Protection: Mitigating the Detriment of Competing Demands

Protection: Mitigating the Detriment of Competing Demands

As leaders we intend to empower our teams to deliver remarkable results with autonomy. However, this intention often collides with a barrage of competing demands that risks diluting the impact of the team and hindering progress towards the most critical goals. Leaders must strike the balance between enabling teams and safeguarding them from wasting time and effort. In this article, we will explore the current tension between empowerment and protection and delve into actionable strategies, including prerequisites, that leaders can employ to shield their teams from the negative impact of competing demands.

Clear Prioritization: The Compass for Success

The foundation of any effective protection strategy is a well-defined system of prioritization. Years ago I read Jim Collins' Harvard Business Review article “Catalytic Mechanisms ” and I still keep a copy in an arm's reach of my desk for on demand reference. A prioritization framework, like the mechanism described in the article,? provides a solid foundation for establishing audacious goals, enabling teams to allocate their time, energy, and resources toward achieving them. By outlining clear priorities, leaders can diminish the likelihood of teams becoming entangled in tasks that don't contribute meaningfully to the organization's success.?

Prerequisite - While a prioritization mechanism can remove much of the discretion for leaders, it assumes that the leader has established clear and measurable goals. So don’t miss this opportunity to provide your team aspirational goals and rally the team around “why” these goals are important.?

Empowering Teams to Say No: Navigating Low-Priority Requests

To empower teams to focus on high-impact work, leaders must foster an environment where saying "no" to low-priority requests is not only acceptable but encouraged. Open communication is key; leaders should educate their teams about the importance of candidly assessing the value of each demand. By equipping teams with the confidence to respectfully decline requests that detract from critical objectives, leaders can help them stay on track while still maintaining collaborative relationships with stakeholders.

Prerequisite - Team members will be more comfortable and more likely taking a resolved position to say “no” if they can reference published goals and clear prioritization logic. This can help them take the emotion out of the moment with a stakeholder guiding the requestor to review published priorities.?

Leaders Taking Escalations: A Demonstration of Commitment

When competing demands arise, leaders must be willing to step in and handle escalated situations. This signals to the team that their protection is a priority for leadership. Addressing issues at higher levels showcases a commitment to minimizing disruptions caused by non-essential demands. By doing so, leaders emphasize their dedication to shielding teams from unnecessary distractions and reinforce the notion that the team's energy should be reserved for tasks that truly move the needle.

Prerequisite - As a leader if? you make the decision to revise the prioritization logic based on the escalation, it's important to share the “why” behind that decision before making the change. In a dynamic environment this revision of priorities is expected but the team needs to understand the inputs the leader used to make the decision to have confidence the leader will support in “holding the line” for prioritization.?

Halting Non-Value Adding Activities: The Power of Interruption

Leaders must set the tone by modeling behavior that aligns with prioritization. Whether it's declining a low-impact request, refocusing discussions on essential topics, or calling out actions that waste time, leaders should set an example. Intervening in real-time, leaders protect their teams from becoming trapped in an unproductive cycle. This intervention can be as direct as halting meetings that veer off course or redirecting conversations toward more relevant matters. By exercising the power of interruption, leaders ensure that the team's energy is channeled into meaningful endeavors.

Prerequisite - You need to set the stage with your team to expect this. If you have never redirected a large group or halted an unproductive meeting it could be very discouraging to your team and the facilitators. Establish in advance that you may do this, it comes with good intentions, and that it aims to help reduce unproductive effort.?

Conclusion

Implementing a combination of clear prioritization, fostering the ability to decline non-essential requests, stepping in during escalations, demonstrating conviction in priorities, leading by example, and interrupting non-value adding activities, leaders can effectively shield their teams from the detriment of competing demands. In doing so, leaders cultivate an environment where teams can focus on achieving their most important goals, driving success and innovation for the organization as a whole.