This could not be more true. And it goes on silently until it becomes too much and the high performer then silently quits. The manager or leader just trusts the high performers to get what needs to be done, done. This mostly happens under stress or pressure conditions where the work gets piled on, but the work never gets taken back off.
Vicious cycle, but it can be solved!
The solve starts with the leader actually paying attention to distribution, not just output. High performers don't complain, so the work keeps flowing their way because it's the path of least resistance.
The fix isn't complicated: regularly audit who's carrying what, not just whether the work is getting done. When the load never comes back off, it's not a workload problem anymore, it's a trust problem. And by the time they quietly leave, they've usually been making the decision for months.
In one of my (many) disciplinary reviews, my manager argued that I'd missed a CRITICAL five day deadline.
Which was true, I had.
The director asked me if I I had any justification for not making it. I pointed out that on the second day, I had been assigned a higher priority (ie. MORE CRITICAL) two day task that had to be done immediately. This meant seven days of work in five days. Basically, the company had a math problem.
The director asked the manager, who said "I *told* him that I would not accept him using that as an excuse for not finishing the other work. The other task was still critical, and due Friday."
So, the director said, "you basically just snapped your fingers and magically expected 7 days work to be done in 5, because, well, you wanted it?"
I was excused from my own disciplinary review. My manager was not.
This company was the one where I learned the acronym MBWT, which meant "management by wishful thinking". It appeared in more planning documents and emails than I care to remember.
Geez. At least Sisyphus got to push his rock. 😭
Rinse and repeat.
This could not be more true. And it goes on silently until it becomes too much and the high performer then silently quits. The manager or leader just trusts the high performers to get what needs to be done, done. This mostly happens under stress or pressure conditions where the work gets piled on, but the work never gets taken back off.
Vicious cycle, but it can be solved!
The solve starts with the leader actually paying attention to distribution, not just output. High performers don't complain, so the work keeps flowing their way because it's the path of least resistance.
The fix isn't complicated: regularly audit who's carrying what, not just whether the work is getting done. When the load never comes back off, it's not a workload problem anymore, it's a trust problem. And by the time they quietly leave, they've usually been making the decision for months.
In one of my (many) disciplinary reviews, my manager argued that I'd missed a CRITICAL five day deadline.
Which was true, I had.
The director asked me if I I had any justification for not making it. I pointed out that on the second day, I had been assigned a higher priority (ie. MORE CRITICAL) two day task that had to be done immediately. This meant seven days of work in five days. Basically, the company had a math problem.
The director asked the manager, who said "I *told* him that I would not accept him using that as an excuse for not finishing the other work. The other task was still critical, and due Friday."
So, the director said, "you basically just snapped your fingers and magically expected 7 days work to be done in 5, because, well, you wanted it?"
I was excused from my own disciplinary review. My manager was not.
This company was the one where I learned the acronym MBWT, which meant "management by wishful thinking". It appeared in more planning documents and emails than I care to remember.
Why is it that we're always a few rocks short of being crushed?