QUESTION: My manager says ‘yes to every request from his boss, and puts pressure on the team.
REALITY: Either the manager is not good at filtering the pressure, or he is grooming a few people so that they become better at handling pressure.
When a team works under pressure over a long period of time, it starts doubting the manager’s capability to handle the work and its risks. They start thinking that the manager is being very submissive to his boss, as he seems to agree to every request of the boss’s without knowing the kind of impact it would have on the project, especially in terms of making people work more. And when they ask the manager, they get a standard reply that this is crucial for the customer. Any team can take pressure, but if it is of a prolonged nature, patience runs thin and the team starts doubting the manager’s capabilities.
A good manager should consult the team before committing it to any task. Moreover, if he’s not convinced himself, he should put his foot down with the boss. In case he is not able to convince his manager, then he should set up a meeting with him where his team members can present the case. All managers should have good soft skills to handle pressure situations. And if they themselves are under pressure, it percolates down to .the team. A ,manager’s tense body language, use of harsh language and irritable behaviour can have deleterious effect. Every team expects its manager to act as a cushion between it and the management where a smooth communication flow is ensured, and pressure and tension are filtered.
Some managers purposely put some employees—especially senior members of a team—under pressure so that they learn how to handle such difficult situations. They will have identified certain team members who are to be given more responsibility, and so will make them undertake certain tasks—like making them study market dynamics or giving them a first-hand experience of the difficulties of balancing team expectations and-customer requirements. If such is t he case, then the manager should make it clear to the senior people upfront.
The real problem arises when the team cannot handle the work. If the burden is unreasonable, then the manager is at fault and he needs to take the matter up with his boss. But the fault may also lie with the team. Good teams come out with various options and innovative ways to respond to customer requests. And the more ,successful a team is, the more work and attention it gets. But if things get particularly difficult, the best option for any team is to discuss the issue with the manager and his boss so as to bridge the gap between the management’s expectations and the ground realities.
WHAT CAN YOU DO AS THE EMPLOYEE? If you are passionate about your work, you will run that extra mile. But if you feel that work is becoming routine or that the project management is improper, then-you’ll become demotivated, Sometimes, stealing a few days off from work can help to re-energize, provided you are not worried about your next milestone. Also, you could speak to your manager and ask for help; you could even suggest to him better ways of work distribution that would reduce the pressure. As your success is tied with the success of the company and the project, and once you have understood the importance of a project, you should not mind putting in extra effort to pull it off.
WHAT CAN YOU DO AS THE MANAGER? Communication is a key to ensuring that employees understand the reasons behind any activity. If required, you should ask your management to address the employees to reinforce the message. But you have an even bigger role to play. You cannot declare each and every activity or project as critical, leading to burnout in your people, month after month, year after year. This means that either you are not able to prioritize correctly or you are not doing the work estimation well. You can improve by involving your team members in such decisions so that they feel that they are part of the decision-making apparatus. Of course, you don’t have to handle senior people with kid gloves, but then you need to reward them suitably too.
