Balancing Workload Effectively

Leading by example? That was my strength. But mastering the art and science of quality management? Let's just say I wasn't quite prepared for that challenge. While I've come a long way since those early days, I'm still learning every day, and I'm committed to sharing what I've learned with others navigating similar challenges. Here are some key insights I've gathered along the journey: Prioritise Work-Life Balance: Encourage your team to take breaks, use their holiday time, and set clear boundaries between work and personal life. And crucially, lead by example to show it’s not just talk. Set Clear Expectations: Provide a clear vision of goals, expectations, and timelines to reduce uncertainty and stress. Ensure every team member understands their role and how it fits into the larger picture. Offer Support and Resources: Be available to listen and guide your team. Provide resources like counselling services or flexible work arrangements to support their well-being. Show Appreciation: Regularly acknowledge and appreciate your team's efforts and achievements. Whether it’s a public shout-out or a private thank you, recognition goes a long way. Foster Open Communication: Create an environment where everyone feels safe to share their thoughts, concerns, and ideas without fear of judgement. Remember, listening is as important as speaking. Fuel Growth Opportunities: Offer training, development, and career advancement opportunities to help your team members reach their full potential. Celebrate their progress along the way. Cultivate Collaboration: Promote teamwork and camaraderie among your team. Whether through team-building activities or volunteer opportunities, strengthen those bonds. Lead with Heart: Get to know your team personally. Show empathy, compassion, and flexibility in your interactions and decisions. Nurture Positivity: Create a workplace where diversity is celebrated, and everyone feels valued and respected. Address conflicts swiftly and promote a culture of mutual support. Watch for Burnout: Be vigilant for signs of burnout and take proactive steps to manage workload issues and support your team's well-being. 🔥Tobi Oluwole

Productivity isn’t pushing harder, it’s smarter. Too often, productivity means endless hours. Deadlines pile up, stress takes over. Busyness is mistaken for real progress. The result? Burnout, fatigue, disengagement. I’ve seen it too many times. Talented people drained of their spark. Teams running fast but going nowhere. Leaders measuring hours instead of impact. But here’s the truth: Sustainable > Frantic. Healthy teams create, innovate, and last. Clarity, trust, and energy fuel results. Productivity should elevate people, not exhaust them. Here are 7 ways to boost team productivity without burning people out: 1️⃣ Set clear priorities – Focus on what really matters. 2️⃣ Respect boundaries – Rest fuels energy, not laziness. 3️⃣ Simplify workflows – Cut clutter, reduce pointless approvals. 4️⃣ Encourage autonomy – Trust people, unleash better performance. 5️⃣ Celebrate small wins – Recognition builds confidence, sparks momentum. 6️⃣ Focus on strengths – Strength-driven work multiplies impact. 7️⃣ Model balance as leader – Your habits shape team culture. Success isn’t just constant output. It’s about results and resilience combined. Great teams work hard, but recover. They produce results and keep thriving. Because burned-out teams can’t sustain greatness. But balanced teams? They build legacies. Choose balance today.  Unlock tomorrow’s best. Protect people, and you’ll protect results. What’s your go-to productivity booster? ♻ Share this with your network if it resonates. ☝ And follow Stuart Andrews for more insights like this.

1 in 4 employees report experiencing highly toxic workplace behaviour. Here’s how we combat it: I run 3 agencies—Social Beat, Influencer.in, and D2Scale—which employ 300 team members, and I know first-hand how critical it is to address burnout. But here's the thing: most companies approach burnout all wrong. They treat it as an individual problem, throwing wellness programmes and resilience training at the team. Yet, the real solution lies in systemic change in the organisation. A recent survey across 15 countries revealed that toxic workplace behaviour is the single largest predictor of burnout symptoms and intent to leave. So, what's a leader to do? Well, simply having your team "yoga their way out" won't cut it. We need a holistic, top-down approach that addresses the root causes. Here's a 4-step playbook I follow to combat burnout in my agencies: 1) Detoxify the workplace: Identifying and eliminating toxic behaviours like harassment, discrimination, and unrealistic demands is step one. Create a safe, inclusive environment where people can thrive. Give the team an opportunity to voice this out if it's not going in the right direction. 2) Redesign work: Assess job demands, workloads, and processes. Align them with sustainable practices that encourage growth, learning, and work-life harmony. Often this may mean re-setting expectations with clients. 3) Upskill leaders: Invest in training programmes that equip managers with the tools to encourage adaptability, resilience, and psychological safety within their teams. 4) Embed well-being: Weave mental health support into your culture. From team assistance programmes to mental health days, make well-being a strategic priority, not an afterthought. Even the extra holiday during Diwali or New Year can make all the difference. We also use YourDOST as a partner when someone in the team needs to have a chat. The key? Addressing burnout systemically, not just symptomatically. By prioritising a healthy, sustainable work environment, we can ignite a ripple effect of positivity that reverberates through our teams and bottom lines. What changes have you seen your organisation implement to effectively combat team member burnout? P.S. We call everyone a team member, rather than an employee. The change starts with this thought

Creative work doesn't have to mean chaos. I built a system that lets me get more done (and still have energy for life). My step-by-step breakdown: 1. Weekly Creative Cycle: Structured days for input, ideation, planning, creation, and review. 2. Time-blocking: Dedicated slots for deep work and creative tasks. 3. Tool stack: Using Notion, Trello, and mind-mapping tools to organise ideas and content. 4. 3Es Framework: Creating content that Educates, Entertains, or Empowers. 5. Templates: Pre-designed formats for posts and emails to save time. 6. Scheduled rest: One day for content scheduling and unplugging. This system saved me from burnout when juggling multiple high-stakes projects. It transformed my workflow from chaotic to controlled, allowing for better quality output and more personal time. Remember, creativity thrives on structure. Give your ideas a framework to flourish. #Creativeframework #creativity

It's 08:07 on Saturday morning and one of my clients, a brilliant senior TA, texted me: “Is it bad I’m already checking emails? I just want to get ahead of Monday.” I paused. Not because I didn’t understand but because I’ve heard this exact sentence before. Too many times. That quiet tension, the one TA teams feel when they know they should rest but can’t, is real. And it’s growing louder. Here’s what I’ve learned after working with dozens of TA professionals and leaders: It's not just hiring managers pushing timelines, or overflowing reqs or the tech tools that never quite work the way they should. It's the reality that candidates are searching for jobs 24/7. Candidates are always on. They apply at midnight. They message at 6 AM. They follow up on Sundays. And so, slowly but surely TA teams start waking up on Saturdays feeling the urge to check in. To make sure someone hasn’t slipped through. To feel “caught up.” To reduce that Sunday night anxiety before it even starts. But here’s the thing: You weren’t hired to be 24/7. You were hired to be strategic. To build high-quality pipelines. To help teams grow through people, not panic. And yet the pressure to be immediately responsive creates this warped equation: Speed = success. But you and I both know that’s not true. Speed without clarity leads to churn. Speed without process leads to burnout. Speed without strategy leads to regret hires. So what’s the alternative? From what I’ve seen, the best TA teams don’t chase urgency. They build intentional systems to create space: ✅ Pre-written email templates with weekend boundaries ✅ SLAs and expectations that you own and communicate ✅ Strategic planning before Friday ends, not during Saturday coffee And perhaps most importantly: They give themselves permission to log off, not as an act of defiance, but as an act of professionalism. Because no candidate is worth sacrificing your health, your time, or your joy. You’re not lazy for resting. You’re not uncommitted for disconnecting. You’re not bad at your job because you don’t reply at 9 PM. You’re strategic enough to build a process that works without sacrificing your peace to serve someone else’s panic. If you feel this, know you’re not alone. And if you’re ready to lead your TA practice with more boundaries and more strategic clarity, I’m building tools and frameworks exactly for this. Because high performance shouldn’t require burnout. Let’s rewire the system. 💬 Drop a “❤️” if this hit close.

🔍 What If the Problem Isn’t the Problem? On Tuesday, I had a great conversation with one of the best leaders I know. We were wrestling with something that trips up even the most innovative teams: How do we keep from getting so caught up in today’s problems… that we lose focus on tomorrow’s challenges and opportunities? She leads with heart, urgency, and excellence. And like many top performers, she’s constantly solving problems, clearing roadblocks, and making things better for her team. But I challenged her, as I often do, to look 12+ months out, not just 12 hours ahead. Because leadership isn’t just about solving what’s right in front of you. It’s about helping your team see farther. Here’s the trap: 🥁 We solve what’s loud. 👀 We fix what’s visible. 🏃 We chase the problems we can solve because it’s satisfying. But the future isn’t built by fixing symptoms. It’s built by stepping back and asking the harder questions: • Why does this keep happening? • What’s the root system behind this pain point? • What are we ignoring while we’re putting out fires? Firefighting feels noble. But it can keep us stuck. Creating the future requires focus, courage, and the discipline to zoom out, even when the pressure is screaming at you to dive in. She and I agreed: it’s not easy. But it’s doable. And more than that, it’s necessary. Here’s how great leaders start shifting from reactive to strategic today: ✅ 1. Calendar the Future Block non-negotiable time every week to focus on problems 12+ months out. Even 90 minutes of protected time shifts your lens from tactical to transformational. Ask: “What are we doing today that impacts 12–24 months from now?” ✅ 2. Challenge Root Assumptions, Not Just Root Causes When problems repeat, don’t just ask why it happened. Ask why we think it’s normal. What if the real issue is the assumption behind the system? ✅ 3. Develop Future-Thinking Muscle in Your Team Bring others with you. Ask in 1:1s and team meetings: “How is this decision setting us up (or limiting us) a year from now?” You’ll build the habit, and the mindset, of strategic leadership across the team and the organization. Creating the future doesn’t start with solving the next fire. It starts with the courage to look beyond it. #CreateTheFuture #Leadership #StrategicThinking #ThinkLongTerm #SystemsThinking #ChallengeTheNorm #OrganizationalExcellence

𝗧𝗵𝗲 #1 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲? Solving symptoms. Instead of systems. You don’t fix burnout with a yoga class. You don’t fix a leaky pipeline with a new CRM. You don’t fix inefficiency with rescue missions. But that’s what most companies try to do. They patch the symptom. The chaos returns. Why? Because your results are only as strong as your systems. A few years ago, I worked with a SaaS company scaling like wildfire. Fresh funding. Exploding demand. Headcount doubled. Inside? Sales was sprinting. Product was scrambling. Engineering was drowning. It wasn’t a people problem. It was a system problem. The CEO said it best during their SLT Boot Camp™: “We’ve built a product that scales, but not a company that does.” Everything shifted after that. They stopped blaming teams. They started fixing structure. Results? - Product velocity doubled. - Customer churn was cut in half. - Lead-to-close time for new sales dropped by 30%. - Employee turnover decreased. - System outages became a thing of the past. - Chaos quieted At Tatham, we call this the Push vs Pull Problem. Push companies run on urgency, force, and heroics. Pull companies run on alignment, clarity, and capability. The difference? Are you solving the fire, or... the system that causes it? You already have the talent. You just need to unlock and redirect it. That’s what we do. We do this every day, from SaaS to healthcare to the Fortune 100. We teach your teams to see the system,not just the fire. We train your leaders to stop doing the work and start building capability. We help your org shift from reactive to repeatable. Because solving symptoms feels good today. But solving systems? That’s what scales. In what area is your team firefighting the most right now? Let’s fix the system underneath. ♻️ Hit that share and help your network. 🔔 Follow me for more OpEx thought leadership. #OperationalExcellence #ScaleUp #BusinessStrategy #LeadershipDevelopment #SystemThinking

The harsh truth? You chose big goals, so you can't expect it to be easy. Your feeling overwhelmed, I get that. Here’s the good news: ↳ It means you’re on the right track. Your plate is full... that’s a sign of ambition. But burnout is real. And you can’t afford to ignore it. If you handle your workload wisely you: ↳ Protect your well-being. ↳ And set yourself up for sustainable success. Here are 5 simple strategies that helped me: 1. Gratitude: Why it matters: → It rewires your brain to focus on positives. → It turns challenges into growth opportunities. → It keeps you grounded in the chaos. How to: Morning Reflection: • Write down 3 things you’re grateful for. Gratitude in the Moment: • Pause and find something to be thankful for. End-of-Day Recap: • Review your day and note what went well.   2. Prioritization: Why it’s crucial: → Not every task is of equal importance. → Effective leaders focus on what matters most. How to: The Eisenhower Matrix: • Divide tasks into Urgent and Important categories. • Use Trello or Asana for task management. The 80/20 Rule: • Identify the tasks that drive results. • Use data analytics to track true impact. Time Blocking: • Allocate time for high-priority tasks. • Use Google Calendar to protect those blocks.   3. Delegation: Why it’s key: → You can’t do it all—nor should you. → Trusting your team lightens your load. How to: Identify Strengths: • Know your team’s strengths and weaknesses. • Assign tasks using Slack or Teams. Communicate Clearly: • Provide clear instructions and expectations. • Use project management tools for clarity. Follow Up, Not Micromanage: • Check in to offer support as needed. • Use task tracking to monitor progress.   4. Mindset: Why it matters: → The journey is mental as well as physical. → Being positive turns obstacles into stepping stones. How to: Reframe Challenges: • See obstacles as learning opportunities. • Use e-learning platforms to upskill. Visualize Success: • Spend time visualizing your goals daily. • Map out steps with visualization apps. Practice Self-Compassion: • Be kind to yourself when things falter. • Reflect using digital journals.   5. Balance: Why it’s non-negotiable: → Sustained success requires both hard work and rest. → A burned-out leader can’t lead effectively. How to: Set Boundaries: • Define clear working hours and stick to them. • Use RescueTime to manage screen time. Prioritize Health: • Make time for exercise, sleep, and health. • Use fitness trackers to meet goals. Schedule Downtime: • Plan breaks and vacations as you would meetings. • Relax with apps like Calm or Headspace.   Now, it's time to put them to use. Because you can cry about having a lot on your plate... But you don't have to. What’s one tool that helps you manage a full plate? 👇 Share your tips in the comments!

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁 - 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗼𝗸𝗮𝘆. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. 𝗔𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀. 𝗡𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. After 25+ years guiding transformations, I've seen many leaders 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. Here's a story that might resonate with you. Three challenges emerged while helping a $4B company move beyond its reactive state: - The CEO was drowning in operational decisions, working 80-hour weeks yet feeling increasingly disconnected from the business - Despite implementing "lean tools," problems kept recurring and improvements wouldn't stick - The leadership team was fragmented, with each member fighting their own fires independently These challenges revealed a crucial insight: you can't improve what you can't predict. The constant firefighting wasn't just a symptom - it was actively preventing the organisation from establishing the stability needed for genuine transformation. The breakthrough came when we shifted focus from "getting better" to "getting predictable" with the help of the SDCA cycle (thanks, Sergio D'Amico, for this excellent overview below): Step 1️⃣ : 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲 ✅ Write down the new steps. ✅ Train your team to follow them. ✅ Stick to the same method every time. Step 2️⃣ : 𝗗𝗼 ✅ Follow the plan with care. ✅ Fix errors as soon as they pop up. Step 3️⃣ : 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 ✅ Match results with your goals. ✅ Spot any flaws or gaps. Step 4️⃣ : 𝗔𝗰𝘁 ✅ Fix root causes. ✅ Update the standards if needed. ✅ Celebrate the wins as a team. Within 90 days, the CEO's operational involvement dropped by 70%. More importantly, the leadership team began seeing patterns instead of just problems. By month six, they were proactively preventing issues rather than reactively solving them. For those leading growing organisations: if your days are consumed by unexpected issues and "urgent" decisions, you're likely stuck in the reactive trap. The path forward isn't through more efficiency tools or harder work - it's through creating predictability. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆: 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗲. Start by mapping your organization's current response to problems. Where are decisions made? How are issues escalated? Make these patterns visible, then standardise them - even if they're not perfect. You'll be amazed at how clarity creates capacity for real transformation. 👉 Follow me for weekly insights on #ContinuousImprovement and #ExecutiveCoaching. I share practical tips from my experience at Danaher, Procter & Gamble, and coaching leaders. Let's make 2025 the year you achieve more by doing less, better.

Most IT leaders I meet are exhausted. Not from the work itself, but from fighting the same fires every week while executives ask why IT "costs so much." Here's the truth: 👉 You can't lead strategically when you're stuck in reactive mode. Early in my career, I inherited a team drowning in tickets. The CIO was frustrated. The team was burned out. And every conversation was about what broke, never about what we enabled. So we flipped the script. ✅ Instead of reporting ticket volume, we tracked business outcomes — the same kinds of metrics that would later become core to the Grove Method ✅ Instead of measuring response time, we measured impact prevented (a core Grove principle). ✅ Instead of chasing every alert, we built systems that let us lead instead of react. It wasn't overnight, but within six months, we went from "the help desk" to "the team that keeps us running." Here's what changed 👇 • We stopped defending our workload and started showing our value • Executives finally understood what IT delivered, not just what it cost • The team had space to think, plan, and actually solve problems If your IT org is stuck reacting, the problem isn't your people. It's your system. 💡 You can't strategy your way out of chaos. You have to design structure first. And that's exactly what the Grove Method is built for, shifting IT from firefighting to future-shaping through structure, trust, and measurable outcomes. 💭 What's one thing keeping your IT team in reactive mode right now? 🔔 Follow Bob Roark for Grove Method strategies that transform IT from cost center to competitive edge.