Blog Post 95: Common “Overdoing It” Situations: Workplace
In our next few blog posts, we want to outline some very common situations that Type C people have difficulty managing, and what to do about it. We’ll start with a typical workplace scenario.
Type C Katie is known at work as a super-reliable team player. People throughout the organization come to her with questions, requests, and projects because they know she will get things done, do them well, and not put up a fuss. Often and unnecessarily, she will offer to do the requested work herself. Some of her colleagues are respectful of her workload, but others are either unaware of how much she takes on or they take advantage of her. Her boss has repeatedly told her to dial it back, but she can’t help herself. Her Type C traits make her feel guilty for saying no. She aims to please - she doesn’t want to burden anyone else so she dutifully agrees to any projects that come her way. However, she is secretly drowning, stressed, overloaded, and physically unwell.
What can Katie do in this situation? Three strategies to help:
Be aware. We always start with awareness because Type C people operate with deeply ingrained patterns and rules in their minds. Katie must recognize the “I can’t disappoint anyone” rule in her mind and understand this is driving her actions. This rule may have been generated from her upbringing as well as cultural and societal influences. We follow rules because they reduce negative emotions in the moment like fear, anxiety or guilt. But if we follow these rules rigidly without awareness, then we might not realize how they eventually lead to emotional and physical illness. Katie can start to work on noticing this rule to mitigate her tendency to overdo it.
Pause and reduce the offer. Katie could resist her immediate urge to do it all. Instead, she could point the asker to a different resource, or offer to help in a small way. For example, if the “ask” is to help with a slide presentation, instead of offering to do the whole thing, Katie could offer to review the final product. Or, she could offer to do a few slides but not the whole thing. If the ask is to lead a project, Katie could offer to take on a smaller role.
Memorize a catchphrase. When Type C people are asked to do something, they default to “yes.” Having a few catchphrases in the back pocket can go a long way to managing workloads. Katie could say “Let me think about that and come back to you” or “I’m swamped right now, I can’t give that the attention it needs. If you can’t figure it out - circle back with me next week.”
If any of our readers find themselves in Type C situations like these - we would love to hear and write about them, anonymously of course. Write to us at typectoolbox@gmail.com.