Swistro Advisors

...Successful change set in motion...
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Lessons from the Field - Summer 2007

Finding a Way to Take a Load Off

By Chris Swistro

These days, pressure to perform is at an all-time high. And mobile technologies - the cell phone, the ubiquitous PDA - enable us to be "on call" at all times of the night and day. At the same time, business has become globalized, introducing cultural, geographic and language complexities to an already complex and competitive business world. Many top-performing executives struggle to stay on top of their game in the face of relentless demands for their time and brainpower. Paradoxically, as the intensity increases, leaders may find it challenging to seek relief from the pressure. Why? Because finding relief requires adopting new ways of doing the work. These necessary changes may feel counterintuitive and seem risky given the constant pressure to perform.

For the busy executive, the key to getting started is inviting trusted team members to help design a solution to the overload problem. The idea is to re-think functions, roles and processes in a manner that preserves quality goals but engages the capacity of the organization in more efficient ways. Swistro Advisors works with clients to examine opportunities for delegation and better load-balancing, means of cross-training key functions to eliminate key-person risk, and ways of setting expectations with bosses, clients and colleagues that reflect re-designed functions. This process usually invigorates team members, and as team members on the field step up their game, senior executives find themselves more ready to hand them the ball.

What can you do as an executive?

"Spend" your value wisely. Executives that have succeeded in staying on top of their game know they are the boss for a reason. Their experience, expertise and track record of success led them to where they are today. But they've come to realize they can't do their job the same way they did it before their responsibilities increased several fold. These executives consider the smart application of their valuable but limited time to be their most pressing responsibility.

Take a leap of faith. Almost all executives find the process of getting ready and then sharing the load daunting because it's likely that no one will perform exactly the way they might. But with careful planning, training and communicating, many realize that their team members find success in their own way. It takes practice, but challenging others to be leaders will be rewarded with increased organizational capacity for doing great work and, yes, relief from the pressure to perform!

"With a keen instinct for assembling the right mix of people to forward change, Chris guides leadership teams through a process that helps them think strategically then galvanizes organizational support to take action."

- Senior Executive,
Financial Services Organization

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About Swistro Advisors
Specialists in organizational transformation, Swistro Advisors collaborates with executive teams to clarify organizational direction, actuate change, and support the mastery of skills and leadership behaviors to ensure enduring productivity gains. Together, we envision and attain your goals.

Swistro Advisors
...Successful change set in motion...
Christine Swistro, President
phone: 617.285.0422
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