Let’s talk BANDWIDTH

I had a super interesting call with a Microsoft client last week - generally about career development, more specially about prioritising actions and tasks in work.

The conversation became interesting when the client said he would have a ‘decrease in bandwidth’ over the next month or so, because of some changes in his son’s school schedule, which would impact his bandwidth and focus at work.

Why was the conversation interesting to me? Because the session offered me different perspective, and in particular I was curious afterward to explore the different language the client was using for this change. 

As women we talk about capacity, battery level, energy levels. Do we talk about bandwidth? I’m curious how your own language enables - or disables - how you show up in the daily challenges of life and work. So, I ask you - what language do you use here? Would it be something you might want to change? How does it affect who you are?

Where bandwidth was mentioned in this scenario it suggests that we are not able to put in 100% due to external factors. The language emphasises that the cause of bandwidth decrease is a) external and b) out of the person’s control - so it doesn’t seem to carry some of the guilt or emotional weight as much as, say, ‘lacking capacity’ or ‘energy levels’. The latter feel more personal and also somehow blameworthy, whereas ‘bandwidth’ simply doesn’t. 

We can’t dismiss gender imbalance when it comes to leadership but we can learn from  peculiarities and nuances. (And although many of my clients are female I choose coach everyone, because it’s important to me to remain inclusive and bring these topics to the conversation.)

So our coaching session addressed some changes, particularly with school schedules which would have an impact not just on on working hours but also on work focus. It was interesting that the client recognised and wished to explore the bandwidth and focus as much as the time change and the rest of the conversation was deep and insightful as a result. 

So let’s talk about capacity in terms of bandwidth. 

How does that sit with you? What do you think?

What’s affecting your bandwidth this month, this week? 

Come and talk to me about your bandwidth, batteries and capacity drains and let’s find some positive solutions going forward for you.