Navigating Change with Strategic Leadership

Carly Taft has been with Forvis Mazars for nearly eight years and recently transitioned into a new role as Regional Marketing Senior Leader for their Northwest Region. The past couple of years have been a whirlwind with two name changes and rebrands, so we spoke with Taft about how she has maintained control through the chaos.

Biz 417: Reflecting on the past couple of years, what has been your biggest challenge?
Carly Taft:  Beginning in 2022, our marketing team faced what I called the “marketing Superbowl” as we underwent a merger that resulted in a name change and a complete rebrand. Fast forward two years, we embraced the excitement again with another major name and brand change, forming a two-member network that expanded our organization internationally. During these rebranding efforts, my days were consumed by the urgency of tasks leading up to the brand launch, leaving little time for my regular duties. With the growing demand for projects and a new leadership position that increased my team size from four to sixteen people, I felt overwhelmed and struggled to manage my to-do list.

Biz: What changes did you make to manage the high level of change in your organization?
C.T.: Reflecting on those hectic days, I often left work questioning if I had accomplished anything. Despite working hard, my to-do list and inbox kept growing. After reading a couple of books and receiving sound advice from colleagues, I realized that using my inbox as a to-do list allowed others to dictate my focus areas instead of me. The moment I stopped letting my inbox control my tasks and implemented a more effective system to manage my priorities, I experienced almost immediate stress relief. This change enabled me to work more strategically, focus on my core responsibilities and increase my availability to my team.

Biz: What are your best tips for tackling an overwhelming to-do list?
C.T.: First, task batching: Research shows that our brain requires about 23 minutes to recover from a distraction and nine minutes to switch gears between different types of projects. This can easily consume my day if I allow distractions and constantly jump between tasks. For non-urgent tasks, I batch similar ones together and work on them exclusively, which helps me maintain focus and accomplish more. Second, maintaining discipline in your method: I start every Monday with a calendar review of the upcoming two weeks, adding any action items to my system to ensure I am prepared for meetings. I also spend about 30 minutes every Friday cleaning out my inbox and noting all priorities and action items for the next week. Many leaders in my organization share the same advice that a weekly review on both ends is key!