According to McClusky’s Theory of Margin: Load/Power = Margin where he talks about Margin as the ratio between the ‘Load’ you carry and the ‘Power’ you have to carry the load.
Load is made up of external factors: tasks of life such as family, career, socioeconomic status, and internal factors: such as self-concept, goals, personal expectations. The things that seem to ‘take’ energy.
Power is made up of factors such as health and energy, social support, ability to think and reason, money and influence, knowledge and skill. The things that seem to ‘give’ energy.
A surplus of power, beyond what is required to handle the load, results in margin. Having margin helps you handle the challenges of life and allows you to engage more effectively and easily in work, projects and experiences.
Clearly your margin will vary day to day. The good news is that you can ‘manage’ your margin by reducing your load and/or increasing your power.
Take a moment and write a list of each. What could be changed?
If someone on your team is struggling with their load, this is a way you could work with them to see what could be done about it.
Here are some tips on how to track your energisers and energy leeches.
My best wishes, Paul
