How do you shift your team from exhaustion to the dream team?

How do you shift your team from exhaustion to the dream team?
How do you shift your team from exhaustion to the dream team?

A recent Work-Life Balance Training I hosted recently brought this question sharply and painfully into focus: “How do team leaders shift their teams from exhaustion to the dream team?”

One of the team managers in the session had recently taken on a new managerial role and was keen to prove that they were capable of, and up to, their new managerial role. Despite having a few family issues in the background. The team manager wanted to prove that the role was right for them and that they would be able to copy more senior leaders in the company and work as hard and as diligently as their senior peers.

The question they asked in the post-training session (which we called ‘how will the training work for me’) was:

“How do I do more in less time?”

This is a question I am familiar with and deserves some deeper attention and focus.

How do I streamline my work so that I have more time to complete the extra roles that are recognised as being part of my managerial role?

The problem that emerged was that the team member was not only doing the job they were recruited for – the important role that made the organisation revenue – they had also taken on a number of other roles to make sure that they were noticed as capable new manager.

The new manager outlined that as well as their normal role they had also taken on additional roles which they hadn’t delegated and were creating work overload and pressure.

These additional roles included:

  • The HR role for their geographical division
  • The finance role associated with the HR function
  • Overseeing the training of a new recruit
  • Plus handling and implementing recent industry regulations.

The team manager explained that they needed more time in the day – how could they do these roles in the time that they had available? The problem they concluded was that they needed more time in the day. They needed to be more efficient.

This is a commendable attitude, but on an investigation, the real motivation behind needing more time was that they were deeply concerned that their career would be impacted if they didn’t keep going.

In the current economic environment working harder may mean that more gets done, but the reality means long-term sick from burnout.

Prior to working together and the Work-Life Balance Training which was followed up with the post-team coaching session “how will this work for me” this team member may not have ever put their hand up until they either left the business or went on long-term sick.

The cost of losing staff is well known, the society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) recently quoted that every time a business replaces a salaried employee it costs around 6 to 9 months’ salary.

So for a manager on £40 this would mean a cost of the business of £30k. It is easy to see the business cost of losing a more senior manager, or a high-flying key performer in terms of time, energy as well as financial loss.

What is the answer for your exhausted teams?

How do you retain key performers that have the right mindset and are an asset to the business but who are working hard but are not able to prioritise the least effective business-critical priorities?

What are the steps to creating balance and performing better, what does work-life harmony look like for individual team members?

Sometimes the peer group coaching session has the answers, it can be as simple as asking the question in a safe environment.

Once colleagues are aware of what is expected of them, what their personal work boundaries are and need to be. Working out how they can work together to find a workable solution is easier, once the parameters are known, agreed and set.

So in the above example, the group coaching session that followed the Work-Life Balance Training looked at what was a work priority. What was essential, what work could be delegated, and what were the time frames?

When taking the time to discuss with colleagues what was important and what could be pushed back, the options became much clearer and easier to chunk down. The team member moved from overwhelmed to clarity in a few hours, and the team collaborated – and therefore took a shared responsibility for the solution – so that the solution would be effective

A simple enough solution that stemmed from an individual feeling of overwhelm and possibly burnout, but in the middle of the fray, when individuals are working so hard at managing everything your managers often don’t see what is right in front of them.

An individual’s work-life balance is particularly difficult in this new hybrid world.

Working away from the office means less interaction and little point of reference. As team members work more and more in isolation, they are often unaware of what everyone else is doing, what is the bigger picture and what they are managing well and what they need assistance with.

Clients tell me that more email check-ins are not the answer!

My Work-Life Balance Training outlines ‘what works’ outlining the tools and ideas that give your team members the perspective on what they can do for themselves so that they can move from exhaustion to working productively and collaboratively.

Not all the tools in the training are relevant to each individual – which is to be expected – which is why the ‘peer group’ coaching session post-training is called Where working in peer groups of 15, is where the team truly shift perspectives and makes the changes that create a positive way of working.

Collaboration creates work harmony and training with expert guidance in asking the right coaching questions is where the ROI in terms of energy, time and financial investment pays off.

If you are interested in exploring an idea of professional coaching to enhance your resilience skills then reach out via email adelestickland1@gmail.com or book a quick 30 minute session to find out how it works.

How do you create powerful mental resilience?

Mental resilience is vital to create powerful teams that can demonstrate resilience which means understanding what is happening and then being able to consider and reflect and work through the emotional pain

Rather than reacting instantly, it is important to create a gap and take a mental pause so that you can view the situation objectively

My Mental Resilience Training allows team members to understand more about what is going on for them, creating recognition of their own behaviour and knowing how to respond to uncertainty.

Mental resilience training includes the skills that will enable your team to develop and improve their adaptability so that when economic uncertainty hits team members can bounce back. Problem-solving is a key attribute of mental resilience which enables team members to find creative solutions to work problems. Resourcefulness and

After all, retaining your team members is a key strategy to being able to ride the economic downturn. History shows us that post-economic downturns are followed by growth. The economy grows after recessions and organisations that retain their staff and don’t make redundancies come back stronger.

Investing in team members when life and work are uncertain is key to retaining key players.

Business Cost of Losing Staff

Business Cost of Losing Staff

The cost of losing staff is well known, the society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) recently quoted that every time a business replaces a salaried employee it costs around 6 to 9 months’ salary.

So for a manager on £40 this would mean a cost of the business of £30k. It is easy to see the business cost of losing a more senior manager, or a high-flying key performer in terms of time, energy as well as financial loss.

For organisations committed to the wellbeing of their staff and placing a high value on employee welfare means that placing the happiness of its staff as a priority is considered to be part of a successful company’s DNA.

If your business is committed to reaching and maintaining your business headcount by ensuring that teams are not too stretched and are able to manage workload during busy times then reach out to discuss training and facilitations around mental resilience contact Adele

If you are interested in supporting your team’s mental resilience with a bespoke Mental Resilience Training Programme then reach out and book a call so that we can identify the needs of your team and what will work for them and the business.

Team Mental Resilience Training

My Mental Resilience Training outlines ‘what works’ outlining the tools and ideas that give your team members the perspective on what they can do for themselves so that they can move from exhaustion to working productively and collaboratively.

Not all the tools in the training are relevant to each individual – which is to be expected – which is why the ‘peer group’ coaching session post-training is called ‘How does this work for me.” Where working in peer groups of 15, is where the team truly shift perspectives and makes the changes that create a positive way of working.

Collaboration creates work harmony and training with expert guidance in asking the right coaching questions is where the ROI in terms of energy, time and financial investment pays off.

If you are interested in supporting your team’s mental resilience with a bespoke Work Life Balance Training Programme then reach out so and book a quick call so that we can identify the needs of your team and what will work for them and your business.

Book a quick 30 minute session to find out how it works.

What others have to say about Mental Resilience Training

Next steps

To support organisations with performance issues and boost productivity contact Adele to co-create a Resilient Wellbeing Strategy that is bespoke to your organisation.

A strategy that will include personalised wellbeing training as well as coaching sessions that develop personal and professional growth for the individual and a strong proactive, solution-finding, organisational culture for your business.

Adele Stickland Resilience Trainer & Accredited ICF Professional Coach

If your organisation is looking to incorporate a Wellbeing Strategy that has a coaching programme at the heart and you would like to investigate the opportunities that Wellbeing coaching can offer please email me to discuss your organisational requirements or book an appointment straight in my diary

Micromanaging is not sustainable for managers. If you’d like to read more this article will help The 6 leadership skills that are essential for hybrid working

Creating a Resilient Wellbeing Strategy that includes a coaching leadership style that will support managers and allow employees to be more expressively will mean that organisations will be able to retain staff – if you are looking for a simple Guide on how to create your organisation’s Wellbeing Strategy then this will be the perfect place to start click here and download your free Guide to creating your Resilient Wellbeing Strategy

Adele Stickland

Adele Stickland

With over 20 years of experience in the wellbeing industry, Adele has a unique insight into stress awareness and resilience within organisations. With a powerful combination of personal experience and industry background Adele is ideally placed to understand the needs of organisations looking to improve corporate Resilience Programmes and specifically tailor them to their requirements. As a former leader in the marketing world, Adele was employed in a variety of corporate roles spanning advertising, retail, and marketing together with over 20 years of running her own wellness business. After becoming a victim of ambition-burnout herself, through personal development, training and learning. Adele recognises that resilience is a skill that can be learned and developed using a crafted framework bespoke to each organisation.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Download your copy of free White Paper on...

How much is stress in the workplace costing?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

More to explore