Episode
How to Manage an Employee Who Keeps Changing Priorities
- Published
- Jul 2, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 481
- Processing state
not_requested
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-manager-s-hour-with-fexingo-people-management-team-building-and-leadership-skills-7871622/episodes/how-to-manage-an-employee-who-keeps-changing-priorities/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-manager-s-hour-with-fexingo-people-management-team-building-and-leadership-skills-7871622/how-to-manage-an-employee-who-keeps-changing-priorities.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
Episode 88 of The Manager's Hour tackles a frustrating but common pattern: the team member who repeatedly shifts their priorities mid-week or mid-day, leaving colleagues scrambling and deadlines at risk. Lucas opens with a specific example from a mid-sized software firm where a senior developer's constant reprioritization cost the team two sprints in a row. He and Luna explore why some employees develop this habit — often a blend of anxiety, poor task triage, and a desire to seem responsive — and what managers can do about it. They walk through a practical framework: separating urgent from important in the moment, setting a weekly priority contract, and creating a safe channel for the employee to raise concerns without blowing up the plan. Luna shares a counterintuitive insight from a project manager she interviewed: that this behavior sometimes signals the employee is under-utilized, not over-committed. The episode closes with a reflective question about how managers' own behaviors might inadvertently train employees to keep shifting focus. #ManagingPriorities #TeamBehavior #PriorityManagement #LeadershipSkills #PeopleManagement #TeamBuilding #EmployeeBehavior #TaskManagement #WorkplacePatterns #ManagerTips #Business #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #TheManagersHour #Productivity #AgileTeams #Communication #TrustInTeams Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo