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Bringing your team back into the fold? Try Huddling!

Bringing your team back into the fold? Try Huddling!

By Karen Amos

Through all the uncertainty, there’s a prevailing need to get teams back on track. Whether your teams are working remotely, back in-house or a mixture of the two – no matter, you will need to take considered action to address the current and future challenges. Teams rarely perform well by default.

I’ve written extensively about the benefits of Team Coaching as a powerful, effective tool to address team issues and performance. (Check out my blog Team Coaching - What is it and how can it help?) Whilst this can bring excellent organisational outcomes, it works best over a course of several weeks/months to bring long-lasting change and progress.

So what about Huddles?

Huddles (similar to Scrums in Agile working) are very short, frequent team meetings. The purpose and format can be as flexible as you need it to be, which makes it a perfect tool to bring together geographically dispersed, or new/re-forming teams.

In a previous management role, I was responsible for a diverse and predominantly part-time workforce. The consequence was that some people had no idea what was going on in the organisation on a day-to-day basis, how other projects were progressing and what the implications were on their own work. We set up daily, very time-limited huddles to update everyone, with the intention that people would attend on their working days. It was paperwork-light and people/solution-focused.

Here's our quick guide to Huddling…

What’s the purpose?

'Whatever you need', is the short answer. The general purpose is to have a relatively structured check-in/update for the team on a regular basis. These shouldn’t be confused with team meetings. It’s important to have a clear purpose for your Huddle, or it will just become a ‘talking shop’ or ‘moan-fest’.

Examples could be to:

Have a regular general progress update
Share successes
Identify bumps in the road and seek solutions
Share project critical updates

What are the benefits of Huddling?

Many managers are reporting that they are struggling to find the right amount of contact with their teams. During lockdown, they had contact several times a week with their staff, checking on wellbeing as much as workload and progress. Over time however, many staff are saying they’re fine and don’t need so much contact. This runs the risk of some members becoming isolated.

Here are a few ways Huddles can help:

Help part-timers and staff working from home to be updated and included in what’s going on
Replace the impromptu 'watercooler' conversations that are missing with homeworking
Allow sharing of more subjective information and updates within the team that may not normally be included in more formal communications
Generate team support and understanding – it’s easier to be understanding if you’re dealing with people face-to-face on a regular basis, even if that’s on video calls
Up to date progress reports help shape more responsive actions and build motivation and accountability
Opportunity to share wins as well as challenges

Are there any pitfalls and challenges to Huddles?

Absolutely! As mentioned above, Huddles should not turn into just another talking shop or protracted team meeting. Good facilitation and commitment is needed to ensure consistent attendance, time management and that everyone sticks to the agreed purposes.

In the case of large teams, you may choose to split these to keep the Huddles short. The split could be per project, working days, or just with a diverse mix of staff. Whatever works for you.

We all know that person who hogs the limelight right? If you have someone who regularly takes over, I’d suggest this is objective evidence for a manager to give some constructive feedback in their next one-to-one. This allows opportunity for some coaching on improving communication skills and relationships with the wider team.

There’s also a need for continued commitment from all team members. There are likely to be some people who claim they don’t see the point, but again, this is an opportunity to build a more inclusive and supportive organisational culture. I’d suggest a coaching conversation about what they do need, but also how they can support other people in their team.

Hopefully this has given you a positive tool to bring your staff teams back into the fold. Click HERE if you’d like to find out more about Huddles and some practical ways to implement them.

For an informal, no-obligation chat about how we can help you, call us on 07714 855757, or email [email protected].

Karen Amos is an executive coach and founder of BrightBird Coaching & Training. She supports business owners and managers who are feeling the pressure, to get the best out of themselves and their teams. She brings a practical, down-to-earth approach to improving working lives through better leadership, communication and working relationships.

by karena

Don't be an ostrich - Dare to ask!

By Karen Amos

The change continues inexorably onwards, although thankfully not always at this pace. It’s clear however, that the current challenges and uncertainties are going to be with us for a significant time to come.

There are an overwhelming amount of challenges facing managers and business owners as we leave lockdown, whether that's in business, schools, or organisations, including:

Bringing staff back into the workplace from home working or furlough
Managing geographically dispersed teams
Managing redundancy and re-structures
Managing the health and safety needs of staff and the public

Whilst home-working has introduced increased effectiveness in many areas, there are difficulties too. If you’re used to asking a question from the person sat at the next desk for example, there’s an inevitable time lag if you’re homeworking.

Additionally, whilst there was a huge novelty factor for many at the start of homeworking, there’s now a marked division in those who want to remain working from home and those who are desperate to return to the workplace. Failure to address this will cost many businesses enormously.

Socially distanced working and constant change also means managers have to work extra hard at employee engagement, particularly when there are tough business and strategic decisions that need to be taken.

Of course, with challenges also come opportunities.

For managers and business owners to review their role and what this means in relation to the team and productivity
To forge a new, stronger relationship with the team
To re-generate a more positive culture
To harness new ideas and ways of working to strengthen the organisation for the future

The challenge of course, is how to maximise those opportunities in the face of what are complex business and organisational landscapes. How do you balance the need for honesty, whilst giving your teams the support they need?

The answer lies in questions. This will be no surprise to many of you that by this, I mean taking a coaching approach.

I know from personal experience that this can be scary. After all, we may not get the answer we would like! I’ve certainly worked with some people in my remote past whom I would have quailed to ask for fear of opening the inevitable humongous can of worms that would follow. With that comes the ostrich approach to management. You know the one – asking the cheery, ‘How is everyone today? All well? Oh, good!’, whilst departing the room at a rate of knots. But at least you asked didn’t you?

Nowadays thankfully, I know better. Asking meaningful questions doesn't mean throwing yourself to the lions, then being left in a position where you can’t possibly deliver on the answer. Instead this involves employee engagement in its truest sense, where everyone is supported to take appropriate responsibility for seeking solutions.

Often our first response is to jump in and ‘do the right thing’ like some managerial Tigger, who is inevitably left wondering, ‘What happened there?’ Instead, we’re talking about a more consultative approach. Coaching isn’t about giving everyone what they ask for – the needs of the business must come first, after all, that’s why you’re all there.

Ask yourself and your team the following coaching questions to help understand what’s really needed:

What is and isn’t working for you right now?
How would you prefer things to be in an ideal world?
What do you need to be productive and well at work?
What are your main challenges right now?
What do you foresee your challenges to be in the short/medium and long term?

Then follow up with:

What would help right now?
What can you change in your practice or way you’re approaching things that would help?
What practical measures can you, the team, or the organisation put in place?
What support do you need, from whom and how often?
How can you provide support to others?
How will you recognise that things are not working in future?

The obvious approach is for managers to schedule dedicated one-to-one time with employees on a regular basis. The solution for one employee, may not be right for another, but again this is something you can agree on individually.

Another way to embed a solution-focused attitude within the team is through implementing Team Coaching. This is an extremely effective tool in times of change and uncertainty. The team can work out the above issues, supporting each other and taking responsibility for finding and implementing the solutions. It’s also a powerful way to build accountability.

Either way, taking a coaching approach does involve an amount of courage for any business owner or manager, but the positive benefits for the team and business or organisation will be considerable and will far outweigh the costs and anxiety of being an ostrich.

If you'd like to find out more about Team Coaching, get in touch.

For an informal, no-obligation chat about how we can help you, call us on 07714 855757, or email [email protected].

by karena

Professional Fatigue – what to do when you can’t even reach your bootstraps…

By Karen Amos

‘Fatigue’ seems to be the word of the moment. I’m hearing it everywhere. From managers, business owners, workers, head teachers and parents. I usually come into the bracket of positive, or at least pragmatic in the face of challenge (to the consternation of the nay-sayers!), but even I’ve succumbed to bouts of negativity and fatigue in the last week or so.

Some of the most positive, chilled out people I know have told me they don’t recognise or even like the person they are at the moment – they’re fractious, complaining, negative, angry… The fact is people are exhausted – mentally and emotionally drained.

So what’s happened to cause this? It’s not that long ago that everyone was lauding the positive ‘New Normal’, of a slower, kinder pace of life and this is what they were going to take forward from now on.

There’s probably no single reason for these feelings, but here are a few possible causes. Of course, being a coach, this isn't just a moan-fest, so I've also included some first steps and coaching questions to lift us out of this situation.

Change:

Change is mentally and emotionally challenging at any time, but we’ve had relentless change for over three months and there’s no sign of this letting up – which brings…

Uncertainty:

We have no idea what’s coming next. Is it right to be optimistic? What if we are and our hopes are dashed? How long will this situation go on for? The questions are endless and often unanswerable.

Responsibility:

Responsibility can be both personal and collective. People working in positions of responsibility know the day to day challenges they face around the wellbeing of their staff and stakeholders, but now the potentially catastrophic effect of their decisions, both physically and financially, is front and centre.

Constant giving of support can leave personal reserves depleted, particularly when there are difficult decisions to be made around working conditions and employment.

Environment:

Most people now have a clear idea on where they sit on the ‘homeworking/office working’ spectrum. Many have recognised their needs aren’t been met when solely working from home, particularly if they’re child-wrangling/home-educating at the same time. Virtual office ‘quiz nights’, simply can’t replace the required level of social interactions for those who need this.

Lack of control:

This has rightly been explored in detail throughout the pandemic. The issue is that the lack of control continues, not just at a government level, but also societally. We’re given rules to follow, but other people aren’t necessarily conforming and we have no control or even influence over their behaviour. This in turn introduces the issue of…

Personal Values:

This is our inner voice – the one that gives us direction in our lives and governs our decisions and behaviour. When other people behave in ways we don’t morally agree with, our emotional response can be extreme. This can quickly lead to feelings of anger, overwhelm, hopelessness and inevitably, exhaustion if we can’t reconcile these.

So, what to do?

Be Mindful:

This is often a necessary first step in self-care.

This isn’t about gaining some kind of Nirvana-like state, but merely acknowledging and being aware of how you’re feeling. It’s not always easy to admit, even to yourself, that you’re behaving or thinking in a way you don’t like, that may not fit with your values.

Hit the pause button and take a few minutes out, however briefly, to think about what's going on for you right now. Accept that it’s natural and normal in the current circumstances and that it won’t be permanent.

Reflect:

On what’s causing your fatigue?

Try this coaching question:

Identify what the underlying reasons are. There will likely be at least a couple. Finding and isolating the cause will help put a brake on your internal mental hamster-wheel, bringing some rational thinking into the equation. You then have a starting point to begin taking practical steps to resolve some of these.

We’ll look at more tips and coaching questions to improve your wellbeing and productivity in our next blog.

If you would like to find out more about how you and your teams can improve their time management and productivity, whilst minimising stress and overwhelm, check out our new Positive and Productive online programme.

For schools

For Business and VCSE organisations

For an informal, no-obligation chat about how we can help you, call us on 07714 855757, or email [email protected].

by karena

The End of the Honeymoon Period... Now What...?

By Karen Amos

A few weeks ago I wrote a post describing workplaces as being in the ‘honeymoon period’ of dealing with the pandemic. Whilst this seemed incongruous in terms of the crisis that was occuring, there was by and large, a strong sense of the Blitz spirit of ‘we’re all in this together’.

I’d suggest we’re now well and truly out of that honeymoon period. Thinking and behaviour is becoming fractured and in many cases, fractious.

In the workplace, tensions are rising. Obviously so in places like schools, who are pulled in many directions, both practically and ethically, but also elsewhere. Some people are returning to work, whilst others remain on furlough. Pressure heaps upon managers and business owners to justify their decisions and reconcile these with staff teams. Performance and behaviour management issues are back on the table.

On top of this, many of us are experiencing an unwelcome return to a more frenetic pace of life and trying to work out how to resist being dragged back into old, unproductive ways of working.

It sounds messy and in many cases it is. So, what to do?

I believe this is the kind of situation where coaching as an approach comes into its own. Leading teams is challenging at the best of times, but increasingly so when tensions run high and staff are spread over numerous locations.

Individual coaching has obvious benefits – helping the person to address the particular difficulties they are facing.

Team coaching however, is a perfect answer to many of the issues businesses and organisations face right now. Teams need to build a new identity, find ways to solve emerging issues and build accountability, responsibility and equity when the ‘workplace’ can mean many things.

Team Coaching brings an opportunity for teams to challenge themselves and own the situation they find themselves in – whether management, project, function or operational teams. It also acts as a development tool to enable team members to take responsibility for problem-solving within the workplace. This takes away the excuses and expectations that it’s the manager’s responsibility to provide all the answers.

So, whilst it’s no magic wand, Team Coaching really can provide the road map for businesses and organisations to negotiate their way out of this unchartered territory we find ourselves in – moving out of the honeymoon period to longer-term, more harmonious working relationships.

If you would like to book team coaching for your business, organisation or school, or would like an informal, no-obligation chat about how this can work for you, call us on 07714 855757, or email [email protected].

You can find out more at https://brightbird.wordifysites.com/services/training-courses/

Karen Amos is an executive coach and founder of BrightBird Coaching & Training. She supports business owners and managers to get the best out of themselves and their teams. She brings a practical, down-to-earth approach to improving working lives through better leadership, communication and working relationships.

by karena

Let's be honest about it... Do you have the courage to say you don't know?

by Karen Amos

There has, rightly I'd say, been criticism of the government and the like, regarding a lack of information. This leads to statements like, 'treating us like children' and people translating the law according to their own preferences.

The problem is, there's probably a lack of credible information to give right now, be this be at a government level, or within a school or businesses. We're living in a high state of uncertainty, which brings anxiety. This naturally leads people to think there's something negative or sinister going on and off we all go...

Nature abhors a vacuum and in my experience, this applies to information too. Create a space and someone will fill it. It doesn't matter if what's filling the space is true, credible, or even helpful - it will get filled. Just check out the tabloids if you've any doubt!

This is an area where Authentic Leadership provides the way forward. Behaviours of Authentic Leaders include honesty and openness. What Bill George calls Relational Transparency – Sharing of thoughts and beliefs with honesty and genuineness – no games or hidden agendas.

This means if you don't know the answer to something, you say so.

Another of the behaviours is the ability to solicit or consider other viewpoints - enlisting the help and resources of those around you to help you find the right path or solution. It's hard to admit we don't know, particularly when we're working in a position of authority, but done well, this will build trust and strengthen teams, not take it away.

If you would like to find out how BrightBird can help you build leadership performance and support your teams to remain positive and productive, get in touch for a no-obligation chat. We offer online 1-to-1 coaching support from senior leadership to front-line staff, group and peer coaching and training/webinars.

Tel: 07714 855757 or email: [email protected]

Check out our latest training offers at: https://brightbird.wordifysites.com/services/training-courses/

by karena

Herding Cats – Or the Art of Building Responsibility and Accountability

By Karen Amos

There’s been a theme for many of my clients recently – that of how to build effective responsibility and accountability in their teams and organisations.

It’s easy to point the finger of blame when things go wrong, but we need to be clear on our own levels of responsibility and accountability before we expect others to do the same. It’s interesting how many managers complain about feckless or inconsiderate behaviour within teams, yet have never clearly defined their own, or their team’s expectations regarding the alternative. Or often, and possibly worse, have subconsciously imposed different standards of behaviour for themselves versus that of others. Quick check: If you find yourself saying, ‘Yes, but….’ when questioned about this, you can be sure you’re part of the problem!

Building a coaching culture within organisations is a highly effective way to increase personal and collective responsibility and increase ownership and clarity around accountability. It’s often (incorrectly) seen as a ‘soft’ approach to leadership and management, to be side-lined if performance management or the ‘hard word’ is needed.

I believe this completely misses the point of what coaching is.

A coaching approach, used properly, will be the most challenging, yet effective solution to team performance for managers and staff alike. It works equally well through both informal and formal management interventions – indeed it should run through all your communications with people like the proverbial stick of rock.

The reason for this effectiveness is the emphasis on doing ‘with’ not ‘to’ your staff. Whilst it’s easy to lecture and give the ‘hard word’, this all too frequently leads to the other person feeling victimised and powerless, which quickly leads to teams taking no responsibility for solving the issue. Let's face it, it's much easier to say your boss is a right so-and-so, rather than face up to the fact you didn't do your job right! Coaching on the other hand, requires all parties to contribute to solving the issue. This puts ownership right where it belongs.

An example of this was seen through an executive coaching client of mine (names and details removed to preserve confidentiality). He was despairing of a long-standing member of his team who wasn’t performing, missing targets and despite several ‘discussions’ was on the verge of formal performance management procedures. Upon examination, my client when asked, couldn’t tell me the reason for the person’s performance issue, so this became the first step in his new approach, which included using coaching skills to elicit from the member of staff what they thought the solution could be.

It’s important to remember that coaching doesn’t ignore standards, organisational strategies, goals and targets. Rather it works within these to come up with alternative solutions to enable people to perform at their best.

The outcome of the situation with my client was that he did commence formal capability proceedings, but was actually thanked for his support by the member of staff, who had a clear action plan they felt they could own and implement. Importantly, they were now taking full responsibility for their own actions, but were empowered by feeling they were in control of this.

Here are a few coaching questions to help you and your team explore and build responsibility and accountability:

What’s my responsibility here and what am I accountable for and to whom?
Does my team/manager know and agree with this?
Are my team clear about who is responsible and accountable for each piece of work they do?
Are people as involved as they can be regarding agreeing responsibilities? Do we instruct, or consult regarding this?
Do we have agreed check in points to review how this is going?

If you would like to find out more about how BrightBird Coaching and training can help you and your team to develop more accountability and responsibility, please contact us for a no-obligation chat. We offer short workshops, to multi-day training and 1:1 and team coaching.

Check out our latest Effective People Management Programme HERE.

Tel: 07714 855757 or email: [email protected]

Karen Amos is an executive coach and founder of BrightBird Coaching & Training. She supports business owners and managers to get the best out of themselves and their teams. She brings a down-to-earth approach to improving working lives through better leadership, communication and working relationships.

by karena

Never knowingly letting facts stand in the way of a good assumption….

By Karen Amos

I’ve had a couple of similar experiences this week with clients and associates. They’ve reported situations where they, or people working for or with them, were becoming upset and anxious about certain issues.

There was one core theme – everyone was guessing how everyone else felt and what they thought about the situation. It’s amazing – and as a coach, I come across this all the time – people behave like they have some sort of innate psychic ability. Except that if they did (spoiler alert: they don’t!), they really shouldn’t go splashing out on too many lottery tickets as they don’t seem to be very good at it!

One of the huge benefits to having a coach is that you have access to someone skilled in ‘reality checking’. As is often the case, this sounds simple, but it’s really not. Think about it. Any misunderstanding around a situation is usually because the parties involved aren’t on the same wavelength – they don’t share the same reality as the other person. There are innumerable reasons for this, but they include:

Not recognising our own feelings
Not recognising the other person’s feelings
Not having access to all the information
Working to different timescales

…and the list goes on.

Obviously, this lack of information leaves gaps – and we don’t like gaps, as they make us feel insecure – so we try to fill them. The way we do this is usually through making assumptions. Of course it’s Janet’s fault that you feel nervous about attending the meeting she’s chairing, because she clearly doesn’t care about your feelings…

A coach is able to bring a fresh perspective through the use of questions, that help clarify, not what’s going on, but what’s REALLY going on. Sometimes this can be tough, as let’s face it, it’s much easier to blame Janet for chairing rotten meetings that make you nervous, rather than admit the reality that you never seem to have the time to properly prepare for them. Knowing what’s REALLY going on, means you can then start to find a solution to the issue. Maybe you need to stop assuming Janet knows how you feel and ask for some support. Maybe you need to re-prioritise your workload to allow time to prep for meetings so you’ve opportunity to shine and show off your achievements…

Here are a few useful coaching questions when you find yourself in a difficult situation:

What’s going on here?
What’s REALLY going on here?
What’s the root cause of my problem – is it something I can control?
Does the other person know I’m experiencing this problem?
What do they think about this?
What’s the reason for their behaviour?

And most important of all…

What’s my evidence to prove this?

Once you’ve started to make sense of your reality, you can then take positive steps to improve your communication without the hang-ups that often hold us back - and perhaps even pack away that crystal ball...

If you’d like to find out more about how coaching can help you, contact Karen Amos at BrightBird Coaching and Training to book your free discovery session. Karen will help you to explore the issues and challenges you’re facing and how you can overcome these.

Karen Amos is an executive coach and founder of BrightBird Coaching & Training. She supports business owners and managers to get the best out of themselves and their teams. She brings a down-to-earth approach to improving working lives through better leadership, communication and working relationships.

Contact: [email protected] / 07714 855757

by karena

Dare you discuss your work performance?

By Karen Amos

I've just listened to an excellent episode of 'Ramblings' on Radio 4, where Clare Balding discussed mental health in business with an ex-CFO of a FTSE 250 company. He explained how he had experienced depression all his life, but felt he had to hide this in his workplace, as to disclose this would have been detrimental to his career.

He also discussed his lifelong tendency to focus on the negative - something I'm sure most of us have suffered from at some point. A classic example of this is ignoring the 99% positive feedback in your performance review and just hearing the 1% that could have been better.

Whilst there is a difference in the interventions needed to help people who are experiencing mental ill-health, there was a clear acknowledgement that there was a need to discuss areas of concern, performance and difficulties faced in the workplace. This is necessary to proactively prevent mental illness and promote wellbeing and build positive performance.

The assumption is that men find it more difficult to talk about themselves. My experience as an executive and professional development coach however, is that just as many women face the same fears and challenges. Surely, being able to do this should be seen as a strength, but many of my clients will not disclose to others that they are receiving coaching for fear of being perceived as 'weak' or 'under-performing'.

At the end of the programme Clare Balding asked the man if he would have any problem engaging with a sports coach to enhance his performance on the field. Without hesitation he said, 'No'. The implication is that this is seen as a positive move. The question then was, 'Why then are so many people reluctant to seek the same help in the workplace?' That support exists - it's also called a coach!

What's your stance on engaging someone to help your peformance at work? Are you prepared to speak candidly with someone, in confidence about your work performance, or does this feel 'unsafe' for you?

Karen Amos is an executive and professional development coach and training and the owner of BrightBird Coaching & Training. If you'd like to find out more about how Karen can help you and your team to be more positive and productive, get in touch for a no-obligation chat. Call on 07714 855757, or email [email protected]

by karena

6 Top Q&A's for Managing Conflict in the Workplace

6 Top Q&A’s about Managing Conflict in the Workplace

By Karen Amos – BrightBird Coaching & Training

1 What do we mean by conflict?

Conflict at work could mean anything from two people disagreeing on how to do a small task, to major disagreements that can become very personal between managers and team members at all levels. This has a negative effect on productivity, morale and often results in high staff turn-over, at huge cost to the business or organisation. We all have our own definition of ‘conflict’ and it’s important to understand this before we start to deal with conflict ourselves.

2 Is conflict always a negative thing?

Left unaddressed, the negative impact of conflict invariably spreads and has an adverse effect on productivity and morale. High performing teams always have some element of conflict however, that’s how they get their best ideas. The key is managing this constructively. We’ll show you practical ways to harness effective communication in your team.

3 What if I just have a personality clash with someone else?

It’s not possible that everyone in a workplace would get on well all the time. Sometimes we just have to accept that we’d never really choose to work with someone if we didn’t have to. Unfortunately, that’s not always possible, but there are constructive things we can all do that will allow us to have a better quality of working life and to be more productive for the business. We’ll cover practical ways of managing this on the workshop.

4 I'm a manager, but tend to avoid conflict wherever possible. How can I change this?

This is a really common issue. Our past experiences will influence how we behave in the present. When it comes to conflict, many people have had bad experiences with family, teachers, or poor managers in the early part of their career. Past history doesn’t have to dictate the future however and once managers are equipped with the right tools, they can start to build their own confidence in managing and pro-actively avoiding conflict in their teams. One way we can do this is by trying an ‘experiment’. By this, we mean trying out a new approach in a safe environment, where the negative consequences are limited should things go wrong. This is an excellent way for people to overcome fears and self-limiting beliefs in the workplace. We work though how to do this and more on the workshop.

5 My team are constantly in conflict - what can I do about this?

There’s rarely one reason why teams are in ongoing conflict. Some examples would be lack of communication, personality clashes, lack of clear decision-making and leadership and uncertainty within the team.

Whilst it doesn’t always appear to be the case, there are simple things you can do to address all of these that will start to have an immediate positive impact, both on your managers and staff at all levels. It’s really important to build a culture of personal responsibility within organisations – the success of the organisation is everyone’s business. The coaching approach in our training shows you how you can implement these tools quickly and effectively within your business or organisation.

6 What will I gain out of this training workshop?

You will have opportunity to build skills and confidence to manage conflict in the workplace, with both individuals and teams. The workshop will enable you to develop your own personal ‘toolkit’ to deal with difficult situations in the workplace in a practical way and show you how to generate positive outcomes and build personal and collective responsibility.

Date of next workshop: Thurs 30th January 2020

Click here for more details and to book

by karena

Stop the Bus! How to Deal with Overwhelm...

Stop the Bus! How to deal with overwhelm…

By Karen Amos

I was working with someone this week who confided in me that she was feeling completely overwhelmed with work. My response? ‘Stop the bus!’ Well, this gained her attention if only to wonder what on earth I was talking about (particularly seeing as there was no bus in sight) - which was compounded by my next instruction, ‘Turn off the ignition. Now get off the bus!’

Feelings of overwhelm are no stranger to most of us – I include myself in this. Issues and tasks mount up and we become less and less effective, whilst proportionately becoming more and more anxious. It frequently leads us to a complete standstill, or at best, with us tinkering around the edges with minor activities, whilst the important stuff is left unattended.

To be honest, I’ve found myself in just that situation this week, so thought I’d share a few thoughts and strategies on how I’ve dealt with this.

Stop the bus!

In order to deal with overwhelm, we need to stop the endless cycle of panic, fear and urgency that’s gripping us. We need to recognise these are just feelings – our feelings. They don’t accurately reflect what’s going on in the world around us.

One way to do this is to ‘Stop the ‘overwhelm’ bus’ by literally doing just that – stopping and taking time out to evaluate your situation. ‘Are you joking?’ I hear you exclaim! ‘That’s the point, I can’t take time out and that’s why I’m feeling overwhelmed!’

As I alluded to earlier, we need to check out the reality of this situation. Chances are if we’re feeling overwhelmed, we’re being completely, or at least relatively, inefficient. We aren’t working at our best, or most effective, so looking at it that way, wouldn’t it be a good investment to take at least a couple of hours out to fix the situation, knowing you’ll be back to full capacity when you’ve done so?

However you visualise it, stop your bus, turn it off and get off. Plot out a couple of hours for yourself where you won’t be disturbed, take a change of scenery if that helps, but lift yourself out of that head-down, flat-panic world.

Work out what’s important

It’s so easy when feeling overwhelmed, to get caught up in tasks and minor activities. This just leads to a vicious cycle of firefighting, where you haven’t a second to look up and take control. As a result, your first task needs to be to identify what are the important, significant issues and goals you should be dealing with.

I’ve just re-visited my 12-week-year planner, to re-focus and remember what I’m actually working towards. Seeing things in a ‘broader-brush’ context is often immediately comforting. If you don’t already have a plan or strategy, just ask yourself, ‘What would I like to see that would make the most difference in 6/12 months’ time?’ and start from there.

Prioritise

This is a word that’s thrown around like confetti, but let’s face it, if it was that easy we’d already be doing it, right? The problem with overwhelm is that often everything feels like a priority. You feel leaned on and obligated to other people too.

I’ve found there are some great coaching questions to help weed out what’s really a priority. Try a few of these:

- Does this help me achieve my bigger plan/strategy/aims?

- Do I actually need to do this? What will happen if I don’t? (If you’re not sure, try a very informal risk assessment in your head – i.e. What’s the probability and severity or not doing this).

- Is this my priority/issue, or is this really someone else’s?

- If it’s someone else’s, how do I hand this back to them, or help them with this?

- What one thing could I do right now that would make the most difference?

- When do these things actually need doing by? Set some new timescales according to your capacity.

- Is there someone else who can help with this?

Facing your demons

Just one final thought – I often work with clients who feel overloaded with minor activities and tasks at all levels in organisations. There’s a common theme when we start to drill down though, which is that we often focus on small tasks and activities, as they’re easier and less daunting than tackling the bigger issues.

Again, useful coaching questions would be:

- Being honest myself, is there anything I’m avoiding right now?

- What would I advise someone to do in my position?

Hopefully, you’ve found something useful in there, for you, or a member of your team and can stop your runaway bus or train and embark on a more enjoyable and productive journey.

If you would like to book one-to-one or Team Coaching for your business, organisation or school, or would like an informal, no-obligation chat about how this can work for you, call us on 07714 855757, or email [email protected].

You can book a FREE Discovery Coaching session to experience the benefits of coaching yourself. Find out more HERE.

You can find out more and book using the links below:

Check out our latest training FREE Introduction to Coaching and Essential Coaching Skills Webinars at: https://brightbird.wordifysites.com/book-a-course/

by karena

coaching

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