Throughout your education and career, you’ve probably seen motivational posters hanging on your classroom or office walls. They often promote the benefits of working together as a team. They may even be hanging up in your office as you read this.
“Together we can achieve anything.”
“We are stronger together.”
“Teamwork makes the dream work.”
Being part of a team can be amazing, especially when you get along with those team members and trust their abilities to get work done. On the other hand, it might sometimes be easier to get things done yourself. You might also want recognition for your skills.
Without team members, there’s little room for error and uncertainty. There’s also no chance for collaboration and inspiration from colleagues. This can be isolating and create pressure, which can put you at a greater risk of burning out. Let’s take a look at what it means to balance autonomy and support at work.
Become More Self-Aware
One of the best ways to work on finding balance is to take the time to look inward. Digging deep and working toward becoming more self-aware can be a lot of work, but it can pave the way for major growth.
Try to complete an internal SWOT analysis: your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and potential threats. Once you identify these key areas, you can work toward knowing when you should trust yourself to get something done or rely on someone else to help you.
Define Your Boundaries
Despite some of the messaging in corporate America, it’s extremely important to define and enforce boundaries in all areas of your life, including in the workplace. Once you’re able to clearly identify and communicate your boundaries, you’ll be better prepared to know which work you can take on for yourself and which you should pass on to someone else.
Take Initiative
If you’re worried about passing off too much work, try to take initiative in other ways. Work with senior leadership on owning your own projects that you can work on independently. Set goals for yourself and use check-ins with management to detail your progress. This is a great way to keep your team, and yourself, up to date with your workload.
Be Open and Honest
Be open and honest with yourself, your boss, and your colleagues. You’re all part of the same team, and no one wants to see you fail. If someone on your team fails, you all fail.
Make sure you’re contributing during team meetings and giving updates on the progress you’re making as well as any challenges you’re facing. This encourages trust and creates opportunities for productive collaboration.
Learn to Delegate
Delegating isn’t just passing off work that you don’t actually want to do in the first place. While this may be true in some instances, it’s important to know that you can’t do it all. That’s what a team is for.
When you’re able to delegate, it means you’ll have more time to complete the projects that are a higher priority. You’re also giving your teammates a chance to step up and help. This gives them the chance to pick up the necessary skills to grow individually and prove themselves.
Next Steps for Finding Balance
Finding the balance between autonomy and support at work isn’t easy, but it’s a necessary part of overall mental health and wellness. Finding that balance has been proven to be extremely beneficial in a person’s personal career development. Being able to trust someone else to help out from time to time can also help increase overall job satisfaction.
Sometimes, an outside perspective is the most efficient way to improve an area of life. If you’re interested in learning more about career counseling and finding balance at work, reach out today to get started.
