The last two weeks have been intense. Several products at Chapter 2 Ventures are deep in development, Stoney Creek Farm is gearing up for another big push, real estate is as busy as ever, and additional opportunities are pouring in daily. Juggling it all is hard and can be stressful.
Beyond myself, two team members came to me yesterday and expressed overwhelm by the volume of things to be done.
The common themes were: We aren’t getting back to people fast enough, some of our service standards are falling, our team and customers seem on edge, and everyone is stressed out about it all.
I acknowledged how this made them feel, thanked them for caring so much about the company and our mission, and bringing this to my attention.
And then I asked: What about this could be good?
I find that question to be a powerful reframe and prompt to move the mind away from problems or crisis situations and into opportunities. I’m not suggesting operational inefficiencies be ignored, or that you can “positively think” your way through critical inflection points. That’s not real. However, as leaders of organizations I believe it’s our role to steer the organizations’ thinking to acknowledge you’ll never get it all done and if you’re trying, that’s an indicator that priorities need to be clarified. So if you or your team members are feeling overwhelmed, consider asking, what about this could be good?
What comes to mind?