001: The Overwhelm Audit

Read this first... A lot of people ask me how we do things -- how we solve problems, make decisions, lead teams. Sometimes they want to grab coffee, pick my brain, or just hear how we handle certain situations. And honestly? I’m flattered, but also still very much figuring it out myself.

The truth is, most of what I’ve learned has come from messing up, getting it wrong, trying again, and talking it through with our team. So instead of pretending I have all the answers, I thought… why not just start sharing what’s actually happening behind the scenes?

The real conversations. The real struggles. The stuff we’re sorting through each week as we grow and build.

So this is that.

I’m calling it The Weekly Fix - but it’s not about perfect solutions. It’s about real issues, the things we’re trying, and what we’re learning along the way. Kind of like pulling up a chair at our ops meeting. No polish. Just progress.

Let's get into it! So, this week, one of our managers shared something I’ve heard (and felt) so many times before:

“I just don’t think she’s cut out for this.”

That hit home. I’ve been there. It’s that moment when a team member is overwhelmed, seems to be flailing, and your gut says, “Maybe this isn’t the right fit.” But before jumping to conclusions, I’ve learned (usually the hard way) to zoom out and ask a few better questions.

So I thought I’d share what we talked about. Real conversation, real tension, real reminders.

Here’s the thing: Most of the time, what looks like a people problem is actually a system problem.

When someone’s struggling, it’s tempting to assume it’s about them. But we’ve had too many situations where a good person just needed better support. And when we took the time to slow down and look, we often found something we missed.

So we walked through these 3 simple questions together -- what I now call The Overwhelm Audit:

1. Is it a capacity issue?

Sometimes, people just need help prioritizing. Not everything matters equally. We’ve had success just sitting down, looking at someone’s calendar or task list, and reshuffling.

→ Could this be a calendar problem instead of a character problem? 2. Is the role clearly defined?

This one gets me every time. If someone doesn’t know what “winning” looks like, how can they succeed? And sometimes we forget to update those definitions as things change (because they always do).

→ Does she even know what we expect right now? Have we talked about it recently?

3. Is there a training gap?

We had to remind ourselves: Overwhelmed doesn’t mean incapable. It might just mean under-supported. Like a gymnast who’s not hitting a skill—it usually means they need it broken down into smaller steps.

→ What’s one skill we can focus on this week? What kind of reps would help build confidence?

We realized that in this case, it wasn’t about the person being the “wrong fit.” She just needed a little more structure, a little more clarity, and a bit of support to get her footing again.

And guess what?

She’s still with us...and doing great.

If you want to try this with someone on your team, here’s the little task audit template I use. You can totally make it your own: 📎 [Download the Time/Task Audit Template]

Thanks for letting me share. These little behind-the-scenes conversations are helping me grow as a leader, and I hope they help you too.

We’re all just figuring it out...together.

Talk soon, Casey Wright Founder, Wright’s Gymnastics & NinjaZone 🎯Real talk – “Why yes, I’m a bit stressed. Why do you ask?” -- probably your team member, right before we realized we never gave her a map, a compass, or directions.