In a busy manufacturing organisation, a highly capable manager was consistently overloaded with work. Despite their best efforts to delegate and reorganise, the pressure persisted. Multiple attempts to reduce workload had failed, leaving the manager frustrated and the team stuck. The manager handled the stress and overload as well as they could but the constant demand was taking its toll. Things had to change or they would be forced to leave for their own wellbeing. The employer was very keen to establish what action could be taken to fix the situation.
Without a clear picture of how communication and requests were flowing within the team, efforts to delegate effectively were misdirected. The manager needed a way to visualise the relational dynamics driving their overload to identify where real change was required.
We introduced relational network mapping diagnostic exercise to create a visual picture of social interactions and information flows. The team were each asked to explore their relationships within the department. The resulting team map revealed that the manager, as a trusted leader, was at the centre of much of the flow. Team members naturally came directly to the manager with questions and issues, bypassing others. The manager took responsibility for decisions, leading on solutions, and liked to bring energy to help make progress. The map clearly showed the bottleneck. With this insight, the manager identified opportunities to redirect the flow of conversations by appointing two supervisors as gatekeepers. The role of these gatekeepers was designed to filter and distribute requests more effectively, reducing direct pressure on the manager.
The impact of the relational map was threefold:
- The manager gained clarity on the root cause of their overload so they were able to work on solving the right problem
- The team could also see the dynamics clearly for the first time. This shared understanding built empathy and motivation across the team, reducing resistance to change.
- New communication pathways were embraced, allowing the manager to focus on higher-value tasks and improving overall team efficiency.