The responsibilities are more than what I anticipated!
Every employee says they want more…until they get more.
What am I talking about?
I am referring to the employees who have been in their current role for less than three years who come to you (their Manager/Leader) and ask you for a bigger opportunity. The team member who says, ‘I’m bored’ or, ‘I’m ready for a challenge’, or they highlight how ‘I have extra time in my day and I feel I can take on more.’
I’m here to prepare you on how to navigate this request. I want you to take a moment to recognize that when a team member is asking for ‘more,’ it’s not as simple as, ‘ok, let me add a few more things to your plate,’ There’s more to it. As a leader, I’ve seen and experienced this too many times in my career. Without adequate preparation and understanding of what your team member is asking for, you could be setting yourself and your team member up for failure.
You need context. Let’s get curious.
Where is this coming from?
Why would anyone want more work? - your own internal question.
Why do you want more work?
When I asked for more work (in the past), what was I really looking for? - your own internal question.
What kind of work, are you looking for?
Are they expecting to get paid more to take on an additional project? - your own internal question.
If their daily workload suddenly increases, will they still have the bandwidth or the will to complete the newly added work they asked for?
Ok, now that I have you thinking about all of the what-if’s and how-come’s, let’s dive into why this is important and how to navigate this scenario.
When a team member tells you they would like to take on more, this is their polite, shy way of saying, ‘I’m not stupid. I am very good at my job and get my work done quickly, but with high-quality. I’m getting bored and I’m interested in moving up in my career, and I want to start learning about some of the things you do, so I can aspire to move into a similar role one day. Please and Thank you!’
I’ve word-smithed a few things in there, but you get the point.
Here’s what you need to consider:
You have high-performing team members who are eagerly waiting for a promotion, and they’re thinking about the next steps in their career. They want a title change, they’re also looking for an increase in salary. As high-performers, I don’t blame them. They know their worth, and if they don’t get the opportunity here, there will find it somewhere else.
This is also why team development is so critical.
Below are some articles I wrote, related to high-performing teams and team development.
Before you answer their question and pile on more work, you need to understand what need they’re trying to fulfill. You can leverage some of the questions I brought up at the beginning of this blog.
Next, if you agree to provide them with more work, on behalf of their development (make sure you read those other articles, there’s a lot packed into the word ‘development’), you need to make sure the team member understands what comes with, ‘more.’ Taking on more work, so they can develop their skills, comes with a certain level of sacrifice they need to understand AND agree to. Depending on the company you work for and what level of decision making you have in your management role, the following may vary.
Promotions and salary increases are usually done one time per year. It’s rare to see someone promoted simply because they ask for more work. It’s also rare to see someone gain an increase in pay, simply because they asked for more work.
What could taking on more work get you? It won’t get you anything, because nothing is a guarantee. What it could do for them, is prepare them for future opportunities that may arise. Another unknown. When will these opportunities come? Be honest: I have no idea. But this is what development is: preparation. When preparedness meets an opportunity, that’s when they have a higher chance of securing that position. Again, higher chance, not guarantee. It’s harsh, but the expectations need to be set.
Now that this is clear, make sure it’s clear to the team member. You could have them summarize their understanding. You could setup an individual development plan for them, where you both discuss this on an ongoing basis. Setting expectations is going to be key in this conversation. Also, the expectations need to be revisited. This is not discussed once and never raised again. Leverage your one-to-one’s to get an update on how they’re handling the added work. Are they still interested in doing the work? Are they still engaged? Has it become too much? Always offer them an opportunity to step away and return back to what they were doing (in a professional manner, don’t guilt trip or make them feel bad about it).
Here’s the mentoring lesson.
I’ve seen about 15% of employees in my career, push for more work, more opportunities. Even after my team leaders (managers leading those individuals) or myself, have gone through all the steps I’ve highlighted above, when they got more, it wasn’t what they wanted. It always came back to the same two concerns: when will I be promoted and when will my salary increase? The answer was always the same (read above again, if you want a refresher of the answers).
I’ve seen about 5% of employees in my career, push for more work, more opportunities, to find out, they didn’t like the added responsibility. And that’s ok. This is why having the ongoing development conversation is critical. This is why asking them every once in a while (more frequently than once or twice a year, try quarterly to start) whether they still wanted to continue with added work, is critical. It provided them with an option. And when they said no, I don’t want to continue, the conversation pivoted. What did you learn, what elements did you like, what other interests do you want to pursue, etc.
The last thing you want from a high-performing team member who’s asking to take on more, is a disengaged team member and the potential of them resigning and working somewhere else.
If you’ve run into similar scenarios, I’m here to help mentor you, when you’re ready.
