Energy Capacity 101: The size of your plate doesn't determine the calories it contains
"Do you have the capacity to take on more work?"
Is your default answer to that question:
A) "Well...[audible sigh]...my plate is pretty full...maybe if I wasn't so swamped...[grimace and hope person walks away]."
B) "Absolutely! Bring it on!"
C) "I could probably reprioritize a few things on the ol' to-do list if needed and if you're willing to step through potential tradeoffs. Whatcha got?"
Well, as with conversations about electric generating "capacity" or pipeline "capacity," the way you think and speak about your personal "capacity" can be misleading—wittingly or unwittingly—to yourself or your audience.
That being said—and inspired by different reactions to this week's news that "Solar power will account for nearly half of new electric generating capacity in 2022," this episode of The Energy Detox will help you:
1) Do a better job of asking others about their capacity/bandwidth; and
2) Provide more honest, specific, and helpful responses when answering how much room you have on your own plate.
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Transcript
(AI training in progress; please excuse any errors)
When somebody asks you whether you have the capacity to take on some new responsibilities, some new task, what is your default reaction? Do you take a deep breath and sigh and say that your plate is already full and you are swamped? And there's really no way you could take anything else on right now? Or do you have the opposite reaction where you enthusiastically jump up and down and say, I am ready? What do you got? For me? I absolutely can take something else on? Or is it a third? In between response, if you will, where you say, Look, I am busy. And, you know, I can move some things around if needed. So you know, what do you got? What trade offs are we willing to make so that I can take on this additional project? And well, obviously, that third response would be recommended for somebody who wants to give an honest response, a more thoughtful response, and in many cases, a more sustainable response. The reality is that many people fall on one extreme or the other, they fall on the push everything away, and just make it clear how busy you are, or show how enthusiastic you are and how you're willing to stretch yourself, which again, are typically not the healthiest and most sustainable approaches. And so on today's episode of the energy detox, we want to make sure that you answer questions like that more thoughtfully, or, more importantly, you carry with you this idea that your capacity at any given time doesn't necessarily reflect the production and the output that you can have, particularly when you enter the quality of that production into the equation. And the second thing that we want to do on today's episode of the energy detox is make sure that when you're asking a question like that, when you're asking others, whether they have the capacity to take on more or shift responsibilities, that you're doing it in a way that is also conscious and thoughtful, and you're doing it in a way that makes sure that you don't unwittingly set yourself up, set your team up and certainly set an individual up for failure, because you don't recognize that that individual doesn't quite grasp the difference between capacity and production. And to drive today's conversation is a headline this week from the EIA, who pointed out that in 2022, the majority of new electric generating capacity in the United States will come from renewables. In fact, the one headline points out that nearly half of all new capacity will be solar. And again, there's people commentary and other articles that are championing this as a as a acceleration, of course of the energy transition. Whereas there are others who are pointing out that capacity, of course, does not equal production. And while today, again, we're going to take an apolitical look at things we're going to focus on the science, we need to acknowledge that yes, of course, maximum peak capacity does not equal production. And that is true of any source of energy, right? Whether it's nuclear, which typically is closer to north of 90%. Production versus its capacity. The reality is that solar and wind, of course, are closer to say 50%. Because of course, as is often repeated in talking points, the wind doesn't always blow and the sun doesn't always shine. But that being said, the question for you is, are you artificially or unwittingly conflating your capacity with your production ability, because they are not one in the same. And again, that's not to say that there aren't times where you can produce above your capacity. In fact, in the energy industry, I need to be careful with a conversation like this, depending on the audience, because it is important at times for people to recognize that they do need to go above and beyond they do need to stretch themselves, they need to go above their nameplate capacity, if you will, to get the job done. I mean, that is what has made the energy industry what it is right? You know, I wouldn't be where I was, if I didn't push myself at times, and my team wouldn't have been where they are, if they hadn't pushed themselves at times. So it's important to do that. But it's equally important to be conscious of when that happens, so that you don't put yourself and those around you in an unsustainable position. And that's the goal today, again, to make sure that when you're asking the question of somebody, whether they have capacity or whether you're answering that question that you're conscious, and that you're aware that again, maximum capacity does not equal production. And so without going further down into the weeds, ask yourself, what is your default answer? And how do you phrase that question so that you make sure that again, you're getting honest answers, you're getting thoughtful answers, and you're getting answers that don't in unwittingly mask the realities of what somebody can sustainably produce at a level that you want them to produce that at, they want to produce that. And that's it. That's the point. That's the goal today, so that again, you don't have naysayers out there who are you know,
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one saying that well, you're not producing up to your potential when in reality, you are producing, again, a quality product consistently in a manner that is consistent with your ultimate goals. And conversely, you don't want people that see you is always trying to do more when in reality, you shouldn't be you should be, you know, doing more with less, if you will, and producing a better outcome a more quality outcome than what you're used to because you're too used to taking on things that you shouldn't And, again, to kind of wrap this up, I'll point to two recent conversations that I had with people, one of which comes from somebody who was in there used to be, I should say, in the oil and gas space transferred to somewhere else, new industry, sort of a refreshing change for this individual. And this person pointed out that they were asked more in the couple of weeks that they've been on the job with this new company, about their capacity and how full their plate is than they had been in years prior, and how refreshing it was, and how, again, they were able to give an honest answer, in fact, kind of joke about the fact that no one again, they they hadn't been asked as frequently as, as, as you would think they should have been in their prior life, about their capacity and their ability to do more and whether they're at a good spot. But more importantly, they laughed at the fact that and, you know, I'm General, on the whole, if you're willing to ask industry, we do operate above capacity, or we are, you know, operating with much fuller plates than is typical. And it's fine to realize that and acknowledge that so long as again, you recognize the trade offs, and then turn into somebody else who has only known through renewable industry, a conversation I had about somebody who is overwhelmed, and who quite frankly, is, him and the rest of his teammates are above and beyond capacity. Well, again, this individual shared that he sees problems, he sees ways for things to improve, and for them to be more efficient, and for them to reprioritize. But again, people aren't listening. They're not, you know, they're not responding from a leadership standpoint, and, you know, growing frustrated. So obviously, we talked about ways to address that and tackle that and to maybe avoid frustration for himself personally. But more importantly, the takeaway that I got at least, was that it all comes down to what your perspective is, right? He recognized that what he was doing was unsustainable, whereas people in the oil and gas industry who you know, who have only known this industry, might not be able to see that right, they might not be on guard. And again, you can jump in as a naysayer and point to the fact that, yeah, the oil and gas industry is made up of very special people who are hard workers, and all of those things. And it's true that might be the reality is it is important, whether you are an individual contributor, or whether you're the head of a company, to ask yourself, whether or not the relationship between the production that you're expecting out of your people, and their maximum capacity is perhaps a little closer than it should be, is perhaps driving you towards an unsustainable approach to your business, ask that question of yourself, be on guard against that, and have that in mind, the next time you ask somebody or a team or department, whether they have the capacity to do X, Y, or Z, because if they're not answering in a way that reflects that third response that we talked about at the beginning, that thoughtful response, that middle of the road response that starts off with the recognition that there are always going to be trade offs, when we're talking about how much output you can have relative to your capacity, then you're setting yourself up for trouble. And so with that, I always I appreciate the time and energy that you've put into listening to and communicating with the energy detox and offering your feedback on these things. I certainly wish you a productive end of the week. But I encourage you as you take on more tasks as you head into the weekend, that you're mindful of the trade offs that you're making, that you might not realize at the time, but are there and again, as you ask others to take on more tasks and more responsibilities and push them and wish them well and encourage them to have a great weekend and perhaps a productive weekend that you too are watching the words you're using to make sure that people don't artificially conflate capacity with the sustainable production that is far more important for you and for your organization. So with that, thank you again and have a great rest of the day.