solution to the problem is to abandon the new goals. We’re doing just fine. Why do we need all these new goals? But getting rid of goals brings even worse problems.
Research by Gallup and McKinsey links unclear objectives to lower employee engagement, higher turnover, significant dips in productivity, workplace stress, lower market share, and slower revenue growth.
In other words, the problem isn’t having new goals. The root cause of the problem is a lack of Capacity for leaders.
Capacity is one of the seven common Leadership Issues that cause 95% of company problems. The other 6 problems are: Character, Competence, Clarity, Community, Culture, and Consistency.
Capacity Issues stem from the lack of time, energy, and attention that leaders give to critical leadership responsibilities: casting the vision, aligning the work, clearly delegating, developing the team, coaching others, etc.
9 Signs You’re Leaders are Struggling with Capacity
How do you know if the leaders at your company are struggling with Capacity issues? Here are 9 signs:
- Leaders don’t have enough time to lead their teams.Leadership takes time.
You have to spend time with people ensuring that they understand the vision and their part in it. We often see leaders who have so many meetings, trips, and obligations that they don’t have time to actually lead the people they’re responsible to lead.
- Leaders are struggling with low energy.Leadership requires energy — a lot of it.
You wake up earlier and go to bed later than most people. Over time, this takes a toll on your energy, which hurts your mental engagement, decision making, and leaves your team feeling like you don’t care.
- Leaders don’t give enough attention to their teams.Leadership demands attention.
You have to pay attention to the goals, metrics, and activities that move the team forward. You also have to give attention to individuals in the team. You have to think deeply about the business and how to move it forward. When you find yourself constantly distracted, you have a Capacity issue.
- Leaders become the bottleneck to accomplishing goals.Leadership requires delegation.
You make critical decisions that move the organization forward. After making those decisions, you must consistently and effectively delegate. When you don’t give time, energy, and attention to delegation, employees get held back, waiting for the boss to make the next move.
- Leaders don’t practice Life Giving HabitsLeadership necessitates recharging.
Your position is the reward of years of obsessive work. Because leadership requires so much energy, you need to take time to re-energize. That’s what Life Giving Habits do.
Life Giving Habits are routines, practices, and activities that energize you and help you operate at your best. While they’re unique to each person, they often include activities like exercise, reading, time in nature, and hobbies. When you fail to renew your energy, your team will follow suit.
- Employee’s enthusiasm diminishes when leaders come around.Leadership sets the tone.
Have you ever experienced employees having a great conversation… till you walk in and the energy of the room changes? Your energy is contagious.
- Leaders stay stuck in fire-fighting mode.Leadership must see beyond the urgent.
It’s a Clarity issue when you don’t know the highest priorities. But it’s a Capacity issue when you are so consumed with putting out fires from today that you can’t build toward the future. As Alan Watts said, “No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.”
- Leaders don’t block time on their calendars to accomplish their highest priorities.Leadership sets priorities.
Time blocking is the practice of scheduling time on your calendar to focus on specific tasks or priorities. It’s like scheduling a meeting with yourself.
You may know your priorities but fail to translate them to actions. Every goal must shape your time.
- Leaders don’t coach team members to become more successful in their roles.Leadership requires coaching.
When you don’t take the time to coach team members, it’s a sign of Capacity challenges. It’s also a near-guarantee that you won’t have a well-developed leadership pipeline. Coaching slows down the organization temporarily in order to speed it up.
1 Action
Evaluate your leaders. Do you recognize any of these 9 signs of an underlying Capacity issue? How does your leadership need to change to address the root cause of these symptoms?