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BLUF: I'm a new member of a new team and I'm looking for advice on how to raise what I perceive to be an imbalance in the work of the team.

I recently made a switch from Finance to Product Management in my organisation. In my old role I was a high performer, used to dong whatever needed to get the job done and supported in my transfer.

The PM team is new (<12 months old) and I am the first person to fill this position. The team is split into 3. The balance of work in the team seems completely unbalanced to me and I don't think the reality today is the intention when the structure was launched.

I'm not concerned about long hours, just that the role is just too broad for me to be successful. Until the move I managed teams and am used to resolving resourcing issues but I'm just not sure what to do in this instance.

Any advice on how to approach this topic with my line manager? In the past he has been known to say "well everyone is busy".

dozrman's picture
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In a new role, it is natural to feel overwhelmed and overloaded as you are adapting, growing and stretching.  As you become better, these feelings will decrease in the long-term.  My suggestion is to focus on what MT calls "the things that will get you fired if you do not do them."  In other words, determine what the big deliverables you have by day, week, month, quarter etc - "the big rocks" - and make sure that you are aligned with your boss and team.  This conversation may yield insights about things that may not get done - "the little rocks."  The other lever that MT has suggested about increasing output is to decrease quality.  In summary, I would suggest getting alignment on what is important and urgent first, see what items can be descoped before suggesting that other people assume the responsibiliies for the deliverables that you have.  Tell us how it turns out!