Set deadlines for your team and you will discover that it does wonders for your productivity.
- What does working to deadlines mean?
- Why you can't meet deadlines?
- Why do most deadlines fail?
- What can setting deadlines do for me?
- Set deadlines to increase productivity - Summary
What does working to deadlines mean?
What is meant by working to deadlines is that tasks, projects, and activities have a pre-defined time period allocated in which they must be completed. In other words, it has a specific start and a specific end time.
Unfortunately having a deadline also means that you don't always have the desired outcome you have been waiting for. This should be accepted as it is because extending deadlines in order to achieve better results do not always work.
It is much better to review the tasks by looking at the actions taken to get the results and then re-organize the task with improvements and a new deadline. Results can be compared with the targets and goals you have set for your team in order to find areas of improvement.
Why you can't meet deadlines
Often when plans are laid in concrete, the employees are motivated and task accountability is refined. So what can go wrong when all the groundwork was done?A common mistake most managers make when running a project or task is believing that the employees know what to do and will act responsibly by focusing on achieving an outcome on their own.
This is true in some cases but where there are a group of people involved you will always find at least one of them will not follow the group's expectations.
Not having any consequences for failed deadlines is another reason and unfortunately, most organizations have fallen into the cycle of extending deadlines instead of enforcing them.
Set deadlines but also keep reality in mind so that your failures are not self-inflicted.
Why do most deadlines fail?
When you find that in your organization set deadlines fail as a norm then it can be a result of some of the following.- No specific deadline (Date & Time) set
- No pressure on the team to make deadlines
- No consequences for not making deadlines
- Unrealistic time frames
- Poor organizational culture of not maintaining deadlines
- Priority change before the deadline
- No backup plan
No specific deadline
Any task, process, or project should have a pre-determined end date and time as a regulating factor to ensure it has an outcome.If the process is left open-ended there is no expectation on your team to perform and urgency for an outcome. This is where postponements become a norm and eventually, the issue will be left unresolved or incomplete.
No pressure on the team to make deadlines
It is human nature that if something doesn't need to be done right away it probably won't be done. If there is no pressure to comply results are not possible which can only cause problems to escalate.Not having deadlines set for tasks to reduce the necessity of the task and other "more" important tasks will always be given preference.
No consequences for not making deadlines
By setting no deadlines you are creating a culture of non-compliance within your organization. People will start acting as if it is the norm and unfortunately as a leader, the choice is either setting deadlines or disciplinary for non-compliance.
Without discipline, your team will not achieve targets and goals. They have to take responsibility for their action for you as a leader to be effective.
Unrealistic time frames
One of the biggest causes of deadline failure is unrealistic time frames. Unrealistic time frames are a result of poor planning or lack of knowledge from the leadership team.
Even though the deadlines are there the results will not be accurate as it became a rush job in the end. Time frames should allow for enough time to give you the true outcome you are looking for.
Poor organizational culture
As already discussed not taking responsibility to ensure outcomes becomes embedded into your organizational culture. This will spread to other parts of your organization and create an unpleasant environment to work in.
Priority change before the deadline
Another reason why most deadlines are not met is the changing of priorities midway through the process. Something new comes up and the focus is lost by one or more of the team members.
No backup plan
Most of the time the initiator of the project does not have a plan to rectify deviations from the original strategy. When it comes to any reason not being able to complete the task as originally planned it dissolves into nothing.
What can setting deadlines do for me?
Setting deadlines for one will improve team performance and raise team spirit. It will yield results on every project or task you take on as a team. There are several benefits that you will get from setting your deadlines.
- Highlights the importance of a task
- Gets things done on time
- It forces employees to be more productive
- The team will complete tasks quickly because they want to get them out of the way
- If the deadline is part of a team effort it will be completed in time as no team member wants to be blamed for the failure
Set deadlines to increase productivity - Summary
So many daily activities are pushed aside because it has no priority level assigned to them. If a deadline cannot be set for a task you must consider if it is worth doing at all.
Deadlines are the only way to achieve a productivity level that yields results.
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