New Work Overwhelm
As leaders, we sometimes have to help defend our time and priorities from other people's responsibilities. We also have to make sure we are modeling this in a way that our team feels comfortable doing the same.
Two pieces of common advice on saying "no" to new work oversimplifies the topic. Either (1) hold firm on your boundary and say no or (2) push back to your manager to say "I have too much, you tell me what to prioritize".
Neither is great.
Today, we'll explore more effective methods for prioritizing requests for new work that distracts from your core priorities. This model can also be taught to your team to help them strengthen the same skillset.
Don’t just say no
Understand the work is likely going to get assigned to someone. It's not like saying no to your manager will result in them saying "never mind, I guess we won't do this". The work likely has to go somewhere, at least for now. There is a good chance that they are coming to you because they feel you are best suited for addressing it.
Find the why
If it's not offered, get an understanding of why this is coming-up and what priorities it aligns to. Understanding this will help with determining the best fit. It's also helpful to understand why they are approaching you with this. Maybe you're the only one on the team who can realistically take-on the responsibility. On the other-hand, maybe they are over-relying on certain people when there is an opportunity to distribute work more broadly.
Buying time
Once you've done this enough, you'll be able to run through the mental assessment internally during the course of the conversation. If you're just starting out with this method, it doesn't hurt to buy more time to think through it.
Something as simple as "I want to give this the attention it deserves but I'd like some time to think about how I can incorporate this in with my competing priorities. Would it be alright if I come back to you tomorrow with a recommendation on that?"
I know not giving an automatic yes feels uncomfortable, but I have coached people on this method with great success. Most managers will be happy that their team member is taking the responsibility of prioritizing the work. The fact that you are taking the time to consider it also shows you are taking it seriously.
Assess
You have the ask and the why behind it. Maybe you even bought yourself a day to consider things. Now you need to determine if and how this fits with your priorities. In other words, does the task fit the highest and best use of your time?
The first piece is determining whether you are the right person to be doing this work. Since you've been asked, you are likely capable…but that's not all there is to it. For instance, there may be other capable individuals handling less critical work. If that's the case, is it worth considering whether something could be transferred to them?
The second piece is figuring out where this sits within your priorities.
Depending on how you answer those two questions in relation to one another, you'll probably have a good sense of whether this fits in with your top priorities or if there is some room to make an alternate recommendation.
Make a recommendation
Responding with a quick "you tell me what you don't want to get done" can come across as standoffish. Instead, make a recommendation.
You have a couple options here (outside of just saying yes to everything and feeling overwhelmed)…
You can suggest that based on workloads, the new work be assigned to another individual.
If it's high-priority work only you can do, maybe one of your less critical projects could be delegated instead.
If delegation is not an option, can you put one of your competing projects on pause to make room for this.
The answer will depend on the context, but the point is you have far more options than just yes or no. Those are the options that are best explored in these situations.
Something along the lines of: "projects A, B and C are really taking up most of my time. Based on what you've provided, I could probably delay project B to make room for this new effort. Are you good with that approach?"
This Week's Action Items:
If you're asked to take on work when you're already overwhelmed, avoid a simple yes or no.
Make a point to understand the "why" behind the task and why they are coming to you.
If you need it, ask for some time to thoughtfully manage your priorities.
Determine whether you are the best fit for the new task and where it sits in your list of priorities.
Make a thoughtful recommendation to the requestor beyond just a yes or no.
