News and Announcements

Working With an Overwhelmed Leader

Posted: 2026-05-21 09:08:51   Expiration: 2027-05-28 09:08:51

NDSU Ombuds Kristine Paranica offers six practical strategies for supporting a leader who is operating under sustained overwhelm, adapted from her ombuds work and from Admired Leadership Field Notes.

NDSU Ombuds Kristine Paranica often meets with people who are struggling under the weight of overwhelmed leadership, at every level of the institution. The consequences show up the same way each time: stress, distraction, inconsistency, and a creeping sense of disengagement across a team.

An overwhelmed leader is more than just busy. They are flooded, juggling too many demands and losing the ability to prioritize, communicate clearly, or remember what they have said or agreed to. Under sustained pressure, they may become reactive, impatient, or withdrawn. Some leaders stay in that state for months, at significant cost to their teams and to their own effectiveness.

Six Ways to Help

  • Offer support without waiting to be asked. Recognize the stress and gently offer to take something off their plate. Even if they are not ready to delegate, the gesture builds trust and signals that they are not alone.
  • Create a written record. A short follow-up email after a conversation is not about protecting yourself; it is about clarity and support. When someone is underwater, your note becomes a tool to keep things on track.
  • Be intentional with timing and tone. When a colleague is clearly stretched, bring up only what is essential. Be direct, concise, and solution-oriented. Cut the fluff.
  • Keep them informed proactively. Regular updates reduce cognitive load. If a leader does not have to chase you for progress, that is one less thing on their mind.
  • Bring solutions, not just problems. Frame your concerns with a plan attached. Showing up with a proposed path forward reduces stress and elevates your own credibility.
  • Manage your own calm. Do not absorb the chaos around you. Staying grounded, present, and composed is itself a form of leadership.

Leading from where you are, regardless of title, includes the quiet work of supporting someone else through a hard stretch. Helping an overwhelmed leader is not about stepping in front of them. It is about offering steady support beside them, and sometimes that kind of leadership makes all the difference.

Adapted from "Working With a Leader Who Is Overwhelmed," Admired Leadership Field Notes, May 11, 2025.

About the Ombuds

Kristine Paranica is the NDSU Ombuds. The office offers conflict coaching, mediation, issue resolution, and workshops. The Ombuds office is in NDSU Library Room 20C and can be reached at 701-231-5114.

Contacts with the Ombuds are confidential, neutral, informal, and independent. Note that anything written in email is an open record. Contacting the Ombuds does not constitute notice to the University unless the visitor asks the Ombuds to share the conversation with others.

-- Academic Affairs: Haley Hamel