During a recent run I saw a fire hydrant spewing out water, and it made me think about how many times during my
- Understand how much you can drink, do not get emotionally overwhelmed, take a breath, prioritize, and identify areas where you need help.
- Let the person on the other end of the hose (who is feeding your inbox) know when the water pressure is too high. We are all moving at 140 MPH, and at times those in control of the pressure do not have their eyes on the pressure gauge. If you are afraid to let that person know, get over it. Drinking for a fully pressurized fire hose is not healthy for anyone. People by nature will keep turning up the pressure until you let them know that it is getting to be a bit too much for you.
- Engage your colleagues to bring buckets and help you with the water coming from the hose if you need assistance in getting up the
learning curve(s) before you can handle the flow from the hose. - When you are pushing work to your team or colleagues be cognizant of what that does to the pressure of the work load hose from which they drink. Ask them if they can handle what you need in the timeframe you need it, and don’t be afraid to ask them what else they have on their plate, so you can assess the pressure of that hose.
- Micromanage watching that hose pressure when you have a new hire for at least six months and actively check-in, more than once a week, to make sure any new hire is not drinking from the fire hose. You can also ask those who work closely with the new hire to gauge the pressure on that hose and if that person looks to be getting water logged.
Everyone needs to drink from the fire hose at times, as that is part of professional life. However, the pressure on the other end can be set and managed at a reasonable level. Don’t let yourself drown, colleagues drown, or let the pressure get to high when you are controlling or impacting the pressure on the other end of a responsibility hose.