Are you juggling an impossible workload but worrying about what will happen if you raise it with your manager?
Here are my tips for how to approach that conversation in a way that:
✅ Ensures you feel fully prepared
✅ Helps you position yourself in a positive way
✅ Helps you come out of the conversation with clarity on both sides
I know that when I have struggled with workload I have often felt vulnerable to those negative voices in my head that say:
“This is a sign that you don’t belong here”
“If you tell your manager they will think you are underperforming”
“Everyone else is managing, why can’t you?”
So I know that it may feel like the last thing you should do is talk to your manager.
But the truth is they have probably already noticed.
Don’t wait for the difficult conversation. Especially if there is a danger that it won’t happen until your end-of-year review. Because by that time they will already have discussed their view of your performance with their manager and peers. And you will be on the back foot.
Instead, use these 3 tips to have a structured, productive conversation that should help you reset your workload, their expectations, and your stress levels.
3 tips for a great conversation about workloads
Using these 3 tips will set you up for a great conversation.
💡Pro-Tip: Do each step on your own first THEN talk to your manager
Tip 1 : Bring Facts
In my experience, many line managers actually don’t fully understand exactly what their team is working on and how much time it’s really consuming.
✅ Bring them a clear list of ALL the tasks you have in your remit, and the time commitment currently required (hours per week NOT percentages).
✅ Make sure you are clear about which ones are repeating commitments (e.g. regular meetings, 1:1s with your reports) and which are time-bound (e.g. committee papers, reports).
✅ Categorise them if you like, using labels such as People Management, Operational, Project Work.
✅ Once you complete this exercise, review it yourself to check whether everything still needs to be on there. Have you got any pet projects? Is there anything you can say no to or pause?
Talking this through with your manager shows that you are organised, a structured thinker and that you want decisions to be made based on facts, not perceptions. Most managers will themselves be juggling many different tasks so this should not be a surprise to them.
Tip 2: Prioritise, Prioritise, Prioritise
Next it’s time to get clear on priorities. You may find this exercise reveals confusion in your own mind and/or lack of alignment with your manager. Either way, you should finish the exercise with clarity on both sides and that’s always a good thing.
1️⃣ BEFORE you talk to your manager, put the list in what YOU think the order of priority is and reflect on the amount of time you are spending on the top priority items versus those lower down the list.
2️⃣ WHEN you talk to your manager you can either: Talk them through your view of the priorities first OR ask them what their view of the priorities is and validate your list that way
3️⃣ Once you are both agreed on the order of the list, review again the amount of time you are spending and get their view on whether that’s appropriate.
Talking this through with your manager will show you are focused on aligning yourself to the team’s priorities and are putting the outcomes first, rather than your personal preferences.
Tip 3: Delegation, Distribution, Development
By now you should both have a clear understanding of what the work is and the relative importance of each item.
If the overall workload is still too high to manage, it’s time to look for opportunities to share the love! To help you do this, use this checklist to review opportunities for moving the work around:
- Delegation – Are there items on the list that you can get someone else to pick up for you, whilst still remaining responsible for the final outcome? That person will need to be fully capable, have capacity, and willing to take direction from you.
- Distribution – Is there anything you can hand over completely to someone else? This person will need to be fully capable, have capacity and willing to take full responsibility for this piece of work. And you must be willing to cede that responsibility and stay out of the work moving forward.
- Development – Have you got talent in your team or network who could take on an item from the list as a chance to learn and grow? That person will need to have capacity and be up for the challenge. And you will need to have the capacity and willingness to support them through it, not micro-manage them, do it for them or just throw them to the lions.
Talking this through with your manager will position you as taking a strategic view of the work AND the people. If you have ambitions to become a manager yourself, these 3 Ds are critical skills for you to develop.
Why is this approach better?
🔎 Going through each step yourself first gives you a chance to reassess what you are working on and whether it’s the right stuff in the right order. You may find you can solve the problem yourself without needing that conversation (or you can still have it to validate your thinking).
🤔 Framing the whole conversation around the strategic priorities of the team / company and your determination to optimise your time to ensure you deliver high-quality work, not drop the ball, positions you as someone thinking strategically, not slacking off.
🧭 Coming prepared shows that you have tried to solve it yourself and need some direction. You’re not just looking to dump the problem on your manager’s desk for them to sort out.
What Happens When You Use These Tips?
- You’ll feel more in control
- You’ll be clearer about what you need to discuss
- You’ll have established a baseline that you can come back to in future
- You can re-use this structure time and again
Final Thought: Why Did This Really Happen?
Getting control of your workload is the only way to make work sustainable and ensure you can do your best work. So, after you’ve used these tips, had a great conversation, and got your workload back under control, stop and reflect on how you got into that position in the first place.
If you don’t get to the root cause the cycle will continue so take a good long look at yourself and what you do / don’t control. What choices are you making and what are the consequences? Ask yourself these questions:
- How did I let things build up to that level?
- Am I saying yes too much?
- Am I underestimating the amount of work required?
- Am I pursuing pet projects?
- Am I unwilling to delegate or distribute, and if so, why?
Be really honest with yourself about what’s going on here. Otherwise the chances are you’ll be doing this exercise again and again. And your manager may not view it in the same way when you’re having the same discussion for the nth time.
You may not fix your workload issues completely after this one exercise, but the first step is awareness and the next step is consistency. Keep checking in on yourself and your choices – are they really the best ones for you in the long-term?
The choices you start making today might just be the breakthrough you need.