1. Think in small groups

According to Ron Carucci, cofounder and managing partner at Navalent, if you're managing a team of more than 10 people, you should organize employees into small groups based on projects or specialties.

"Instead of individual meetings, run small group sessions with these teams and facilitate their communication," he said. "Encourage dialogue among them so they can solve problems and make decisions together. Your goal is to build self-sufficiency so they can work without needing you to weigh in on everything."

Carucci also recommended reserving one-on-one meetings for less frequent discussions focused on career development and coaching instead of day-to-day work.

2. Learn to say no

Good teams will often come up with new projects, improvements, and initiatives. However, as a leader, you'll likely have an abundance of good ideas without the necessary bandwidth to execute all of them.

"It's the role of leaders to say no to good ideas," said Nelson Repenning, faculty director of the MIT Leadership Center. "There's good evidence that most teams take on too much and that overload is self-inflicted."

To prevent overload, Repenning recommends rigorously prioritizing tasks and keeping commitments organized in a single place, whether that's a calendar, a task list, or another system. "Otherwise you get into a spot where 'It's such a good idea, I'm going to squeeze it in,'" he said.

He also encouraged managers to help their teams finish top priorities before moving on to additional work.

Whether you're starting a big new project or just getting ready for the week of work ahead, Salas recommends running a pre-brief first. "In the military, it's called mission rehearsal," he said. "It gives teams role clarity, a shared understanding of the tasks and resources available, and a chance to plan for what might come up later."

Ask your team: Who owns which assignment? What does "done" look like for a project? What's the backup plan if things don't work out?

"When you have a shared mental model, your team can act like a workload sponge, absorbing stress because everyone's aligned and set up with contingencies from the start," Salas said.

4. Prioritize problem-solving whenever you meet

According to Repenning, most managers use email and face-to-face meetings backwards. They'll use face-to-face meetings for routine project updates that don't require much discussion and chats or email for problem-solving, which often can be drawn out, complex, and inefficient.

Having an inbox backed up with clarifying questions is a sign you're not using face-to-face meetings correctly, Repenning said. This means work is generating uncertainty more quickly than you're able to process it in person.

Repenning recommended switching your approach to problem-solving, focusing on major questions during in-person meetings. "Well-structured huddles of 15 or 30 minutes a day can eliminate hundreds of Slacks and emails," he said.

6. Be upfront with your team

The busier you get, the more your team will require explicit instructions on how to work with you, Humberd said. Some could be reluctant to bother you when they see you're busy and instead will sit around wondering if they should check in on their assignment or remind you about the conversation you promised you'd have. This leads to stalled projects and even more work for an already overwhelmed manager.

That's why "you need to be the manager who says upfront, 'I'm managing more people and still learning. I need your help. Bug me if I don't respond. Follow up with me if I said we'd connect and we haven't,'" Humberd said. "Be transparent and real."

It's also important to teach your team to filter what they bring to you. Request that they come prepared and prioritize what they tell you. "It's okay to say, 'I hear you, I have 20 direct reports, I'm doing my best here. Map out the three most important things you need from me,'" Humberd said. "Put some responsibility on employees to help manage the relationship."

7. Pay attention to your mental and physical health

Work stress can affect more than what's on your to-do list. If you're not paying attention to your mental and physical health, it will likely spill out into your work, decisions, and your interactions with colleagues.

Carucci recommends examining how you're "metabolizing" your stressors. "Pay attention to the input you're absorbing and the narrative running in your head," he said. "When you show up dysregulated — bitter, feeling put upon, or overwhelmed — you become your own worst enemy."

Prioritize things like meditation and exercise. "You wouldn't run your car on empty for days, so why treat your body any differently?" Carucci said.

8. Know when it's time to push back, and when you should walk away

If your company is cutting costs by giving you more people to manage and extra work, "it might be time to ask how long you want to stay," said Leonard Schlesinger, the Baker Foundation professor at Harvard Business School.

That's because many companies don't fully understand what middle managers do, so they continue to add responsibilities, assuming it won't matter. "The result is a portfolio of managers who are overworked, under enormous stress, and unable to provide the guidance and support their teams need," Schlesinger said.

Before you decide to quit, Schlesinger recommends connecting with some of your peers in the same situation and looking for ways to get management's attention. Work together to determine where changes in workload or decision-making could be helpful, both individually and as a group.

"And if, after all that effort, the problem still can't be solved, then this becomes your reality — at least until you find another," Schlesinger said.