WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.199 --> 00:00:04.320 Welcome to Ackting Your Leadership. I'm Chris and I'm Lorenzo. And Lorenzo. 2 00:00:04.360 --> 00:00:07.639 On this episode, I want to talk about a listener question that was brought 3 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:11.960 in. I received it as a direct message on LinkedIn, and you know, 4 00:00:12.199 --> 00:00:16.399 it's it's kind of a generic enough question where it's kind of leading me 5 00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:19.679 to believe this is something that I think I've I've felt in my own mind 6 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:23.480 many times throughout the years, and I think it's something maybe our listeners have 7 00:00:23.559 --> 00:00:28.239 felt, or maybe our feeling too. The listener that sent us this message 8 00:00:28.679 --> 00:00:33.439 said that they felt like they were constantly being asked to do more with less, 9 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:36.960 and those are kind of those are words that are kind of triggering a 10 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:40.880 little bit in the mind of someone who has spent a lot of years in 11 00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:45.880 leadership and in retail leadership, and it is it's true, like if I 12 00:00:45.960 --> 00:00:50.759 feel like when I was doing this hands on every year, it was the 13 00:00:50.759 --> 00:00:54.799 same thing, do more with less, do more with less. I remember 14 00:00:54.840 --> 00:01:00.039 thinking at one point I wish I could go back to the less resources I 15 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:02.640 had five years ago, when I thought I was being asked to do more 16 00:01:02.759 --> 00:01:06.799 with less then, because that was way more than I have today. But 17 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:11.680 This is a thing that companies are constantly looking to do, is create efficiencies, 18 00:01:11.799 --> 00:01:15.680 right, to make things more efficient, And that can feel like do 19 00:01:15.799 --> 00:01:18.760 more with less, and sometimes it is, sometimes it's not. It really 20 00:01:18.840 --> 00:01:23.560 depends on the situation. But they are words that I think are triggering in 21 00:01:23.599 --> 00:01:30.159 the minds of a lot of leaders around the workforce because it's a constant thing. 22 00:01:30.400 --> 00:01:34.319 It's like you get asked to do more with less and whatever happens happens, 23 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:37.760 and you figure it out and you get it to work, and you 24 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:41.480 think, wow, I'm working with this now, I was able to do 25 00:01:41.560 --> 00:01:44.560 more with less, and then three months or six months or a year later, 26 00:01:45.120 --> 00:01:47.799 more is taken away, or in your mind you feel like I have 27 00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:51.120 less resources even now than I did a year ago. It's like a constant 28 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:55.120 thing where you feel like where does this ever end? And I think it's 29 00:01:55.120 --> 00:01:57.840 an important thing to talk about because sometimes it's real, sometimes it's not. 30 00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:05.519 And and I think that the most successful leaders I know are the ones who 31 00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:08.639 don't seem to be affected by this. And it's like, well, how 32 00:02:08.840 --> 00:02:13.319 how is a person not impacted by this? It's not like they have some 33 00:02:13.879 --> 00:02:16.680 secret resource stash that no one else gets access to that they have. So 34 00:02:17.039 --> 00:02:23.039 if they're really not being impacted by this psychologically, emotionally, or in their 35 00:02:23.080 --> 00:02:27.080 ability to get their work done, what is it that they know that everybody 36 00:02:27.080 --> 00:02:30.280 else doesn't know. What is it that they're doing that everybody else isn't doing 37 00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:35.199 that is leading them to believe that the old do more with less isn't as 38 00:02:35.240 --> 00:02:37.879 big a deal as other people are making it. Yeah, I think it's 39 00:02:37.919 --> 00:02:43.039 great dialogue. And you're right, it's one of those things that after a 40 00:02:43.159 --> 00:02:46.240 career and continual career in retail leadership, you hear it. You're just like 41 00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:49.919 yeah, of course, like yeah, like this is this is the only 42 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:53.319 constant is that it seems like there's less. But I also think it's like 43 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:58.960 some of it is is I wouldn't say like short sighted. I just think 44 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:01.520 like some of it is a ignoring some of the other things that have also 45 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:08.840 changed. When I think specifically about like things like systems and processes and efficiencies 46 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:13.719 created by technology, Like there's a lot of things that if I if I 47 00:03:13.800 --> 00:03:16.960 really step back and like take myself out of my own personal feelings of like 48 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:21.879 looking at like just things like how many people do I have versus what am 49 00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:23.719 I supposed to do, Like I also have to take into account, like 50 00:03:23.800 --> 00:03:29.599 the things that have been added or changed or adjusted or evolved that have helped 51 00:03:29.960 --> 00:03:34.560 certain industries to do things faster. And maybe in your industry it's something like 52 00:03:34.599 --> 00:03:38.479 AI or something like the ability to get content quicker, or you know, 53 00:03:38.520 --> 00:03:43.759 the use of the internet to connect with people from a creative standpoint. Like 54 00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:46.599 you know, I think of even things like in the music industry and recording, 55 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:50.879 the amount of sessions now that are virtual recording sessions where somebody is in 56 00:03:50.919 --> 00:03:54.400 a whole different country recording as you know, something for a song that's in 57 00:03:54.560 --> 00:03:59.360 La where you know, twenty thirty years ago you had to fly somebody in 58 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:01.479 and be a studio session, you know, musician, And so like, 59 00:04:01.800 --> 00:04:08.080 there are things over time that we have to we have to accept and give 60 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:12.280 credit to the fact that there are things that have been helpful. But I 61 00:04:12.280 --> 00:04:15.960 think you're onto something when you talk about it kind of being like it seems 62 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:17.720 like some people are just magic with it, Like they're just like, oh, 63 00:04:17.800 --> 00:04:20.720 like not only like it, like they're having the same impact that I'm 64 00:04:20.759 --> 00:04:25.759 having, but they seem to just kind of coast through it and still produce 65 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:30.600 the outcomes or the strategies, the execution of the strategies without really any issues, 66 00:04:30.600 --> 00:04:32.879 and it's just it seems like, how is that possible? And I 67 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:38.240 think that a lot of this really does come down to not just a mindset. 68 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:42.879 You know, in those moments where you know where you know it's gonna 69 00:04:42.920 --> 00:04:46.439 be tough or it'll be harder, or you're up against some things where you're 70 00:04:46.480 --> 00:04:48.360 like, I don't know if I have enough of what I need to make 71 00:04:48.399 --> 00:04:51.560 it happen. But I also think that it's it's not just in that moment, 72 00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:57.160 but I think for some leaders, it's the constant preparation and work done 73 00:04:57.800 --> 00:05:04.120 around building efficiencies and work systems that can be kind of adjusted and and they're 74 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:09.240 agile, they can be applied. It's it's it's helping lead other leaders and 75 00:05:09.240 --> 00:05:15.720 people build skill in uh in becoming more efficient and becoming more maybe maybe more 76 00:05:16.079 --> 00:05:19.000 innovative in how things get done. They always say, like, you know, 77 00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:24.680 what is it? Necessity is the mother of innovation, right exactly? 78 00:05:24.759 --> 00:05:28.000 Like so because you have no choice but to figure out a better way to 79 00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:30.920 do things when you don't have enough to do those things, so like tend 80 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:32.279 to figure it out. You figure it out, right. So I think 81 00:05:32.279 --> 00:05:36.920 that there are just some people that have that mindset and look at it and 82 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:40.639 just say like it's almost kind of like the whole like, well, it 83 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:42.639 is what it is, So like, I'm not going to spend any time 84 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:45.560 really like you know, thinking about it or being mad about it. I'm 85 00:05:45.560 --> 00:05:48.839 just going to figure out how to make this work. And and you know, 86 00:05:49.680 --> 00:05:53.920 there's definitely been times in my career where I like, I know that 87 00:05:53.920 --> 00:05:57.240 I kind of have that mentality, but I've also been like what is going 88 00:05:57.279 --> 00:06:00.160 on right now? Right, like like this is ridiculous, Like, so 89 00:06:00.199 --> 00:06:03.959 I've definitely been there as well. And I think it's something that I think, 90 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:08.680 you know, especially in our industry, going into you know, holiday 91 00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:12.399 here, we expect that we're going to see, you know, uh an 92 00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:16.879 interesting kind of revival of traffic into malls and retail and shopping. And I 93 00:06:16.920 --> 00:06:19.800 know that many retail leaders are doing the same thing, and they're just looking 94 00:06:19.839 --> 00:06:24.399 around and just kind of like counting how many people like you said it earlier 95 00:06:24.680 --> 00:06:27.920 and be like, man, this this something doesn't feel right. And I 96 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:30.199 think that it's important to think about it, talk about it, strategize ahead 97 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:33.759 of time, and be prepared for probably what you're going to see. I 98 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:39.480 don't want to minimize the impact of what it feels like to feel like you're 99 00:06:39.519 --> 00:06:44.040 being asked to do more with less. And so there is a very real 100 00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:48.399 kind of triggering and almost like an emotional kind of like oh, man, 101 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:51.439 really like you and I both said it. We both said like, yeah, 102 00:06:51.439 --> 00:06:54.920 it's a term that we don't want to hear. It is we don't 103 00:06:54.920 --> 00:06:56.439 want to hear. We don't want to hear it. And to the point 104 00:06:56.480 --> 00:07:00.079 where a lot of a lot of organizations have stopped using it and they just 105 00:07:00.279 --> 00:07:04.279 kind of quietly take some resources away or don't provide something and then just like, 106 00:07:04.360 --> 00:07:06.360 oh, they'll figure it out. I guess you know, or maybe 107 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:12.720 they won't. And it can be triggering when you when you think as the 108 00:07:12.759 --> 00:07:15.600 person who's being asked to do more with less, that the person who's who's 109 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:20.399 doing this or group of people who's doing this is sitting there going ooh, 110 00:07:20.519 --> 00:07:25.399 we've we've saved these resources for ourselves. They they don't need it. They 111 00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:28.439 we don't need to walk a mile in their shoes. We're good with our 112 00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:30.079 thing. We're not being asked to do more with less, so we can 113 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:34.519 just pass it along to them. And if you go into it with that 114 00:07:34.600 --> 00:07:38.360 mindset, it's really hard not to become cynical by it. Like you, 115 00:07:38.839 --> 00:07:44.199 it's almost impossible not to what I what I will say is that some cases 116 00:07:44.399 --> 00:07:46.079 people are being asked to do more with less, and sometimes they're not. 117 00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:53.199 But anytime it feels that way, you absolutely are being asked to do things 118 00:07:53.399 --> 00:07:58.000 differently. That is that is the constant. So whether you actually have more 119 00:07:58.120 --> 00:08:01.040 or less resources or or you you feel kind of like in this, in 120 00:08:01.079 --> 00:08:05.199 this situation where you're being asked to do more with less, you very much 121 00:08:05.240 --> 00:08:09.000 are being asked to do things differently, even if you're not being told outright 122 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:13.120 that you are. And so I'll give up like a perfect analogy of us 123 00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:16.199 here, Let's say that someone were to say to you, you know, 124 00:08:16.279 --> 00:08:22.120 you you have this, you have to get from California to Texas in a 125 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:24.240 day, and and you have your car, and you think, okay, 126 00:08:24.319 --> 00:08:28.079 if I just go go non stop, I can I can do this. 127 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:31.000 And then you get it done and it's like it's tiring, but you get 128 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:35.000 there. And then the next year someone says, all right, I need 129 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:37.600 you to go to Florida now, from California, not just not just Texas, 130 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:39.240 and and they go and you have you have a day and a half. 131 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:41.639 It's like, well, I won't be able to sleep, you know, 132 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:45.120 and you don't stop to think to ask, oh, wait, can 133 00:08:45.159 --> 00:08:48.080 I fly? You know, like like if you can fly, well, 134 00:08:48.080 --> 00:08:52.039 then that's that that solves your problem right there. If you if you believe 135 00:08:52.399 --> 00:08:56.759 that you only have the resources that you have and you're not thinking about what 136 00:08:56.799 --> 00:09:01.080 can I do to get this thing done, then of course it could feel 137 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:03.159 like you're being asked to do more and less. To drive twice the distance 138 00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:07.799 in very little more time would mean you're foregoing sleep. It would mean you 139 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:11.720 potentially it's unsafe. You know, there's a lot of things that come into 140 00:09:11.720 --> 00:09:13.279 play here. But if instead you just stop to think, oh can I 141 00:09:13.320 --> 00:09:16.080 fly, well, then that solves your problem. This is the exact same 142 00:09:16.120 --> 00:09:20.480 thing I was. I just a consulting work for an organization where there were 143 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:24.559 it was a retail organization where there were a lot of multi unit managers, 144 00:09:24.559 --> 00:09:31.919 district managers who had somewhere between like four and five stores each and they what 145 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:35.919 I found was that they weren't leading their teams well, they weren't leading their 146 00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:39.759 store leaders well and developing them because they were trying to do the work of 147 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:45.159 their store managers by spending a day in each store. They would go to 148 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:46.679 each store each day and spend a whole day there, and then some of 149 00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:50.559 the managers who had six stores were actually working six days a week because they 150 00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:54.159 were spending one day in each of those stores trying to get with every single 151 00:09:54.120 --> 00:09:56.879 one of the one of the leaders. And no matter what we would tell 152 00:09:56.960 --> 00:10:01.039 them about how they should be doing their jobs different, they were in this 153 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:03.840 mindset of this is the only way to get it done is to spend this 154 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:07.679 amount of time with each person. And so what we started doing is as 155 00:10:07.879 --> 00:10:13.559 a district manager would leave the organization, instead of replacing that person, their 156 00:10:13.559 --> 00:10:16.960 stores would be distributed to the other districts around them, to the point where 157 00:10:16.960 --> 00:10:22.799 there were some district managers who had ten, twelve, thirteen stores and they 158 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:26.320 would be like, how can I do this? How can I run thirteen 159 00:10:26.360 --> 00:10:28.480 stores? And it was like, you're not supposed to run thirteen stores. 160 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:37.480 You're supposed to develop and lead thirteen individual managers who you can spend time with 161 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:41.080 over the phone or in person, and they are supposed to be running their 162 00:10:41.080 --> 00:10:43.039 stores, and you need to be holding them accountable to do it, not 163 00:10:43.159 --> 00:10:46.720 doing their job, because what we noticed was that the managers in the stores 164 00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:50.679 felt like their arms were tired, like they couldn't make a decision without reaching 165 00:10:50.679 --> 00:10:54.080 out to the district manager. You know that it was this kind of like 166 00:10:54.120 --> 00:10:58.200 everything stopped if the district manager wasn't available, and that's no way to run 167 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:01.840 a business. And so to the district manager standpoint, it could look like 168 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:05.240 they were being asked to do more with less, but in reality, what 169 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:07.799 they were being asked to do is something different with their job than they thought 170 00:11:07.799 --> 00:11:11.039 they were supposed to be doing. I think that can can tie in everywhere 171 00:11:11.039 --> 00:11:16.039 here anytime I have been asked to do more with less, if I reframe 172 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:20.360 it into okay, where am I spending my time? And am am I 173 00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:24.480 actually spending time where I'm supposed to be spending it? Or are there things 174 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:26.399 I can take off my plate? I'm not actually being asked to do more 175 00:11:26.440 --> 00:11:28.879 with less, I'm actually being asked to do a different job than what I 176 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:31.919 think my job has been. Yeah, I think it's a great point, 177 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:35.360 and I also think that there is like as you were kind of walking through 178 00:11:35.399 --> 00:11:39.440 that example, I thought about this. I thought about the fact that coming 179 00:11:39.519 --> 00:11:45.279 out of kind of shut downs and people working from home and then getting back 180 00:11:45.320 --> 00:11:50.320 into either offices and all speak on behalf of retail like where a lot of 181 00:11:52.360 --> 00:12:00.799 what kind of was built into efficient behavior was for like those calls and virtual 182 00:12:00.879 --> 00:12:05.960 meetings and things were like now there was a lot more access to people who 183 00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:09.480 would work out in the field or in stores. And I think, while 184 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:15.000 on one side of the coin, that may have made it more efficient and 185 00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:20.679 quicker to get work done for those that utilize the technology in the virtual world 186 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:24.720 to get work done, it also has slowed those who don't work in that 187 00:12:24.840 --> 00:12:33.720 space because like there's this is this expectation of access to people that aren't typically 188 00:12:33.799 --> 00:12:37.120 kind of in the virtual space or are normally in the field type of thing. 189 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:39.799 So I think that there has to also be a little bit of a 190 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:43.919 shift and swing the other way because I think of the amount of retail leaders 191 00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:48.840 that I've spoken to, you know, in all different organizations where they're like, 192 00:12:48.919 --> 00:12:50.799 yeah, like we you know, for a long time, we've increased 193 00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:56.559 the amount of calls and virtual meetings that we've done because it was like we 194 00:12:56.639 --> 00:12:58.919 know that there was a lot of good work done. There was a lot 195 00:13:00.200 --> 00:13:05.440 of innovation, There was a lot of great you know, relevant you know 196 00:13:05.559 --> 00:13:11.480 insights or feedback from the teams, where normally a corporate office wouldn't have that 197 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:16.919 much access, Like you really have to work through the channels of regional people, 198 00:13:16.200 --> 00:13:20.759 market you know level people, uh, you know, leaders within stores 199 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:22.759 or whatever. And from a retail standpoint, you'd have to have three or 200 00:13:22.759 --> 00:13:28.480 four conversations over the course of time to maybe get some really relevant right now 201 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:33.720 information about how things are going. And then and then the virtual meetings like 202 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:37.000 that helped to get the information quickly. So like I want to I want 203 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:39.120 to say that there's a lot of great work that was done as a result 204 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:46.159 of that connection and that speed of information flowing. But then as I've talked 205 00:13:46.200 --> 00:13:50.919 to these other retail leaders, as the as the the the traffic demand in 206 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:56.360 retail has has lifted again, as as stores across the world have reopened, 207 00:13:56.840 --> 00:14:03.480 It's like that amount of access is difficult to give when if I'm doing kind 208 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:07.720 of you know, I'm running more of a lean team or a lean business. 209 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:11.879 That means I'm more included in the day to day that needs to get 210 00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:15.600 the work done, so like you know, we're more efficient over here, 211 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:20.279 and it's good for our company, but it's pulling me away from the work 212 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:22.399 that I know I need to get done daily. And that's something that I 213 00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:28.960 think organizations to have to be conscious of balancing because they are opposing forces to 214 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:33.039 a degree to make sure that you're getting not only the critical insight, but 215 00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:39.960 the execution is much more consistent because because the leader is not distracted with doing 216 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:43.679 calls versus being with their teams. I think back to that example that I 217 00:14:43.720 --> 00:14:50.320 gave it where the district managers were being asked to do things differently. If 218 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:52.440 you're in a situation where you feel like you're being asked to do more with 219 00:14:52.559 --> 00:14:58.440 less, it becomes really important to be clear with your direct manager, your 220 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:05.120 direct leader, or what the definition of the responsibilities you have are in a 221 00:15:05.240 --> 00:15:11.919 very in a very strategic way. So it's not that you have this list 222 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:15.840 of things that you have to get done and now there's more things on that 223 00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:18.440 list. It's you sit down with your leader and you say, Okay, 224 00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:22.320 this is what my day looks like, this is what I do. Does 225 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:24.919 that seem right to you? Does that does that seem like I'm doing with 226 00:15:24.039 --> 00:15:26.879 my day what you think I should be doing with my day, Because at 227 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:30.279 the end of the day, this this is the person who writes your review, 228 00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:35.039 who gives you your your annual and bi annual check ins that can you 229 00:15:35.080 --> 00:15:39.000 know, lead to whatever performance ratings you have and and can open doors for 230 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:41.240 you know, career progression for you. So it's important that this person and 231 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:46.559 you are aligned on what your role actually is. And if you are listing 232 00:15:46.559 --> 00:15:50.799 off what you do with your day and that person says, wait a minute, 233 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:54.240 I didn't know that's what you were doing with your day. Of course, 234 00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:56.320 it would feel like you are being asked to do more with less. 235 00:15:56.440 --> 00:15:58.240 You're trying to do all this stuff when you shouldn't be doing this. You 236 00:15:58.240 --> 00:16:02.679 should be focusing just on this and this and this and then actually do that, 237 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:07.159 actually do those things that are there instances where people are being asked to 238 00:16:07.159 --> 00:16:11.440 do work where it is way more than what could potentially get done in a 239 00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:15.799 short amount of time, and the person asking it just has completely no idea 240 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:18.039 what it's like to walk a mile in the shoes of that person. Of 241 00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:22.440 course, there are like, of course that happens, but there's no way 242 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:27.039 to know whether that's what's happening or whether you as an individual have the wrong 243 00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:33.840 expectations of yourself until you actually lay it out with somebody, sit down and 244 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:37.080 work out what the responsibilities are, What are the priorities. Everything can't be 245 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:41.039 a priority, because if everything's a priority, nothing's a priority. So what 246 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:44.519 are the actual priorities? What are the two or three things that if everything 247 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:47.159 else has to get pushed aside? Remember we talk about the whole like, 248 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:49.120 you know, if something is urgent and important, right, we've had discussions 249 00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:52.600 about that before. What are the things that are that are both urgent and 250 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:56.720 important and those are the things that have to come first and everything else, 251 00:16:56.840 --> 00:17:00.919 you know, takes the back seat or goes later on. If you focus 252 00:17:00.960 --> 00:17:03.319 on the things that you're supposed to be focusing on, the other things tend 253 00:17:03.400 --> 00:17:08.400 to be okay or tend to work themselves out unless you truly have unrealistic expectations 254 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:11.960 on being set upon you. And if that's the case, that's a different 255 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:15.519 conversation. But even though that does happen, I think a lot of cases 256 00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:18.960 that's not what's happening. It just feels like that's what's happening, and the 257 00:17:19.079 --> 00:17:25.319 lack of communication and openness and dialogue and kind of level setting that is occurring 258 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:29.400 is what's leading to these people feeling like they're just burning out because they're being 259 00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:32.920 asked to do more with less. I think some conversations can solve some of 260 00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:36.440 these yep, I completely agree and with that it brings us to this episodes 261 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:40.079 one Minute Hack. But first, a few words for our sponsors. All 262 00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:41.039 right, for this episode, what a minute hackers or want you to do. 263 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:45.920 If you are a leader and you feel like you're being asked to do 264 00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:48.480 more with less? Right now, what I want you to do is get 265 00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:51.559 out your pen and paper. I want you to take some time and write 266 00:17:51.640 --> 00:17:53.880 down what it is that you do every day, every week, every month, 267 00:17:55.279 --> 00:17:57.319 not the things that are outlier one off, so oh, I spent 268 00:17:57.640 --> 00:18:02.599 an enorminant amount of time doing this one thing that's not the traditional thing. 269 00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:06.519 The things that you reliably do every day, every week, every month, 270 00:18:06.519 --> 00:18:08.400 and the amount of hours that you spend doing it. Write all those things 271 00:18:08.440 --> 00:18:11.079 down, and I want you to sit down with your direct leader and present 272 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:15.920 those things and show them this is what I spend my time doing. Be 273 00:18:15.079 --> 00:18:19.240 prepared to make changes to those things based on feedback. You get from your 274 00:18:19.319 --> 00:18:23.440 leader. Meaning if the leader is saying to you, oh, you spend 275 00:18:23.559 --> 00:18:26.400 you know, fifteen hours a week doing this, it really should be more 276 00:18:26.440 --> 00:18:30.160 like two and you should move that time to doing these other things instead. 277 00:18:30.519 --> 00:18:33.960 If you're not ready to hear that feedback or to change those things, this 278 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:37.480 is not the right exercise for you. You need to be in a mindset 279 00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:41.720 where the goal is to solve the problem of you feeling like you're being asked 280 00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:45.039 to do too much, and so get real with what you're being asked to 281 00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:48.160 do, write it all down, present it, and work with your leader 282 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:51.799 to figure out where should you be spending your time. If you're finding that 283 00:18:51.839 --> 00:18:56.960 you're being asked to change things into areas where you maybe don't like spending a 284 00:18:56.960 --> 00:19:00.440 lot of your time or that you're not as good at, that could be 285 00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:03.319 your problem because you need to get better at those things or figure out a 286 00:19:03.319 --> 00:19:07.160 way to be in a different role where you're doing more of the things you 287 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:10.240 like doing as opposed to the things your your role actually is. And so 288 00:19:10.519 --> 00:19:12.599 if you get clear with your leader about where you're actually supposed to be spending 289 00:19:12.599 --> 00:19:15.880 your time, chances are you will be less likely to feel like you're doing 290 00:19:15.880 --> 00:19:18.880 more with less. Yeah, I think it's a great woman to hack. 291 00:19:18.920 --> 00:19:22.160 And it's just a reminder like at the end of the day, a lot 292 00:19:22.200 --> 00:19:26.279 of how and where we spend our time is going to define our ability to 293 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:30.799 get work done and be as efficient as possible. And you know, as 294 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:37.279 as we consider the continual evolution of systems and processes and all these types of 295 00:19:37.359 --> 00:19:41.680 things, it you know, and I love that you kind of called this 296 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:45.839 out, like in the moment, we all have all had the same visceral 297 00:19:45.880 --> 00:19:48.920 reaction when we hear those terms and we think about, like, how am 298 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:52.839 I possibly going to do this? And you know, how is it that 299 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:57.000 I did this you know, last year, the year before, and now 300 00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:00.200 I'm being asked to do more and I can physic see that I have less. 301 00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:03.680 Like there's a lot of ways that we kind of get caught up in 302 00:20:03.720 --> 00:20:07.000 those spaces. And for some people listening to the podcast, like it's it's 303 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:11.000 a harsh reality. Like the reality is maybe there have not been system updated 304 00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:15.799 updates, there have not been efficiencies made, there have not been things that 305 00:20:15.839 --> 00:20:19.240 have been done to help to mitigate some of that work. And it's gonna 306 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:22.279 be tough, and so I think it's like, if it's going to be 307 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:26.400 tough and you know you've got to get the work done, then really, 308 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:29.680 how and where you spend your time is so critical to making sure that you're 309 00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:33.759 aligned with your direct report and that you're doing the things that will help you 310 00:20:33.799 --> 00:20:37.880 get the work done as efficiently as possible. Right, And the other thing 311 00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:41.880 is that there is a real thing here when it comes to mindset. So 312 00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:45.680 the people that I reference at the beginning of the episode, who I think 313 00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:49.359 just seem impervious to this. Yes, they are very clear with their leaders 314 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:53.880 about where they'reupposed to be spending their time, but they also are very clear 315 00:20:53.880 --> 00:21:00.039 with themselves on what is important to them, and they're confident in the results 316 00:21:00.119 --> 00:21:04.880 they produce in the areas that they know are important, where they actually where 317 00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:10.599 they make a contribution where it doesn't get to them. So in cases where 318 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:15.039 there are days or weeks or short periods of time where they are actually being 319 00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:18.519 asked to do more with less, it doesn't end up burning them out because 320 00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:22.119 in their minds they understand what the value is that they add and in the 321 00:21:22.200 --> 00:21:27.799 spaces that they add value that would be harder for other people to add value 322 00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:32.039 in their absence. That's where they kind of focus. And when it comes 323 00:21:32.079 --> 00:21:36.200 to leadership, that is people development, that is helping people accomplish their goals 324 00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:41.640 and getting people to feel psychologically in a way that says, hey, we're 325 00:21:41.640 --> 00:21:44.720 here for a reason, let's get some good work done together. You can 326 00:21:44.759 --> 00:21:47.400 rely on me, I can rely on you. If you can create those 327 00:21:47.480 --> 00:21:51.160 kind of teams and those relationships with your people, they're less likely to feel 328 00:21:51.160 --> 00:21:53.440 like they're being asked to do more with less. A great example is the 329 00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:57.079 whole like you, who would you rather accomplish something with three people that you 330 00:21:57.079 --> 00:22:00.359 get to choose or ten people to get as to you. I would take 331 00:22:00.359 --> 00:22:03.599 the three people that I get to choose any day of the week, and 332 00:22:03.640 --> 00:22:07.480 it's because I know that those people and I can get the world done together 333 00:22:07.799 --> 00:22:11.960 versus ten people who I have to kind of like figure things out that that 334 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:14.839 could feel like I'm doing more of the work myself. Absolutely, and with 335 00:22:14.920 --> 00:22:17.160 that it brings us to the end of this episode, this is hocking your 336 00:22:17.240 --> 00:22:19.240 leadership. I'm Lorenzo and I'm Chris, and we'll talk to you all next time.