Ok so I thought being a manager meant more strategy, but I’m stuck in admin mode. It's 100% busywork, I'm the one scheduling meetings, answering low-priority emails, and handling last-minute requests, I feel like I have less time than ever to actually lead. I can't transition from doer without everything falling apart. What would you do in my situation? https://www.inc.com/soren-kaplan/how-to-stop-drowning-in-busywork-and-start-leading/91141193
Dealing with a lot of day to day things shouldn't be a surprise, it's just a normal part of climbing the ladder. Doing the ordinary things of keeping an organization running will, ideally, provide experience that will guide and inform you if you should get to the stage where you're expected to formulate strategy.
lol
Man, who misled you? Typically senior level executives are the ones thinking strategically. Mid level managers, especially first line supervisors are operating tactically, making sure that the strategies are being properly executed. That means a lot of admin. Managers may provide input to senior executives to use while developing strategy, metrics/KPIs, feedback from the floor, and may be a sanity check, but generally that’s it.
It’s 100% busywork when you’re a senior exec too, OP.
It appears to be all meetings and catered lunches for the exec team
So you are stuck in deer mode. But you do have admin responsibilities that have to get done so schedule them. Get out of your inbox, put your one on ones or whatever is most important for your team on your calendar and there’s that’s your number one priority if that should be your number one priority. Admin stuff happens last, people first paper last. Now that doesn’t mean push it off to where it doesn’t get done because your responsibility that you’re held to is doing those tasks also. I checked my email first thing in the morning started working on my one on ones, did my admin for attendance later in the day and then once every Thursday to make sure your time cards were done.
Schedule your stuff, eat the frog, and it’ll get better.
You need to learn to delegate! Especially the lower priority and ad hoc requests. Allow your team to fail occasionally, and be ready to help them when needed.
It’s painful at first, because chances are you can do things better and faster than your direct reports. But they’ll never learn unless you let go of the leash a bit
Also? Good time to learn the mantra “shoot one, train many”. As a manager, you should delegate what you can, it’s good professional development for the people who work for you. And you should make sure they understand the why behind the duties you assign, especially the stuff that seems like check the box work. Get their emotional buy-in for the work they’re doing. But sometimes you just have to set the example for someone who consistently refused to do the assigned work to standard. Stop wasting your time running around behind them, nagging them and pleading with them to do their assigned tasks.
OK, so there's a thing we call the Player-Coach spectrum. And basically, you're stuck in Player mode even though your Coaching duties are piling up.
Step 1: Acknowledge the problem. You can pat yourself on the back, you've done this.
Step 2: Look at your calendar and to-do list. Write everything you're doing in one either the Player column (i.e. Doer) or Coach column
Step 3: Estimate the % of time you're spending in either column. Talk with your own manager about what's the right balance for you. There are a lot of management roles where it's completely acceptable to have a high % of Player work.
Step 4: Once you agree what's the right balance for right now, go back to your columns and figure out what you can (1) stop doing or (2) delegate to your team
Step 5: Do not just delegate without considering the stakes of the work and the experience level your direct report(s) has. If the stakes are high or they have low experience, spend more time transitioning the work to them with checkpoints. If the stakes are low and/or they have experience, use a 1:1 to ask them to take ownership.
Extra points if you can say how the new work lines up with their career goals. If the work sucks but needs to be done, label it. Everyone knows so it's better to say, "I know this isn't the most glamorous work, but it's really important because of XYZ and I appreciate your consistency here".
Good luck!