Talk trade-offs, not toughness.
“Can you take this on?” invites a yes. Good workload conversations make all the work visible, and talk about what moves.
Make it visible
See All The Work
- Projects, support, meetings, admin
- On one board or one list
- Invisible work counts too
Trade-offs
“If This, Then What?”
- New work means something moves
- Name it explicitly
- The decision sits with the requester
Regular
Not Only In A Crisis
- A standing 1:1 question
- Monthly team capacity check
- Early and boring beats late and dramatic
Ask what moves, not if they can cope.