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P is for Practical Efficiency That Reduces Firefighting
- Aug 18
- 3 min read
Welcome! This article is part of an A–Z series where I’m sharing reflections on the patterns I keep seeing in teams, leadership and workplace culture.
Not theory. Not tips. Just observations from real working life.
One word I hear time and again in organisations is busy.
Everyone is busy. Diaries are full, meetings run back-to-back, and inboxes never seem to empty. Teams are working incredibly hard, yet somehow the same issues keep resurfacing. The same conversations happen repeatedly, mistakes reappear, and pieces of work are revisited because something wasn't quite right the first time.
It can feel as though everyone is running flat out but never quite getting ahead.
What's interesting is that, in my experience, very few organisations have a people problem. More often than not, they have a clarity problem.
When people aren't clear about what's expected of them, who owns a particular piece of work, or how information should be shared, everything starts to slow down. Decisions take longer, tasks are duplicated, and assumptions begin to creep in. Small misunderstandings soon become bigger problems, leaving someone to untangle them further down the line.
Before long, firefighting becomes the normal way of working.
Many leaders assume the answer is to work harder, recruit more people or introduce another process. Whilst those things can have their place, they don't always address the real issue. In fact, they can sometimes add another layer of complexity to an already busy workplace.
From what I've seen, practical efficiency rarely comes from doing more. It comes from removing the things that get in the way.
Research suggests that UK employees lose a significant amount of productive time every week due to unnecessary meetings, duplicated work, poor communication and constantly switching between tasks. The cost isn't only measured in productivity. It affects confidence, morale and well-being too. When people spend much of their day correcting mistakes, chasing information or repeating work that could have been right first time, it's hardly surprising that frustration starts to build.
That's why, when I work with organisations, I don't begin by looking at processes or systems. I begin by looking at how people work together.
How do they communicate? Where are assumptions being made? Are expectations clear? What conversations are people avoiding? Which behaviours are unintentionally creating extra work for someone else?
These are often the questions that uncover what's really happening beneath the surface.
Time and again, I've seen that when teams become more aware of how they communicate and the impact they have on one another, efficiency improves almost naturally. People ask clearer questions, expectations become more explicit, and information reaches the right people at the right time. Problems are spotted earlier, before they become bigger issues, and there's far less need to redo the same piece.
The result isn't simply fewer mistakes. It's a calmer, more focused way of working.
I've seen leaders who were spending every day solving everyone else's problems suddenly find time to think strategically again. I've seen teams become less reactive because they're no longer dealing with constant interruptions. I've also seen relationships improve because people stop assuming the worst and start having better conversations.
For me, that's what practical efficiency really means.
It isn't about squeezing more into the working day or expecting people to move faster. It's about creating an environment where work flows more smoothly because people understand one another, communicate clearly and take responsibility for their part in the process.
When there's less confusion, there's less rework. When communication improves, there's less noise. When people understand what's expected of them, they spend less time firefighting and more time focusing on the work that really matters.
And that's where teams do their best work.
If this resonated, it’s probably because you’re seeing it too.
Philippa x
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