How to stop work long hours: manager's edition

During the pandemic, we ran some employee wellbeing surveys. Across the entire population, self-reported burnout was significantly higher amongst managers.

Working long hours is often an issue for managers, and can be even more so in remote, distributed, or flexible teams. But it doesn't have to be that way.

In under four minutes today, I'll take you through exactly how I approach keeping workload sustainable while running a highly productive and engaged team.

1 - Give clarity of direction and priority

This is important both for you and for the team.

By being clear on your priorities and your direction, you give yourself a much easier task when you need to decide what is a "yes" and what is a "no".

Perhaps more importantly, this also becomes a much easier task for the team. When furnished with a clear direction they are able to make more decisions and priority calls without pushing them up to you.

So your team get to move forward more quickly, AND they feel empowered which is great for team motivation. AND they have taken some decisions and discussions off your plate meaning that you can focus on what you need to do.

Of course, part of this clarity includes being clear on which type of decisions do need to be escalated to you.

2 - Build autonomy and trust

Autonomy and trust go hand in hand, and both a key to running a thriving team that doesn't lead to you burning out.

In a nutshell, let Let your team get on with what they do, give them focus time. In return, you also get focus time. This will free up so much of your time it's insane!

Now, trust flows both ways, and autonomy doesn't mean that you ignore your team.

They must also trust you. Trust that you are there for them when needed, that you have their back, that they can talk to you.

To create autonomy and trust, you must create a safe space where your people can come to you for help, if they're struggling with something, or even if they've made a mistake.

Trust compounds, and as the manager it starts with you.

3 - Develop a culture of communication

You still need to know what's going on. From the basics of knowing that everything is on track and everyone is doing okay, to being able to answer questions about projects from other stakeholders or preparing reports for others.

You need a balance of synchronous and asynchronous communication.

You need a rhythm. You need habits.

Starting with the synchronous basics. For example weekly 1-to-1s with each member of the team, fortnightly project team syncs, and monthly team meetings.

The real mindset shift is in defaulting to asynchronous communication. This is how you keep on top of things in near-real time. It could be quick check-ins on Slack, updating spreadsheets or documents, commenting on or modifying project plans. Whatever it is that YOU need from the team so that you don't need to interrupt THEM. It's a win-win.

Quick note - this last part may take time and effort from you to build the team habit.

4 - Create alignment WITH your team

For maximum impact, all of the above must be designed and created with your team.

Co-creation gives everybody a sense of ownership and deep understanding. It brings the team together and holds them together.

By including the team in the creation process you help to minimise disagreements. Rather than following the letter of the law, everybody has a strong sense of the spirit of the law.

I led teams of engineers who love nothing more than to find logical loopholes, but by working with them on all of this I created alignment and common understanding.

The reduction in friction is worth the effort alone!

Conclusion

If you're working long hours every day, every week ... you know it's not sustainable.

It's time to do something about it. Don't wait.

Use the above to get started.

If you want help, if you want a framework to get it going faster, please get in touch and perhaps we can work together to make work a better place for you and your team.