It’s not sustainable
If you work in higher ed. and find yourself under-staffed and over-worked, you are not alone. It’s common, but it’s not sustainable. You need to advocate for yourself and get more staff, or re-think your job description or processes/strategies, to get your work done in a reasonable number of hours.
The biggest mistake I see leaders make is to wait until they are overwhelmed, feel pushed over the edge, then complain to their supervisor. They have months or even years of frustration and fatigue built up. All they can do at that point is complain, complain, and complain some more. They have countless examples of injustices and extreme self-sacrifice to talk about, and instead of sounding like leaders, they sound like terrible managers. Don’t let this happen to you.
How to get your supervisor’s attention
The first thing to remember when you discuss a problem with your supervisor is to spend a small percentage of the meeting time on the problem, and the majority of the time on the solution. Come prepared, with a plan, and be mindful of how your words and your attitude will be interpreted. Please understand that your supervisor may have a different perspective from yours, and to get what you are requesting, you will have to show how what you are proposing is aligned with their goals and needs.
You probably already know your supervisor’s goals (e.g., increase revenue, increase enrollment, improve efficiencies, enhance student success, etc.) but you may not know their own personal needs. Have you observed any patterns? Do they avoid taking risks or disrupting tradition? Do they avoid disagreement? Do they seem to care highly about employee satisfaction? Are they worried about their reputation and status?
6 Human Needs
Being a Robbins-Madanes Training (RMT) Certified Coach, I use the Six Human Needs Theory to learn how people think and make decisions. That tells me how to influence them by emphasizing what is important to them (as opposed to what seems most important to me).
In coaching sessions with new clients, I often hear people say that they tried to influence their supervisor by advocating for what they believed was right, but it wasn’t effective. Some can be quick to judge their supervisor for being a poor listener, or even a poor leader, instead of realizing that they, themselves, need to change their approach.
Do you ever catch yourself blaming someone’s lack of receptivity to an idea, instead of looking for a better way to get through to them? I invite you to listen to them and learn which are their top needs from the following six.
Certainty/Security: Need for safety, stability, security, comfort, order, predictability, clarity, and control.
Variety/Uncertainty: Need for surprises, differences, challenges, adventure, disruption, and excitement.
Significance: Need to feel important, special, needed, admired, proud, wanted, and recognized.
Love and connection: Need to feel closeness, connection, appreciation, bonding, validation from others, and a sense of belonging.
Growth: Need to learn, evolve, and develop professionally, personally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Contribution: Need to give to others, provide value, serve, help, and protect.
Examples of how to respond to those needs
Here are some suggestions on how you can help your supervisor understand the importance and urgency of finding solutions to your excessive workload, based on their individual needs. For the sake of simplicity, let’s imagine that you are a Director and your proposal is to hire an Associate Director.
Certainty/security
Having an Associate Director would allow us to make sure nothing is overlooked or falling through the cracks.
We would prevent bottlenecks, improve responsiveness, and make sure everything is done correctly the first time, in a timely manner.
One of us would always be available to attend critical meetings and never be blind-sided.
Variety/uncertainty
Having an Associate Director to handle some of the day-to-day activities would free up time to focus on strategic planning and innovation.
We could add services or initiatives that we have been talking about for a long time but couldn’t implement.
We would be able to partner more effectively with other departments instead of working in silos, which would lead to new opportunities.
Significance
We want to keep growing our program and having an Associate Director will allow us to become the largest program in our State.
We can attract talent and hire someone with an impressive background and reputation, which will add even more clout to our program.
We will have the ability to apply for prestigious grants once the Associate Director is onboard.
Love and connection
Being the only manager in my department, I can’t give all of our employees the time and attention they deserve. But with an Associate Director, our employees will get more one-on-one time to be heard and feel supported.
The Associate Director will organize professional development activities to create a team spirit, improve engagement, and promote a sense of belonging.
We will look at everyone’s workload, seek opportunities to improve efficiency, and give our employees better work-life balance.
Growth
With a new Associate Director, we will do assessments and surveys to identify areas for growth and keep getting better.
Hiring someone new means bringing in fresh ideas and a new outlook on how we operate and how we could be more efficient.
The Associate Director would also research best practices that we could implement here.
Contribution
Hiring an Associate Director will allow us to improve the student experience, serve at a higher level, and change lives in a more profound way than we do now.
We would be able to solicit more donations and scholarships to benefit our students.
The Associate Director would provide more support to our staff members to help them thrive.
Conclusion
Do you see how complaining about how tired you are will not fix the problem? Do you realize that you might be perceived as a poor leader if you seem too self-absorbed or unable to cope with your job responsibilities? So, please do yourself a favor and listen closely to your supervisor to understand their needs and discover the best ways to motivate and influence them.
Is it easy? No, of course not. It requires you to break old habits, to stop being reactive, and to change how you approach situations. That is why if you are serious about becoming a more effective leader, I invite you to click here and schedule a time to speak with me to discuss how we can work together. Many colleges and universities pay for executive coaching because they know how significant the return on investment is, so don’t wait. I look forward to speaking with you soon.
About the author: Dr. Audrey Reille has empowered thousands of professionals through one-on-one coaching, group coaching, speaking engagements, and online courses. Audrey is the go-to executive coach for leaders in higher education administration. She empowers them to thrive by improving communication, confidence, executive presence, effectiveness reducing stress, optimizing strategies, improving professional relationships, and developing a strong and empowered mindset.