Start with available time
A task count does not tell you how busy someone is. Ask each teammate how much time they have after meetings, leave and ongoing responsibilities. Keep that estimate visible beside the work.
Name the next deliverable
Break a large project into small deliverables with a clear owner and due date. Mark dependencies before moving tasks between people. A handoff only helps when the next person has the context to continue.
Review together each week
Look for teammates who are blocked or carrying too much. Agree on one useful change, then check whether it helped.
Keep the conversation human
Treat workload signals as a starting point for discussion. Ask before reassigning sensitive or specialist work. Leave space for unexpected requests instead of filling every available hour.