Overwhelmed at Work by Unrealistic Goals
How often do you find yourself overwhelmed at work by unrealistic goals that were set upon you from above? Goals that were too aggressive. These goals were set not to punish you, but to raise the bar of your employees. But when setting those goals, the people above you may not understand the entire situation like you do. They don't know what's going on in the weeds like you.
We all have someone to answer to. Even the CEO has the board of directors to answer to. Goals are usually set with best intentions in mind. But they're not always realistic. And when they're not realistic, that puts an incredible burden on you, and the rest of your team… until the next budget year, when you have to go through the whole thing all over again.
What to Do When Overwhelmed at Work
To avoid these kind of situations in the future, it's imperative as a leader to be able to push back. To be able to say no. To be able to hold your ground with those above you. And not in a weird or spiteful power dynamic, or anything like that. Just staying strong in your determination of what goals would be helpful to push the organization along. And have all your rational arguments and all of your stories that you can share.
But stay strong. Remind the people above you of the consequences if you agree to those terms. Ultimately, when push comes to shove, the people above you are your supervisors. So their word goes. But it doesn't have to be a simple transaction. Because they hired you as a leader to understand the organization. To understand your people. To understand what's possible. So you need to speak up.
At least let them be completely aware that if they choose to stay with the goals that you think are unrealistic, that you may not hit those goals. And it might cause disruption not only in your own team, but for the people around your team.
So don't simply accept unrealistic goals from your supervisors. Push back. Take back your life. Take back your team. Take back your overwhelm.
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