Burned Out or Just Blurry? How Unclear Workloads Kill Teams

We recently worked with a food company pushing new products to market. The work was intense, but that wasn’t the issue. What was killing momentum? No one was clear on who owned what.

People were double-working, making assumptions, stepping on toes. Some team members shut down. Others burned out. Not because they weren’t capable—but because expectations were blurry, priorities kept shifting, and the system couldn’t support the speed of the strategy.

Even more telling? Three-quarters of the team were quietly searching for new roles—despite saying they wanted to stay. That’s what happens when the work isn’t just heavy—it’s unclear.

And here’s something else we see: Leaders often try to push through the chaos. They juggle. They pivot. They tell someone, “Do this today”—without acknowledging that three other urgent priorities are already on that person’s plate. It’s like stepping to the front of a line and pretending no one else is waiting. That kind of leadership might get short-term movement—but it slowly erodes trust, motivation, and team capacity.

Here’s the truth:

Most workload problems are really leadership clarity problems.

The data backs it up:

• Less than half of employees say they know what's expected of them at work. (Reworked)
• Role ambiguity is a major driver of stress and burnout. (SHRM)
• When expectations are clear, employees are 2.7x more likely to be engaged. (Vestd)

And this doesn’t just impact mental health. It impacts safety, trust, and performance—especially in high-stakes environments like food.

If you’re a leader in food, you already know: speed, compliance, and execution matter. But none of that works without clarity.

Clarity is the foundation.
Not just "who does what" but:

• What does success look like?
• What’s a priority—and what’s not?
• Who owns the outcomes, not just the tasks?

Here’s the good news: clarity is a system you can build.
We created the Readiness Compass to help you check your team’s alignment in three areas: operational systems, organizational habits, and people capacity.

Because if you’re feeling the chaos, chances are... clarity isn’t scaling with your goals.

Ready to shift that?
Grab the Readiness Compass.
Lead with more intention—and less rework.