Building Capacity: How To Do More with Less

This is a written Transcription for the Leadership Hustle episode about Building Capacity: How to Do More with Less, from Season 1 Episode 12.

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Andrea Frederickson: As a leader, are you finding it necessary to get more done with less? In this episode of The Leadership Hustle, we'll talk about finding ways for you to create capacity not only with your team, but with yourself. Welcome to the next episode of The Leadership Hustle, where we work with executives whose companies are growing fast and need leaders who are ready. Today we are going to tackle the topic of creating capacity for teams and companies. And so, hi Michelle. How's it going today?

Michelle Hill: Good, good, good. How are you doing?

Andrea Frederickson: I'm good. I haven't talked to each other since I got here, so just hey and hello and all that stuff. So as we were preparing for this topic, we were recognizing a lot of the conversations that we were having with some of the leaders, but some of the executive teams. So tell us a little bit about, you know, where are you hearing this need for more capacity in organizations or with with teams?

Michelle Hill: I am noticing a higher frequency of the developing the capacity at the higher level, everything from that VP executive director level that we need to build that really the succession planning. Right. But some of the scenarios are, you know, we have an individual who's very, very technically smart, but when it comes to the people side, it's it's not it's not working. And but we need the one but we need both. And what are we doing there? And that's the only person we have with the knowledge. Gotcha.

Andrea Frederickson: Right, Right. A couple of places where I'm starting to notice this a little bit more frequently than usual is right now is the season where, you know, we're having we're starting conversations for planning, annual planning, strategic planning and things like that. And so we talk about how are we going to be able to accomplish the goals and what are the things that we need to do related to that. Also, even just in the identifying the fact that we need to delegate more delegate, you know, there's a little bit of succession plan in there, there's an intentionality behind that. But just the idea that that some of the leaders that we're working with are afraid to move responsibilities or train up people on the responsibilities that they have for fear that they're going to be overburdened or over taxed and things like that. So I thought, you know, let's let's let's talk about that. So one of the things as we get ready and do planning, we have a favorite exercise that we like to do. And and it takes a couple of weeks, if not a month or so before we actually do the planning to do the exercise. And I'm going to explain the exercise and we'll talk a little bit about what it does for the team. Okay. So so in this exercise, we ask all team members to identify what tasks that they have and what projects that they have.

Andrea Frederickson: And then in each of those tasks and projects, we identify, how much time per week does it take you and for how many weeks is it an ongoing project or process that they do, or is this a 2 to 3 week process that they're working on? They're working on that project, but just going through and identifying what that that time is. And when we have people do that, they come back together and then they identify is there anything here that needs to be eliminated? So, for example, there are people that have these pet projects. They've been told not to do them, but oh, I just like doing them or this was something I always wanted to do anyway, so I'll just kind of do this on the side. But it takes away from their capacity to perform the priorities of the organization, right? So we're looking for situations where we can eliminate specific activities or tasks or second of all, simplify. And so when we talk about simplifying, we're looking at, you know, digitizing them or automating them or, you know, I think you've mentioned outsourcing. Outsourcing, right? Outsourcing, for sure. And seeing what we can do to make sure that what we what we're doing is we're creating the most amount of time available for for people. So have you ever done this exercise or.

Michelle Hill: I have done, yes, very similar. And one of the things that I like to get into when we get into that eliminate or simplify is what is the effort versus impact, Right? So if we're putting a lot of effort and a lot of effort could be, you know, five hours a week, five hours a week adds up. But if the impact on the team or the organization is little, okay, that's where we have to kind of question Right. Is it worth any effort or is this something that we need to put on hold or completely stop doing? Right. And sometimes that stop doing it gets into the whole concept of it's their idea. It's, you know, they're emotionally charged and attached to it, so they don't want to let it go. They don't want to stop doing it. They'll make it work. But the effort that they're having to put in to even nudge it versus the impact, it's not worth it.

Andrea Frederickson: Right. And so as we look at those. As I've had executives look at those that they lead and the teams, they they may be leading, you know, multiple layers of teams when they start realizing all the projects that are going on. And then I was like, no, we're not doing that. No, we're not doing that.

Michelle Hill: And for how long?

Andrea Frederickson: Sometimes. For how long? That's the one doing it. Yes. You know, the amount of wasted capacity that we have. And I say that in the fact that that does it move the needle of the priorities of the company or and or the team. Right. And the team company. The team objectives need to be aligned with the corporate initiatives and the priorities of the company. But it's so amazing how time just starts to be consumed by the things that like, No, we're not doing that. Or I'm only I only want you to provide four hours worth of information on this or in in investment in this versus, oh, just do whatever it takes to get it done. It's like, is that eight hours? Is that 27 hours or is that just give me what you can in four hours or half a day kind of equation, right? Yes. So so in that doing that exercise is super helpful. But then we go to the leaders, right? And so phase the next phase of this process is okay, leader, not only are we asking you from a team perspective, what do we need to eliminate? What do we need to simplify or outsource? Right? But okay, what are you doing? What is it? So so we ask people like, why do I need to do a time management or time analysis study before strategic planning? Right. So strategic planning we go through and say, okay, what do we need to stop doing? What do we eliminate? But the next part is what do we need to train up? What do we need to help people learn and take on? Because what we're doing is we're eliminating some tasks, right? And so instead of it taking all of our time, it needs to be spread to the level in which it's most appropriate for them to work on.

Michelle Hill: Which you just transitioned. Eliminate could be different definitions of eliminate, right? Right. So I was hearing one of eliminate could be to stop.

Andrea Frederickson: Doing so stop doing it but.

Michelle Hill: Also to eliminate could be you stop doing it. But we delegate and develop our team to do it right. Am I? Yes. Okay.

Andrea Frederickson: And well, in some capacities there's truly eliminating it from everybody. Correct. Simplify it, automate it. Let's figure out how we can take steps out of it. How can we shorten the process, whatever that might be. We might have to make sure we're training up someone to take over. Yes. And so when people talk about, oh, senior executives, they don't need to learn how to delegate. Yes, they do. They're still doing some of the things that they've always done. It's habit or practice, but enjoy it. Enjoy it. But sometimes what happens is they haven't identified the fact that they haven't delegated the authority and responsibility of the decision. They delegate the task, but they don't delegate the decision. So they become the bottleneck. And so looking through and saying, what are those things? Absolutely only I can do? Be careful, leaders. This is a this is a dangerous place, Right?

Michelle Hill: This is very dangerous because it's it impacts truly asking that question. Anyone should someone else should be able to do it. I mean, if you're gone, let's just say you take vacation. Let's just say you're not feeling well. Let's also just say that you're no longer with the company for whatever reason, right? The business. We have to really reduce the risk of the business and ensure that our consumer, our clients are taken care of and whatever they are purchasing from us, Right. That it's going to sustain, it might sustain a little differently, but it's going to sustain. And therefore, no matter where we're at in the organization, others should be able or have knowledge of how to make a decision. Right. And what's.

Andrea Frederickson: Involved. You know, this you know, the idea of creating capacity isn't only bringing in more people, although some people that's what they think is like, oh, I'll just bring in more people. Well, we all know it's difficult to find people right now, you know, different different areas of of knowledge and expertise. You know, we're stealing them from somebody else. Right. And so how what are we going to do to create that opportunity that makes our environment that much better? And why would they move? Right.

Michelle Hill: Yes. So just depend on your environment. You have other you know, are you working in the building? Are you working hybrid, blended, whatever term you want to use these days? Because I've seen I've heard several. Right. Or is it permanent, 100% remote because they come now with different expectations than maybe they did, at least stronger expectations, right. Where they nudge less than they did prior to 2020.

Andrea Frederickson: Right. So we're looking at let's see what we can do to create capacity for our team members. Let's. Then second of all, what capacities do we need to create for ourselves so that we can concentrate on our high payoff activities? Now, remember, high payoff activity isn't necessarily a priority. Priority is something that absolutely has to happen right now. And we've kind of gotten into routines where we're reacting, Oh, I don't have a new person. My person left. Now I have this as a priority, but a high payoff activity is what am I doing to build succession capacity? What are the things that as a leader I'm responsible to do? That's my responsibility to move the needle and and adjust for the the company priorities and our and our plan and how we're moving the company forward. So there's two things there. So as you've had conversations with leaders, why don't leaders do this?

Michelle Hill: Well, it's part of it's human nature.

Andrea Frederickson: Okay.

Michelle Hill: Well, there is the the belief that the belief is that they can't do it as good as me. They can't do it as quick as me. They don't have enough experience to make a decision like this. It's going to take too long to develop them. I mean, we could just go on and on, Right, Right. And that will they'll justify anyone can justify not doing something. And it's really easy to justify why am I not spending time at developing that, that next group, that next layer where they can fill in, they can step up. And unfortunately, when we're not developing the people around us, we're not developing our team, they're going to go somewhere else to get that opportunity because people want to grow. People want to have opportunities to learn new things. They also want to understand at that higher level why we do what we do and how do we do what we do and make these decisions. And unless we're engaging and involving them, it's it can become a little more we have to get this done. But we really don't know why totally or we don't understand how.

Andrea Frederickson: What's the.

Michelle Hill: Impact? Yeah, we don't understand the impact. We don't understand why that that decision was made even. Right. And so engaging them. So when you think about that idea, what holds them back? What what have you noticed? I know I took them all, but.

Andrea Frederickson: I think there's so many. I noticed people saying today, Oh, they're already busy. Oh, yes, that one. They're already busy. Which goes back to what we started off the conversation with is we need to take some things off their plate. Well, we don't really know all the things that coworkers are doing, the people that we lead, whether they're working right next to us or they're working across the country. We don't know the things that they are spending their time on. The second part of that is there's some level of trust that they're missing. Like, Oh, are they old enough? It's like, what does age have to do with it? Oh, they just never have had those experiences. Well, get them started right now. Or the belief that they have to delegate the entire process. It's like we don't have to do 1 to 100%. We can start off with let's start with 5% or 10% or let's let's start going through that process and building their their confidence and their experience levels to to go along with those things. And the other is it's just faster If I do it myself, I don't have time to train them. It's like, yeah, but just think if you the high payoff thing is developing someone to not only do the task, but to make the decisions to create experiences so they have judgment on what works and what doesn't work. And and we have to be okay with letting them struggle. Yes. I mean, I talk about with parents and and and people that are in leadership roles, they struggle with, oh, I don't want them to struggle. I don't want them to suffer in any way. It's like, yeah, but don't we realize that if people have to struggle a little bit, that's when they grow?

Michelle Hill: Yes, They need to be a little uncomfortable. When they're when they're comfortable, it becomes kind of just status quo. Chug, chug, chug. And depending on your individual, that could be boring as well, right? Going back to that individual who wants to do something else and leaves. Right. But in order for them to be growing, they have to be uncomfortable, not chaos, just uncomfortable, just uncomfortable.

Andrea Frederickson: Let's go. Let's disrupt them a little bit. Let's be a little bit let's go into some complexity a little bit. But I think that people will be frustrated a little bit. Not to the point of I'm out. Yeah, we have to help them through some of those processes, but we still need to let them know that it's okay to struggle a little bit. And we as manager leaders, we have to be able to give some grace, like look at the effort, look at what you've learned now that you didn't know two weeks ago. What's the next step? How do we get there? Yes. And it was never perfect for me. Right. All right. So if we don't create capacity, if we don't create more time for those that we lead, right. The start stop, continue kind of thing and leveling up. If we don't take time and say, you know what, I need to train up some folks. By the way, no one in regular life talks about delegation. We talk about teaching people only leadership development classes. Do we ever use the word delegation, right? Yes. So. We don't do this training up and giving people next level experience. What happens? What happens if we don't do it?

Michelle Hill: Well, you end up working a lot more. Your stress is rippling out now, right? Which then also has a negative impact on the environment. And people can feel your stress and it starts feeling uncomfortable and they don't even know why.

Andrea Frederickson: We call this burnout, by the way.

Michelle Hill: Yes. As we're working that way. Yes. Yes. 100% burnout. And no matter where you're at in that organization, it's important that we identify how and when we are taking time to develop our people. Right.

Andrea Frederickson: I also notice when those things don't happen, there is a lack of clarity on where are we going? How are we making sure things are happening? Who's supposed to do what? Oh, I didn't know you were doing that. Let's get clear about what is a priority, what's not a priority. And let's let's look at how can we create an environment where people feel like what they're doing is really truly contributing to the forward motion of the company and that company, those companies that have that clarity and those companies that have that, we're always trying to improve. But that doesn't mean we're adding more on to our daily activities. We're learning new things. That's healthy, and we want organizations that are healthy. And without that process of continuous improvement, continuous improvement means we have to also stop doing certain things and go to the next thing that what we do is we just start burdening and piling on more stuff and more stuff and people are like, I got nothing left. I got nothing left.

Michelle Hill: Yes. And the typical burnout and also depending on if you own the company or if you are at that table but not the owner, it it sets the environment, the stage for the environment, which then it starts becoming unhealthy. So then other people suffer who maybe were protecting as well. Right? And now we're making it stressful and uncomfortable for them, too.

Andrea Frederickson: So let's let's let's go back to this. Let's reveal what are all the projects and tasks and activities that people are doing and let's get rid of the ones that are not moving us forward. Let's let's figure out how we can simplify and automate things and let's level up and train up people so that they can they can take on things that are new and interesting to them, but also that they can have experiences so that they can move up into the organization. In your succession plan is is working in place I mean these these sound like well, of course. Andrea Mitchell We should be doing these all the time. But my question to you listener is when was the last time you actually did it? Because every time we have people do this, they're so surprised with the amount of time that was created, right? For people to do the things that make the company move forward. Yes. So thanks for listening to this latest episode of The Leadership Puzzle. Please subscribe so you don't miss another episode.