You lead a team and you’re actually getting stuff done—congrats! Projects are moving, your department’s crushing it, and now the reward is...even more work, but not a single extra person to help out. Hooray for success, right?
You’re happy your team is in demand, but also kind of on the edge of panic. How on earth do you handle more when everyone’s plates are already overflowing?
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Tons of team leaders have been here since the economic downturn has led to a thinning of the office and field herds.
Even when nobody’s hiring, the parade of new projects keeps marching in. So, here we are: expected to do more with less—classic corporate plot twist.
As someone who coaches leaders through this chaos, I promise there are ways to tackle the mountain of work and keep your sanity (and health) mostly intact. Here’s how to survive the “workload avalanche” until reinforcements arrive:
1. Be honest.
One of my favorite catchphrases is “reality always wins”—and it’s true. Sure, you could try to squeeze infinity into your team’s schedule, but eventually, something’s gonna break. Even if you’re the Jedi of time management, an overloaded team won’t get it all done. When you admit that upfront, you can make smart moves before things turn into a dumpster fire.
2. Prioritize like a pro.
The best way I’ve found to visualize the interrelated nature of your priorities is something that is called the Dynamic Priorities Model Imagine that there is an infinity pool where the walls are your team’s total hours, and inside are a bunch of circles—each one stands for something your team does. If one circle (like “helping more customers”) gets bigger, something else has to shrink or get booted out of the pool. That’s just physics (and workplace reality) for you.
If you want your team to actually get things done, pick which circles can shrink or disappear entirely—don’t let it happen by accident. Go through all your projects, look at this year’s goals, the mission and strategy, and decide where your team delivers the most bang for the buck. Chop the low-priority stuff so you can nail the big-ticket items. And don’t forget to loop your team in—ask them what they think is actually doable. They might even have better ideas than you.
If your team’s drowning in work because you’ve lost people, everyone needs to mix up how they plan their day. Forget the old routine—now it’s about juggling the most important bits of your own job plus whatever “bonus tasks” the missing teammate used to handle. As the boss, it’s on you to reassure them it’s totally okay to let some non-critical things slide so the essentials actually get done.
Click here to read a related post: The Problem With A 'Hair On Fire' (AKA Always Urgent) Work Culture
3. Speak up about priorities—don’t just keep them to yourself.
Getting your ducks in a row with your team is great, but you’ve also got to clue your boss in on your priorities. Kick things off by confidently laying out what’s most important (bonus points for having a list). If you don’t, your manager might assume you’re chasing totally different goals—and nobody likes surprises when it comes to missed targets. Heads-up conversations save you from awkward “Oops, we weren’t on the same page” moments—and the dreaded post-game penalty.
There are a bunch of ways to approach these chats. Share your master plan for your department—highlighting your MVP activities and those that tie into your yearly goals. Let your boss know you’re making savvy moves to help her crush her own objectives, which means some things gotta drop off the to-do list. It’s not about being lazy; it’s about focusing on the stuff that actually matters.
Some bosses might not be thrilled when you mention shelving certain projects. In that case, bring receipts—aka data. Have your team track what they’re working on, how long everything takes, and what’s getting left in the dust. Present the cold, hard numbers to show why prioritizing is the only reasonable option when your squad’s stretched thinner than pizza dough.
Once you and your manager have locked in the priorities, don’t let them off the hook. If your team isn’t getting backup, you can’t just keep piling on new projects—or your boss will have to make the tough call and decide what gets put on hold. If she tosses you a shiny new initiative, hit her with: “That sounds awesome! Which project should we drop to make room?” It’s a polite way to remind them that your team isn’t a magical bottomless pit of productivity.
Click here to read a related post: How to Say 'No' When You Don't Feel You Can Say 'No.'
4. Send some work packing—outside the team!
If your squad is maxed out, look for backup outside your group. Maybe your company has a secret army for event planning, travel, design, communications, or PowerPoint wizardry. If you can hand off anything, do it with a smile. Less on your plate = fewer “how did we get here?” moments.
Or, check if there’s budget for a contractor. Got a special project collecting dust or way too many customer requests? Hire someone whose superpower is knocking those out. Grab outside help wherever possible—at least until you can convince someone to hire full-timers.
5. Give everyone a heads-up about what’s changing.
When you shift priorities or slow down customer service, it’s only fair to alert everyone who’ll be affected. Tell folks if stuff’s going to be delayed or paused. If your turnaround now takes two weeks instead of one, let people know ASAP so they don’t camp out in your inbox wondering where their stuff went.
Not everyone will throw confetti about slower timelines or canceled projects, but it’s way better to break the news early than to deal with a bunch of angry, disappointed emails later. Consider it your “avoid drama” strategy.
Ask for reinforcements!
If your department’s workload is looking more like Everest, make your case for more staff loud and clear. It’s not fair for your crew to constantly feel like they’re running a marathon with no finish line, especially when it’s simply too much work. Even if there’s no budget for new hires now, start banging the drum—you might just be first in line when the purse strings loosen.
Figure out what your team needs (more hands for projects? Extra admin support?), then go after it. Being understaffed for a short period is rough, but constantly living in the land of overload is a one-way ticket to Burnoutville—and nobody wants to live there.
Suddenly buried in work but still rocking your tiny team? It’s not fun, but you can survive. Use these hacks, and don’t forget to take breaks—Netflix, walks, snacks—so you and your crew can keep your sanity going in the wild world of “do more with less.”
To your greater "productivity" and well-being,,
Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and
Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT
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