Leading Small Teams Under Pressure

Episode Transcript

Julianna
Welcome back to The Uncommon Career or Daring to Succeed podcast, wherever you’re joining us from. I’m Julianna.

Patricia
And I’m Patricia.

Julianna
And today we want to talk to you about leading small teams, which I think is a topic that used to be kind of limited to more startups or really small businesses. But from what I’m seeing, we’re seeing a lot more of these as companies start to retract some of the sizes of their teams—either through attrition or reshuffling of the organization. And there’s a lot more small teams within big organizations, too.

Patricia
So I think it’s a really timely topic. Yeah, absolutely. I’ve seen teams go from, you know, 15 to 5 or from 5 to 3, you know, sometimes from 3 to 1, right? And no matter what size you’re looking at, the fact that there is less people to do the same amount of work is really the issue. And oftentimes, you know, the thought is from up top is that AI is going to make this faster. And it’s true. AI does make things faster, not necessarily better. So there still needs to be work done to facilitate the AI process. And the AI is just one of the many, many things.

Julianna
Outsourcing is another one. There are just so many trends that are contributing to this. Yeah, for sure. I mean, just with the way the economy is going globally right now, we can definitely see a lot of that. But let’s get into some of the challenges of these tiny teams, especially when they used to be more lush and there were more people to share the work with. I think the limited resources one is probably the biggest one. Especially like Patricia, you’re saying that some teams went from 15 to 5, which is quite a significant drop. And from what I’m hearing from my clients, they’re still expecting the exact same amount of work to be done on the same timelines at the same quality. Maybe you could start us off on, if you’re the leader of one of these shrunken teams, how can you keep morale up with everybody?

Patricia
Yeah, I think one of the important things to remember is to figure out at what level you’re a leader. If you’re at the very top, it’s a very different conversation than if you are a middle level leader. And I know most of the folks that we bring on on our end at The Uncommon Career are sort of that middle level leader, where there is this overwhelm and this guilt—maybe even a comparison—of having your team continue to do the same amount of work and have the same amount of output. And so there’s a part of you as a leader who feels that, “I can’t say no. We have to do the same thing.” Then there’s the perspective of, “How do I support my team when there’s so much pressure from above to get so much done?”

I think a lot of those pieces are amplified when the team gets smaller and the workload doesn’t get smaller. But the biggest thing here is, at least from my perspective, you have to remember that we are humans, not machines. And sometimes saying “just go faster” is not the actual answer—for yourself and for other people.

Julianna
That’s usually a good starting point for me. And I think that reminder that we’re human is so important, because oftentimes I’ll see less experienced leaders or leaders under tremendous pressure kind of fall back to, “OK, well, everyone’s just going to pitch in and do more overtime.” But all you’re going to end up doing is burning out your team. They’re going to be resentful because they can’t spend time with their loved ones. So making sure that you balance out those priorities with the reality of having humans on your team—to still get those things done.

Patricia
Absolutely. And one of the pieces when you’re thinking about limited resources and having to do more with less, part of the solution is going back to the basics. Prioritization is the best use of your time. We often think more action—checking off the box—is the best use of our time, checking our email constantly to keep inbox zero. But this is going to require you to slow down before you speed up.

That’s one of the biggest pieces: get a clear head and figure out what is actually moving the needle. Not everything will get done to the same caliber. So what are the pieces I need to prioritize to do 20% of the work and get 80% of the outcome?

That requires slowing down. Use tools—Eisenhower matrix, decision-making matrix—whatever it is to evaluate what actually matters. Balance what you believe to be highest priority with what your bosses believe to be highest priority. Then figure out what you can automate, delegate, postpone, or trash altogether.

Julianna
And that’s so important for managing your day-to-day work, but also pushing it to that next level. It’s about sitting with your upper management team to say, “Here’s all these things that we’re expected to do, but fewer staff.” Even if you logically know it’s not possible, it’s worth having that conversation.

Ask: “Can we rank these?” Either sequentially or in priority buckets. That way, you’re aligning your time with the company’s real goals. Too often, the team structure changes but the priorities don’t. Reset expectations to avoid the year-end “gotcha” moment.

Patricia
That communication up and down the chain is so important—especially if you’re a middle manager and your team has shrunk. Reset expectations: “Under these new circumstances, here’s what we can do and here’s what will be postponed.” Don’t wait for that conversation—initiate it.

With your team, validate their load. Let them know: “You’re going to feel stretched. Plan now for recovery time.” That advance awareness can prevent burnout. Also, model awareness of your own energy. Talk about energy levels. Ask them, “Where’s your energy best spent today?” This awareness is a skill.

Julianna
You said something about modeling behavior, and I think that’s so key. Working overtime isn’t always avoidable, but if your team sees you doing it, they’ll assume you expect them to do it too. If you’re preparing reports or presentations after hours, you can do it in a way that’s invisible to them—so they’re not influenced to mimic it unnecessarily.

Patricia
Exactly. And that goes hand in hand with knowing your own energy and capacity versus that of your team. You might not have the most energy—but that doesn’t mean you can’t lead well. Leadership isn’t about doing the most. It’s about coaching.

To avoid dependence on key individuals, map your team’s strengths. Who loves what? What drains them? What do they lose track of time doing? Restructure based on those natural energies and motivations. When teams shrink, people often get tasks dumped on them. But if you take the time to reprioritize and reassign intentionally, you can build a new strength as a smaller, more agile team.

Julianna
Yes! This is also an amazing opportunity for development conversations. “Now that our expectations have changed, what do you want to try? What can help you grow?” You can give them something back in exchange for their continued effort—turning a tough time into a career-building moment.

Patricia
I love that—turning this moment of difficulty into opportunity.

Julianna
Where do you want to grow, right?

Patricia
Exactly. Shifting from guilt to possibility. That’s what a coach does. You build trust, you reflect confidence, you let go of control and say, “I trust you to do this your way.” On small teams, you have to shift expectations. And that increased trust can help people step into new ownership and growth.

Julianna
Even if you’re not normally a micromanager, it’s a good time to let go of control during the transition. Things might slip, but better now than later. Use that time to build trust and hand over responsibility to your team. People want that kind of autonomy: “Give me something I’ve told you I can do and trust me to do it.”

Patricia
Exactly. Most of us in corporate have that flexibility—it just isn’t exercised. And what you’re describing really reflects a new mindset: Instead of doing more, let’s do better. Go into a season of experimentation. Be humble. Be curious. Give feedback. Treat it like a team incubator.

Julianna
That’s such a good point. This is your opportunity to stretch as a leader. If hiring isn’t possible, get creative. Automate. Simplify. Let that one team member who’s been suggesting improvements finally take the lead. A downsized team can actually unlock new efficiency—if you’re open to it.

Patricia
Absolutely. But we also have to acknowledge that this is easier to talk about than to live through. So there will be hiccups. One way to minimize them is to reset your decision-making norms—both the formal ones and the unspoken ones.

Julianna
The norms, right?

Patricia
Yes! For example, maybe your team used to make decisions by group vote. That might not be practical anymore. So figure out: How will we make decisions now? Use logic and wisdom as your authority. That helps people understand the “why” behind changes—and takes the emotion out of it.

Julianna
As always, we’ve covered so much. If you wanted to leave listeners with just one takeaway, what would that be?

Patricia
To speed up, you have to slow down. Slowing down gives you the clarity to act wisely.

Julianna
For me, it’s: renegotiate success. Don’t let your team fail by default because the expectations didn’t adjust. Have the conversation—even if it’s hard.

Patricia
Yes—fill that gap. So good.

Julianna
We could keep going…

Patricia
We really could. But this was such a great conversation. I know some folks will want to reach out. Julianna, where can they find you?

Julianna
I’ll drop it in the show notes, but I’m primarily on LinkedIn and I’ll include my website as well. What about you?

Patricia
You can find me at theuncommoncareer.com and of course here on the podcast.

Julianna
Like you said, LinkedIn is the best place to start a conversation. We’d love to hear from you—whether you agree or not!

Patricia
See you on the next one.