Your top manager is overwhelmed with tasks. How can you help them achieve a healthier work-life balance?

Apoiar líderes na busca de um equilíbrio entre suas responsabilidades profissionais e pessoais não é apenas uma questão de bem-estar individual, mas uma estratégia vital para o sucesso organizacional contínuo. Implementar medidas que promovam esse equilíbrio é um investimento que trará retornos significativos em termos de produtividade, inovação, retenção de talentos e sustentabilidade organizacional. Ressalto que o uso da tecnologia desempenha um papel crucial nesse processo.

One thing I have found helpful is using the Pareto Principle. The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, states that approximately 80% of effects come from 20% of causes. A haiku on prioritizing tasks: Urgent tasks first placed, Calm in ocean, goals embraced, Long-term path is traced. In a sea of jobs, a manager should know what needs to be done right away and what can wait. By doing the most important things first, they feel less stressed and more in control. This helps them get things done now and also be ready for the future.

Imagine a compass guiding your manager through a sea of tasks, helping them navigate towards what truly matters. By prioritizing tasks, you're not just lightening their load—you're offering clarity and direction in their journey to balance work and life.

From my humble experience with leaders, one thing that can be contributing to overwhelm and lack of work/life balance is perfectionism. Perfectionism can make leaders take more time on tasks to perfect them, not be able to delegate for fear that people won’t give the required quality and other behaviors that can create overwhelm. Pay attention if your manager is suffering from perfectionism and try to help them address that.

Work expands to fill the time available. You say, I’m going to do these three things today. The day ends and you’ve done just those three things. It’s possible that you didn’t need a whole day to do those three things. It’s possible you could’ve completed them in two hours, but because you set a deadline for the end of the day, that’s how long they took. Parkinson’s law suggests that we actually see the task as more complex the further away the deadline is. One way to address the issue is to use a timer. If you think it’ll take you three hours to create the slides for a presentation, give yourself a hard deadline of two hours. Do your best. If you can’t meet the deadline, then you know your three-hour guess might’ve been more accurate.

Effective delegation is not just about offloading tasks; it's about strategic empowerment. By aligning delegated tasks with team members' strengths and career development goals, managers can foster a more engaged and competent workforce. This approach not only alleviates managerial stress but also cultivates a culture of trust and continuous improvement, ultimately driving organizational success.

Being a helping hand to your manager isn't just about sharing the load—it's about empowering them to trust and rely on your support. Effective delegation isn't just a task—it's a gift of trust and collaboration that paves the way for a more balanced work-life harmony.

I like to reframe delegation as empowerment, and seek to understand why the manager is resistant to doing it. Spoiler alert: It's always fear of something...most likely one of these: - not being able to demonstrate their value - making a mistake or failing - being judged by reports as a demanding boss - or in some cases, their reports outshining them It's so much more than simply identifying tasks to assign to others. There's a whole psychology behind resistance to delegating, and once you learn what it is, you can coach the manager around it.

Work with your manager to identify tasks that can be effectively delegated to you or other team members. Look for repetitive tasks, those requiring specific skillsets you possess, or anything that doesn't require your manager's direct oversight. Don't just hand off tasks - provide clear instructions, answer questions, and offer support. This ensures successful completion and reduces your manager's need for micromanagement. Establish deadlines, desired outcomes, and communication protocols for delegated tasks.

Knowing the strengths of your team is key to a manager looking to delegate. It's always great to know the skill set of the teammates to delegate as well as being able to have a team. It's not the what its who concept helps to shape this as want to know who can effectively handle tasks.

Boundaries are like gentle reminders of self-worth and respect, creating safe spaces for your manager to thrive. Helping them set boundaries isn't just about limits—it's about nurturing a culture of respect and balance that fuels both their professional and personal growth.

Setting boundaries like time management tools to help manage your time, project, and business and increase productivity. Keeping this practice of time management can help to prevent burnout and compress time and boost productivity.

Setting clear boundaries between work and personal time is crucial. I advised a manager to implement a 'no work emails after 7 PM' rule and to communicate this boundary clearly to their team. This helped them create a more defined separation between work and personal life, reducing stress and burnout.

Instead of viewing work and life as separate, competing entities, encourage your manager to consider work-life integration when establishing boundaries. This means intentionally blending professional responsibilities with personal activities harmoniously, ensuring both aspects complement rather than conflict with each other. For instance, they could take breaks to attend a child’s school event or exercise during lunch, integrating these personal commitments into their workday. By finding synergies between work and personal life, they can create a more fluid and manageable routine that mitigates stress and increases overall life satisfaction.

Muchas veces, los Líderes no dicen que NO, con miedo a que se piense que no son capaces. Pero en realidad, esto pasa pq dentro de la empresa no existe una cultura de valores donde transmitan la confianza para que los altos gerentes se sientan seguros en preguntar, mejorar sus habilidades y por supuesto decir que no a muchas tareas que están fuera de su alcance (ya sea pq están abrumados, ya sea porque no están preparados). ¿Cómo solucionar? Como directiv@ debes asegurar que tus mandos intermedios tengan las herramientas necesarias para ejecutar su trabajo con éxito sin afectar su vida personal. Crear sistemas, normas y utilizar el feedbcak co herramientas de mejora continua funciona y puede ser tu 1paso.

In a world buzzing with innovation, technology isn't just a tool—it's a bridge to smoother workflows and precious time reclaimed. Embracing technology alongside your manager isn't just about efficiency—it's about unlocking new possibilities and redefining what balance truly means in today's fast-paced world.

Utilize project management software to assign tasks, track progress, and collaborate effectively. This frees up your manager's time for strategic thinking and high-level decision-making. Leverage communication platforms and collaboration tools to streamline communication within the team. This reduces the need for unnecessary meetings and email back and forth. Explore opportunities to automate repetitive tasks. Consider automation tools for scheduling, data entry, or basic reports.

Technology must compliment or aide our load - and should not be the main source or our reliance. Otherwise, this may cause problems in terms of our indepence or credibility when it situation calls for it.

Technology can be a great benefit when used well as it can be a detriment. Deploying systems to be able to automate your business processes can help to deliver services and facilitate a business leader. Always staying open to be resourceful with technology can help you compress time.

Leveraging technology can streamline tasks and improve efficiency. A client was spending excessive time on routine administrative tasks. I recommended productivity tools like project management software and automation tools to handle repetitive tasks. This freed up significant time for strategic planning and high-priority activities.

You cannot fill someone else's cup from an empty bucket. I've found that when coaching younger clients - about age 35 and younger - most of them understand the concept of self-care and recognize that they are not prioritizing it as much as they should. Working with my older clients - especially GenXers and Boomers - well we weren't taught the concept of self-care as a priority at a young age, so this feels a bit foreign to them. Helping my older clients understand the metaphor above seems to help them recognize the importance of self-care and boundaries to be more efficient and stable as a manager.

Self-care isn't just a trend—it's a lifeline. By encouraging your manager to prioritize self-care, you're not just promoting wellness—you're fostering resilience and strength that radiates through every aspect of their life. Supporting their self-care journey isn't just an act—it's a testament to your commitment to their holistic well-being.

Prioritizing self and emphasizing this allows your client to understand the significant relevance of this in their success. They can be the best version of themselves if they are physically, mentally, emotionally and even spiritually well. They will embibe the energy to other people. Hence, self care should be and must be on top of the list.

Raise your hand and take something of the manager's plate. You both win (you gain exposure and new experiences, manager has one less item on the to-do list).

Analyze the situation, the tasks in realm of the bigger objectives. Review the tasks against timelines and for priorities. Help the leader in identifying tasks that are must do and he/she can only do it. Next on list would the important tasks that he/she can only do. Then identify those tasks that can wait and/or can be delegate. Divide these tasks within the team. Yay, you are done!

Behind every successful manager is a network of support and encouragement that uplifts them through every high and low. Being a pillar in their support network isn't just about being present—it's about creating a tapestry of trust and solidarity that weaves together work and life in perfect harmony.

The manager could benefit immensely from a support network as it can help (the manager) gather multiple perspectives on the challenge at hand. The broader the support network in terms of experience, exposure and expertise, the more beneficial it would be for the manager. The collective wisdom of the support network could definitely provide quite a few strategies to help the manager achieve a healthier work-life balance. All that the manager needs to learn is to put its ego aside, treat the support network as an enabling group and figure out ways, methods and techniques to derive the best out of the support network. Hiding your vulnerability from your support system would do you more harm than good. So, stay honest and genuine.

Building a support network both within and outside the workplace is vital. One of my clients benefited immensely from joining a peer coaching group where they could share experiences and strategies with other executives facing similar challenges. Additionally, encouraging them to seek mentorship and support from senior leaders within the organization provided them with valuable guidance and perspective.

Uno de los grandes problemas de los Líderes es no creer en sus equipos y su tendencia es micro gestionar todo. ¿Qué pasa con eso? Disminuye tu capacidad estratégica por "falta de tiempo"; obtienes equipos dependientes y lo peor de todo es que no tienes tiempo para tu bienestar y equilibrio personal y profesional. ¿Qué recomiendo? 1. Formar al equipo para que sean independientes 2. Delegar tareas para obtener más tiempo para la estrategia 3. Tener una rutina de autocuidado 4. Puedes utilizar Trello para delegar tareas y hacer seguimiento.