WIP Induced Powerlessness

Managing work in progress (WIP) is not just about optimising operational efficiency; it’s also about fostering a healthy and empowering work environment:

• When there is too much WIP, people feel overwhelmed. This constant state of feeling overwhelmed leads to a sense of lack of control over one’s work. This lack of control combined with constant task switching and changing priorities leads to disengagement and helplessness.
• The more tasks a team is responsible for, the less time they tend to dedicate to collaboration. Divide-and-conquer is seen as the right approach, while working with others becomes synonymous with inefficiency. This reduction in teamwork leads to a sense of isolation.
• Increased cycle times and reduced efficiency means it takes longer for people to see the results of their work. The harder it is for employees to understand their impact, the more likely they are to feel ineffective.
• With too many tasks in progress, feedback loops become longer and slower. This delay in receiving feedback leaves employees feeling uncertain about their performance, and unable to know how best to make improvements.
• Executives over-emphasis on utilisation and keeping people busy leads to a lack of focus on bigger picture and strategic outcomes. This focus on day-to-day operations leaves little time for alignment and planning, communication of vision and direction, tools and training, or resourcing.

To counter this we need to: Constantly communicate vision and principles so those closest to the work can make better, more informed, more aligned decisions; reassure people that long-term, strategic outcomes are just as important as “quick wins”; make explicit all the things people believe they’re expected to do, discuss what is a true priority vs nice-to-have, and proactively plan for tasks we might need to “drop on the floor”; reward people for reducing WIP rather than taking on more; and keep asking people what they need to be and feel more empowered.

Too much work in progress is one of the more insidious and perhaps inadvertent means by which we disempower people. If we genuinely want to foster an environment where employees feel in control, engaged, and connected, it’s critical we ruthlessly prioritise our own workloads, and support others to ruthlessly prioritise theirs.