When times are tough at work, it’s easy to feel as though you’re losing control. Your organisation may be restructuring. You may not sure what that means for you and your job role. Money may be short and inevitably cuts must be made. Global and political events and the cost of living contribute to this uncertainty. You may be asked if you can do more with less, change what you do or stop doing some aspects of your job to focus on different priorities. New senior leaders, much like politicians, want to make their mark and do things differently. External consultants may be brought in to make recommendations.
It’s therefore not surprising that you feel overwhelmed and risk descending into what I described when I delivered a recent keynote speech, as the ‘vortex of doom.’
However, stay with me as I explore what you can do before you become too depressed. Because there are things you can control, even though it doesn’t always feel that way.
Circles of Influence, Concern and Control
In his ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People,’ Stephen Covey illustrates this through his Circles of Influence, Concern and Control. Covey advises not to stress over those things you can’t change- instead, focus your energy on the things you can.
- While you may, for example, feel you have no control over the fact that savings must be made, you can influence how the resources you do have should be allocated. This will expand your circle of influence.
- You can tap into alliances and networks and influence sideways and upwards.
- You can work on yourself and your own development, even with funding constraints.
- By shifting to a solution-focused mind set, options open, enabling you to achieve a sense of agency. Let’s explore how this might work in practice.
Strategy
- Your strategy will need to align with your organisation’s. So where should your limited resources go?
- With less resource and higher demand, the answer is not to spread ever-more thinly trying to please everyone. You may need to stop offering some services or change your offer.
- You may need to stop doing some things you’ve enjoyed and are good at.
Impact
- Where do you, or could you have most impact? How do you capture this? Does it link to key organisational metrics?
- Are you able to demonstrate the impact of removing an aspect of service delivery? What if you stop doing x or y? Would resources be better allocated elsewhere?
- Could AI be harnessed in order to increase productivity, save staff time or speed up service delivery?
Build alliances
You may have good relationships with other departments.
- Are there opportunities to collaborate? Decide together on delivery priorities?
- Can you forge closer links with other departments to align mutual interests? Will this help shape your strategy?
- Remember to look up and outwards not just internally when you’re building alliances and achieving more together.
Self-care: Think like a leader
Learning to understand the bigger organisational picture and strategic priorities will help you appreciate wider changes and challenges. And enable you to empathise more readily with your line manager. They have the hardest of tasks as they will often be required to make the difficult decisions and then need to support staff through them.
- Rather than simply being very busy in delivery mode, (looking down), take time to keep up with what’s going on nationally and internationally (looking up). If you’re able to get a place on a committee or working group, it’s a great way to stay informed and to grow your contacts- who may become allies and have a better understanding of what you do and the value of your work. This will be helpful if you decide to apply for promotional posts where you’ll be expected to demonstrate strategic awareness.
- Does your employer offer wellbeing support to staff? Flexible working? Other in-house benefits?
Visibility
- How visible is your service? How visible are you? Do your key stakeholders understand what you do? The impact of your work? Your successes?
- It does you no favours to hide your light under a bushel. Make sure your work is featured in internal communications. Discuss as a team how you can achieve this.
- Attend wider organisational events or briefings to find out what’s going on, to network and connect with others and to learn. Don’t make the mistake of being ‘too busy’ with delivery work to make the time to engage -remember- look up, not down.
Know and grow your strengths and skills
Are the attributes which helped to get you your current role the ones you need going forward? Explore what you might need to prepare for your next role by talking to staff at the next level up.
Take control of your professional development
- Don’t wait to be sent on a course. There are many ways you can continue to learn. Not all of them cost money. If you don’t keep learning you’re going backwards.
- Does your organisation provide support for staff aspiring to progress through mentoring or coaching?
- Do you have a LinkedIn profile? Is your CV up to date?
From transactional to transformational
By looking up rather than down; by focusing on those things you can influence, opportunities open up. By placing clear boundaries around your time, you take better care of your wellbeing. By building your network you grow a community of support, making you stronger and more resilient. By investing in your professional development you position yourself as an expert, open to growth and more employable.
Summary
Within the changes we experience, while we may feel at the mercy of institutional financial decisions, we can control:
- Some aspects of proposed changes.
- Our response to those changes.
- How proactively we engage with them.
It’s important to connect with fellow professionals to share ideas, give support, collaborate and develop your skills.
Call to action
- Create a support community which will help to shore you up in tough times.
- Look up not down- think like a leader.
- Take control of your professional development.
Useful resources
7 Habits of Highly Effective People Stephen Covey for Circles of Control, Concern and Influence.
Who is in your personal Boardroom? By Zella King and Amanda Scott. How to develop a valuable and powerful network.
Start Being Visible by Mildred Talabi. How to raise your profile and build your brand through LinkedIn.
