We got into a spirited discussion on the dangers of trying to solve burnout through wellbeing initiatives. While we all agreed that employees have a certain expectation when it comes to wellbeing provisions at work, evidence suggests that these programmes aren't working. When it comes to burnout, workload is the central issue. As leaders, we have to acknowledge we aren’t being choiceful enough and we need to prioritise better.
With that in mind, we are sharing a checklist for better prioritisation. At first glance, it might seem counter-intuitive to have 11 things on here - but the truth is changing culture is complex. We tend to look for magic silver bullets to shift it, and they never work. So to build a much stronger culture and process around prioritization here are the 11 levers you need to pull in unison:
- The case for change is key. People feel less burnt out if they are emotionally connected to why their work matters. A case for change gives people a shared vision that creates a visceral emotional connection and shared understanding of the pace of change needed. Spending time here and giving people the chance to explore, debate, and discuss is the only way to build true commitment to it. Only then will people feel ownership of the difficult work to come.
- A purpose as compelling as 'save the company'. We need a singular, compelling, and energising purpose. When we're in crisis mode, 'save the company' drives ruthless focus, collaboration, and energy at every level in the organisation. But when it comes to our organisation's purpose we put up with statements that are nowhere near as strong. They are unforgivably flabby - no wonder we lack the ability to prioritise and sustain energy behind growth.
- Strategic drivers that will enable the business' ambitions. When we're not in full-on crisis mode, the options available to us and therefore the number of unknowns increase. That complexity can paralyse our ability to prioritise. This is why you need to define the 3-4 drivers that everyone must focus their time and money on to drive purpose and commercial growth. Their simplicity means we're not creating more cognitive overload for people to wade through when making decisions.
- Ruthless alignment of every leader. All of this forces a much more joined-up and focused agenda at the top. You need each and every leader in the business clear and committed to the case for change, purpose, and strategic drivers. Only when the outcome is defined centrally, and you have alignment at each level of leadership, will the correct signals be sent to the rest of the business. As soon as you have gaps of commitment in any cohort, and pet projects spinning up around the sides, all the good stuff you have put in place gets undermined.
- The right leaders making the calls. Once the strategic drivers are set, every leader needs to be making the right calls that will drive the business forward. The common problem is that leaders don’t make decisions at all. They don’t clearly signal their intent about what matters, and this causes confusion and burnout at every level in the organisation.
- Correct sizing. In a world where it feels easier to spend on wellbeing than on extra capacity in our teams, scarcity will always be an issue. We can often find ourselves caught in a middle ground of 10% cuts - but this means we keep all the same initiatives on the table. But the real-world evidence suggests that if you cut 30-50% then it forces prioritisation.
- Using the 70/20/10 rule. Splitting your priorities in the right way - 70% core activity with high predictability, 20% where you can be pretty confident of the outcome and return, 10% seed ventures where you can try new stuff for the first time to drive innovation. This balance creates greater focus and prioritisation and lowers the cognitive overload that can lead to burnout.
- Phasing. Prioritisation can often feel like a yes/no decision. Sometimes it is, but often we don't have that luxury. In modern business when you are running today’s business and building tomorrow’s, prioritisation is more often about a more ruthless phasing. And this has to be done collaboratively at the top when we have such complex businesses to run.
- Work out what you're stopping... And then work out a phased plan to actually get it 'stopped'. Every time a team stops an activity, they become more focused. Too often projects linger around, taking up time and energy that needs to be spent on the actual priorities.
- Align your performance management to reward the right stuff. Aligning your strategic drivers into individual objectives will keep everyone laser-focused and energised around what needs to be achieved. Determining the precise outcome-related targets that will measure real performance and rewarding people for those outcomes, not the level of activity increases the sense of fairness and sufficient reward, two key indicators of burnout.
- Long hard slog. The journey to better prioritisation is iterative and continuous. Using OKRs allows you to measure how many outcomes and key results you have each year, half, and quarter. And after each time period forcing ourselves to make sure the number of OKRs trends down over time. The results are clear, each time teams within the business become more focused and committed to what really needs to get done.