Burnout and frustration are common in nonprofit work. Many leaders we know feel tasked with making the impossible possible. As changemakers and educators with big responsibilities, it’s hard not to feel exhausted.
Sphere of control can help.
Sphere of control helps you focus your time and energy on things you can control. It helps you make the greatest impact where it matters most, with the power and agency you already have.
Sphere of control framework builds individual and team resilience at work. It’s not just about getting things done; it’s about recognizing your power.
This matters because seeing where we have choices and agency is key to our sense of well-being. For managers specifically, creating space for others to exercise their voice, choice, and agency is part of a trauma-informed approach in the workplace.
Anyone can apply the sphere of control framework, but we’ve found that it’s particularly helpful for people with marginalized identities or who have less positional power in their organizations.
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What is Resilience in the Workplace?
Resilience at work means being able to adapt to change, navigate challenges, stay engaged, and recover from setbacks in the face of crisis or uncertainty. It means steering yourself or your team back to solid ground—even in the face of difficult circumstances that you didn’t get to choose. Building and practicing resilience at work can help you strengthen relationships, prevent burnout, and flex your agency.
Resilience at work can look like:
- getting grounded in your sphere of control
- developing a set of strategies to help you manage overwhelm at work
- planning for the unexpected
- asking for help or support
- reprioritizing so you can respond to change effectively
- engaging in personal recovery and restoration practices
- building your capacity to make decisions, communicate well, and problem-solve under pressure
- finding the most effective or impactful path forward
Using Sphere of Control to Build Resilience at Work
Sphere of control helps us identify where we have the greatest power and agency to make strategic choices. Use the following four-step framework to build resilience at work with sphere of control:
1. Name the situation.
What’s the situation that’s causing your feelings of overwhelm, frustration, helplessness, stuckness, or anger?
2. Identify what’s outside your sphere of control.
Think about what you have no direct control over. This might include things in your political, social, organizational, or personal context, immovable project constraints (such as deadlines or budgets), and other people’s attitudes, behaviors, or feelings.
3. Identify what’s inside your sphere of control.
Think about what you can directly control. Where do you have influence? What choices can you make to advance equity, sustainability, and results? This can include:
- your mindset or approach
- solutions you propose to your manager or team
- feedback you choose to share
- the relationships you build
- how you spend your time
- other actions you can take
The things inside your sphere of control can range from the immediate and relatively small task, like “talk to my manager about the situation” to a bigger or more dramatic change, like “find another job.” Consider your full range of options.
4. Do one thing within your control.
For many people, simply naming what’s in their control is enough to feel a sense of power and agency and get out of the rut of helplessness. However, we recommend that you go one step further and take action on one thing you have control over.
- What mindsets, approaches, or values can you apply?
- What can you do to prevent or prepare for the situation if it happens again?
- How might you react if/when the situation arises?
- What proposals can you make?
Sphere of Control Example
Here’s an example of how you might think through your sphere of control:
1. The situation
I’m a middle manager and I’ve been advocating to get key staff vacancies filled for months. My team doesn’t understand what’s taking so long, and I share their frustration. We’re getting close to (hard-won) approval on a recruitment. Problem is, I know HR is totally backlogged and our salaries aren’t competitive. I worry this may take awhile even once we have the green light.
2. Outside the sphere
- Quick fixes to structural problems with HR capacity and salary policies
- How long it will take to get approval and the length of the hiring process
- What’s happened in the past that led to these vacancies
3. Inside the sphere
- Prep feedback for my manager about the impact on team morale and capacity
- Work with team to adjust goals and reprioritize
- Finding creative ways to boost capacity, like advocating to hire a contractor or temp
- Start talent scouting so we can move quickly when hiring is approved
- Find another job if nothing changes in the next six months
4. One thing I can do
I will talk to my manager about the impact on team morale and capacity; in the meantime, I will also work with my team to adjust their goals and reprioritize.
How to Manage Crisis or Uncertainty with Sphere of Control
Sphere of control can guide you to manage crisis or uncertainty with purpose and agency.
In the face of challenges you can’t change, having a clear purpose can help you stay focused and aligned. Regrounding in your purpose is within your sphere of control. Ask yourself:
- Why am I here (in this role / at this organization / in this movement)?
- What do I feel most certain about or motivated by right now?
- What are my priorities (this week / this month / this quarter)?
In the face of crisis or uncertainty, you can also exercise your agency by deciding how you use your energy at work. Ask yourself:
- What gives me energy at work? What can I do in my sphere of control to maximize that? What proposals can I make or what support can I ask for?
- What drains me at work? What can I do in my sphere of control to minimize that? What proposals can I make or what support can I ask for?
- Leaning into my sphere of control, how can I devote more time and energy to restoration and recovery?
Sphere of Control Do’s and Don’ts
DO: Remember your sphere of control isn’t static.
While there are some things you may never have direct control over, you may find that it expands or contracts depending on your context, relationships, roles, and personal capacity. Use the tool to reflect regularly.
DO: Consider how you might grow your sphere of control.
What relationships or skills could you build? How can you shape your trajectory (within your organization or beyond)?
DON’T: Ignore your impact on others.
Managers, your impact on staff is always inside your sphere of control. Consider how your actions, inactions, or decisions might impact your team and their choices. Ask: How can I ensure staff understand where they have agency and choices?
DON’T: Treat sphere of control as a cure-all.
Sphere of control helps you identify where you have agency when planning or problem solving. For larger and more complex problems, though, sphere of control won’t solve the problem altogether. While this may feel like a downer, it’s important to let go of the things that are outside of your control, so that you can focus on where you can have the greatest impact.
If you are managing change, crisis, and more complex problems, follow your sphere of control reflection (as an individual) with scenario planning or pros, cons, and mitigations (team-based processes).
If you still need support, you’re not alone. Gain the confidence, strategies, and hands-on experience you need to make the greatest impact—by enrolling in our Manage Successful Projects training package! Level up your skills with real-time support from one of our expert trainers. We have offerings for managers and staff.
The Management Center is a 501c3 organization that helps leaders working for social change build equitable, sustainable, and results-driven organizations via trainings coaching, and online resources and tools.