Management: A Question of Capacity
What is your management capacity?
Do you want to step into a full elevator that is loaded beyond capacity and looks like to could go down sooner than it shoud?
We often talk about management competency but I think we also need to think about our capacity.
How much more can we hold? How much more can we take in? What happens when the demands, requests, tasks, meetings, performances, and people begin to exceed our capacity?
We are witnessing unlimited storage capacity? Google mail will just keep adding more and more capacity as email hits the inbox. We can save everything - right now I have 11, 566 emails in my gmail!
But can we store or work with this much as a manager?
Is your capacity limited or can you develop more capacity?
I don’t have an easy answer to the capacity question for you but I wonder how you know when you are reaching capacity? When you get there do you just try and cram more in or do you let something out?
I find that when I am near capacity I start holding my breath, perhaps at some level I believe I am drowing in a sea of work or maybe I am justing trying to hold on.
What happens inside you when you are filled to capacity?
Please comment. I am just thinking about this concept and I would love any of your perceptions, experiences or suggestions. Thank you.
Photo Credit: Goldfish Overload by http://flickr.com/photos/laszlo-photo/534095210/
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6 opinions for Management: A Question of Capacity
focusfighter
Mar 11, 2008 at 10:23 am
When I am near capacity, my sack gets real tight. That, and I become prone to spontaneous weeping.
David Zinger
Mar 11, 2008 at 10:33 am
Focusfighter…interesting moniker but confused by your comment.
Nicole
Mar 11, 2008 at 3:34 pm
I find that when we get to capacity we are tested. These tests show us do we have capacity to go to the next level or do we have to step back. I have had to step back several times. This is hard for high achieving managers. It means saying I can’t take this on. It often creates opportunity for those on our team, by delegating something we thought we had to own ourselves. I have found the times I am overwhelmed and at capacity it is because I haven’t done a good job developing leaders on my team and giving them opportunities to grow by having them take on more so that I have capacity to take on more.
David Zinger
Mar 11, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Nicole: What an fine response to capacity. We build capacity by building the ability of others and individual capacity pales in comparsion to team capacity. Thank you for such a fine response.
David
focusfighter
Mar 12, 2008 at 8:14 am
Sorry, David - I was commenting on my own psychological and physiological response to being near capacity. There is a definite anxiety along with it.
Nicole nails it, though! It’s not so much about our own capacity to accomplish tasks, as it is the ability to lead and train. If we do the latter more effectively, our ‘capacity’ has greatly increased.
Inverting this situation, though - what if your boss leaves you and your department out on your own, with little resources or even understanding of what your need? What if they stubbornly reject kind attempts to get them involved, informed and appraised of the circumstances? For even a very effective leader and trainer, this is another formidable enemy to team capacity.
David Zinger
Mar 12, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Absolutely. We do what we can with what we’ve got but if support is lacking we then need to determine our next step into the work or out of the work. Tough decisions especially when we are capacity and we may like our organization but not have a good relationship with one person.
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