There are many leaders who find themselves getting dirty looks and poor outcomes as a result of how they manage their team’s workload. Much of the problem can be traced to those times when you give someone an unexpected task. While this is a common problem, it may be happening more to you than it should.
Most employees are willing to take on some extra duties in the midst of busy days. They understand that as a leader, you have every right to add their workload.
What they hate is when you give them an unexpected project that you could have warned them was coming. Usually this is because you either got busy or distracted by something else.
Let’s go into a restaurant to illustrate this challenge. Imagine that you’re eating at a top restaurant for the first time. It’s for a special occasion. It’s one of those meals where you order appetizers, several rounds of drinks, and pick them most generous entrees on the menu. You may even have some extra bread.
Everything has gone well but your mood changes when the server makes an announcement just before you ask for the bill.
“Tonight we have a world famous pastry chef preparing our desserts,” she says. “It’s only for tonight. What would you like to order?”
At this moment, you and party realize that you simply have no room for dessert. Trying to eat anything more will result in lots of problems. It simply can’t be done.
You ask if you can have the desserts boxed up but learn this strategy won’t work for these unique creations.
You leave an otherwise spectacular meal feeling sad that you didn’t know about the special dessert chef. If you had, you would have eaten and drank less.
This frustration is what your team feels when you give them a last minute task that you’ve known about for days. By adding one more thing to their list, they’ve lost the time to adjust, like the diners could at the restaurant.
While employees understand last minute requests, they crave predictability. Most will figure out when your emergency is only an emergency because you sat on it.
Budget you team’s time like you budget your department’s money. It will leave a sweet taste of success in everyone’s mouth.
Maybe it’s time to bring Ken Okel to your next meeting…
Read any good books lately?
