HBR On Leadership: Is Your Company Suffering from Initiative Overload?

Date: April 8, 2026
Host: Sarah Green Carmichael (HBR)
Guests: Rose Hollister & Michael Watkins (Co-authors, “Too Many Projects”; Consultants, Genesis Advisors)

Episode Overview

This episode explores the phenomenon of “initiative overload,” where well-intentioned efforts to launch new projects eventually overwhelm organizations, especially middle managers and frontline staff. Drawing on case studies, research, and practical leadership experience, Rose Hollister and Michael Watkins unpack the root causes, symptoms, and potential fixes for initiative overload, emphasizing the need for enterprise-wide prioritization and honest dialogue on workload capacity.

The conversation offers practical strategies for leaders at every level to identify, prevent, and address this growing challenge in modern organizations.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Escalating Problem of Initiative Overload

• Initiative Overload is Growing:
  Over the last decade, organizations have become leaner, cutting headcount without reducing the amount of work or initiatives (03:18). The result is a continual layering of projects without retiring old ones.

  “There are legacy initiatives that have been in place for a long time that maybe should be stopped, but haven't been.” — Michael Watkins [03:18]

• Signature Initiatives as Status:
  New leaders often launch “signature initiatives” to make their mark. While individually plausible, the cumulative effect across departments cascades onto frontline teams.

  “A couple of initiatives from each department can translate into a dozen, right. At the level of something like the store manager.” — Rose Hollister [05:06]

• The Magnifier Effect:
  The compounding nature of multiple departments’ projects overwhelms the focal points of implementation (e.g., store managers), much like a traffic jam caused by a few extra cars (04:18–05:06).

Why Simple Prioritization Fails

• Siloed Priorities:
  Departments prioritize independently, and senior leadership rarely takes a holistic or “balcony view” of all initiatives and their collective demands (05:54).

  “That prioritizing has to happen, should be happening at the senior team level.” — Michael Watkins [06:53]

• Cultural Barriers:
  Employees often feel unable to admit they’re at their limit due to cultural norms or fear of not being heard. The “just do more” ethos is unsustainable in the face of relentless demands (07:42).

Impacts of Initiative Overload

• Hidden Dangers (Impact Blindness):
  Senior leadership often lacks visibility into the cumulative impact of their strategic decisions on employees (08:21).

  “Senior management does not have sufficient visibility into the cumulative impact that the executive team is having on people at lower levels… the organization will survive doing this for a while, and then the cracks will begin to start showing.” — Rose Hollister [08:21]

• Symptoms:

  • Decreased engagement
  • Increased turnover, especially of high performers
  • Work-life balance deterioration, even in flexible workplaces (09:01)

• Talent Risks:
  High performers are both more burdened and more likely to leave, especially in tight labor markets (10:11).

Attempts to Fix the Problem

• Ineffective Functional Fixes:
  Functions often reprioritize projects internally but lack enterprise-wide coordination, so load-balancing fails (10:46).

• What Really Works:
  Some organizations have held retreats where all C-suite members present every initiative, evaluate impact, and ruthlessly cut nonessential projects (11:51).

  “They looked at every single initiative and as a group … significantly decreased the number of initiatives across the enterprise … the business results gave proof … customer service scores did go up, the business did grow, and people looked back on that three day retreat as a turning point...” — Michael Watkins [11:51]

• Challenges with Killing Projects:

  • Killing projects is emotionally fraught; people identify with their projects (13:39).
  • “Zombie initiatives” can persist, kept alive by leftover resources or personal agendas (12:36).

How to Make Prioritization Stick

• Change Management Required:
  Deliver prioritization decisions compassionately, starting with the “why,” not just the “what” or “how” (14:56).

• Robust Conversation:
  Engage in honest dialogue about interdependencies, what stopping an initiative means, and how to do it thoroughly (14:15–14:56).

Prevention: Smarter Launch Decisions

• Ask Hard Questions at the Start:

  • Will this initiative solve the real problem?
  • Have we truly accounted for ongoing costs (time, resources)?
  • Is this initiative really a true priority among other demands? (15:27–16:27)

• Steve Jobs Quote:

  “We all need to get better at saying no to hundreds of really good ideas.” — Quoted by Michael Watkins [16:27]

• Closet Cleaning Approach:
  Swapping initiatives 1:1 seems neat, but not all initiatives are equal; true assessment of effort is needed (17:12).

• Management Practice:
  Michael Watkins describes asking his team quarterly, “What are we doing that we could stop doing and no one would notice?” and tracking time spent on each project for realistic capacity planning (17:24).

Guidance for C-Suite and Middle Managers

• For Executives:
  Develop a true inventory of all ongoing initiatives and honestly evaluate which to keep before approving new ones (18:51).

  “Before any of those things are funded for the C suite team to take enough time to say, what are we already doing? What of those things do we keep? And then what do we add?” — Michael Watkins [18:51]

• Start Bottom-Up:
  Look not just at top-down priorities but what’s happening at the frontline and management layers for a realistic picture (19:27).

• Success Looks Like…
  Fewer, better-supported initiatives that truly contribute to strategy and business results. Sometimes it’s about freeing resources for overlooked, high-potential projects (19:51).

• Managerial Maturity:
  Resist the urge to volunteer your team for initiatives they don’t have bandwidth for; focus on the highest and best use of your people’s time (21:42–22:05).

• For Middle Managers and Individuals:

  • Assess what’s really on your plate and what it takes to deliver it.
  • Have honest conversations with leadership about resources and bandwidth.
  • Know your locus of control—sometimes saying no or asking for resourcing is the right (and necessary) answer (23:05).

  “His response was always, I will take that on when I get the resources. … his answer was the right answer, not just for our function, but for the organization.” — Michael Watkins [24:16]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Initiative Overload Explained:
  “There are so many different functions or departments, all with signature important initiatives ... prioritizing isn’t enough at the team leader or employee level. That prioritizing has to happen, should be happening at the senior team level.”
  — Michael Watkins [06:28, 06:53]

• The Cracks Begin:
  “The organization will survive doing this for a while, and then the cracks will begin to start showing.”
  — Rose Hollister [08:40]

• Leaders Struggling:
  “I love this organization. I love the work. I love the team. The pace is unsustainable. If I stay here, I will have a heart attack.”
  — Michael Watkins recounting a client story [09:13]

• Killing Projects Isn’t Easy:
  “We see these zombie initiatives … they sort of rise from the dead because they've got an agenda associated with them and people find little hidden pockets of resource ...”
  — Rose Hollister [12:36]

• On Saying No:
  “One of the quotes we really like is from Steve Jobs: we all need to get better at saying no to hundreds of really good ideas.”
  — Michael Watkins [16:27]

• Self Awareness:
  “There's a question of managerial maturity here. And unfortunately, not all managers are mature. Right. They're not able to distinguish between those things that they should be doing ... As opposed to what are all the lovely little pies I'd love to have my fingers in?”
  — Rose Hollister [21:42]

• Wise Refusal:
  “I will take that on when I get the resources. ... his answer was the right answer, not just for our function, but for the organization.”
  — Michael Watkins [24:16]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Initiative overload defined and why it’s increasing [01:49–05:34]
• Failures of individual prioritization [05:34–07:42]
• The hidden cost—impact blindness and its symptoms [08:07–10:19]
• Talent risks and effects on high performers [10:19–10:41]
• How companies typically address overload (and failures) [10:46–12:36]
• Case study: C-suite real prioritization in practice [11:51–12:36]
• Challenges in implementing and communicating cutbacks [12:36–14:15]
• How to prevent overload: questions to ask before launching [15:15–16:27]
• Inventory and real-time tracking: a leader’s practice [17:12–18:37]
• Bottom-up perspective: Why frontline perspectives matter [19:27–19:45]
• Signs of success: Fewer but stronger initiatives [19:51–21:09]
• Managerial maturity and resisting the urge to over-engage [21:42–22:56]
• Advice for middle managers and individuals [22:56–23:05]

Conclusion

This episode delivers a clear message: Initiative overload is deeply rooted in organizational culture, structure, and leadership habits. Fixing it demands not just better prioritization, but top-down awareness, open communication, and disciplined decision-making. By taking honest inventory, involving all levels in discussions, and ruthlessly killing ineffective projects, organizations can restore bandwidth, focus, and energy—unlocking the full potential of both people and initiatives.