WEBVTT - Keep the team going

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that if you work with other people and

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<v Speaker 1>work on projects whose parts depend on everyone else doing

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<v Speaker 1>their part, be explicit and intentional about how you will

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<v Speaker 1>pass work from one person to another. A lot of

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<v Speaker 1>missed deadlines could be hit despite the unexpected happening if

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<v Speaker 1>people could be a little bit more clear about passing

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<v Speaker 1>the baton. So I always like watching track and field

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<v Speaker 1>during the Summer Olympics, and I am particularly fascinated by

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<v Speaker 1>relay races. Passing a baton from one person to another

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<v Speaker 1>seems like it would be straightforward, and yet these race

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<v Speaker 1>pros have it incredibly well choreographed. At a set place,

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<v Speaker 1>the second runner starts running in parallel to match the

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<v Speaker 1>speed of the first, and their hand movements have been

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<v Speaker 1>practiced endlessly, so no one drops anything, which would pretty

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<v Speaker 1>much guarantee losing. So it is with a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>group projects. I suspect that with many teams, the second

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<v Speaker 1>runner is not preparing to match the pace of the first,

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<v Speaker 1>and the first runner just sort of tosses the baton

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<v Speaker 1>into the air, assuming it will be picked up in

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<v Speaker 1>a timely manner. We can do better. Everyone needs to

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<v Speaker 1>think carefully about how to keep the team going when

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<v Speaker 1>the expected and the unexpected happens. So if you are

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<v Speaker 1>on a team, set the norm that everyone confirms timing

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<v Speaker 1>on their next steps. There is no need to overthink this.

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<v Speaker 1>If you are the one passing the baton, you can

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<v Speaker 1>just send an email saying something like, on Monday, I

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<v Speaker 1>will send you the spreadsheet for the spring mailing. Could

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<v Speaker 1>you confirm that you have everything else you need for

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<v Speaker 1>the mailing and that you can get it out by

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<v Speaker 1>the end of next week. You say, when you do

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<v Speaker 1>your part, and the next person confirms that they have

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<v Speaker 1>what they need to do their part and when they

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<v Speaker 1>will do it, you can both see that you are

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<v Speaker 1>still on track. If you are the one receiving the baton,

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<v Speaker 1>you also need to let the previous person know when

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<v Speaker 1>you plan to do the work. This lets them know

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<v Speaker 1>if a delay is a little thing or if it

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<v Speaker 1>is a big problem. So if someone says they will

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<v Speaker 1>send you a draft for your review on Tuesday, you

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<v Speaker 1>can reply great, I have reserved time Wednesday morning for

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<v Speaker 1>reviewing your draft. Please let me know by Monday. If

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<v Speaker 1>there is any change in the plan, so I can

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<v Speaker 1>reschedule a accordingly. You can also tell them if the

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<v Speaker 1>stakes are higher for meeting that stated time, as in,

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<v Speaker 1>just so you know, I am headed out of town

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<v Speaker 1>on Thursday, so if you're not able to get me

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<v Speaker 1>the draft by Wednesday morning at the latest, I'll need

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<v Speaker 1>to review it the next week. If a delay of

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<v Speaker 1>one day getting the work to you can mean a

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<v Speaker 1>delay of much more than one day and you're completing

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<v Speaker 1>the next step, it is a good idea to make

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<v Speaker 1>sure everyone knows this in advance. In teams where people

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<v Speaker 1>are located in very different time zones, you might even

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<v Speaker 1>need to nail down the hour when the baton will

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<v Speaker 1>be passed. If you are in New York, getting your

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<v Speaker 1>London teammates something at nine am on Friday means they

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<v Speaker 1>might be able to look at it before the weekend.

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<v Speaker 1>Getting it in at noon on Friday means it probably

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<v Speaker 1>won't be looked at until Monday. That's good to know.

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<v Speaker 1>Smart teams plan in when team members will be taking

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<v Speaker 1>time off. Hopefully your organization has some system where you

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<v Speaker 1>can see this, but I know not everyone checks, so

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<v Speaker 1>be sure to bring it up a few weeks before

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<v Speaker 1>you're planned time off. You might say I'll be away

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<v Speaker 1>from February twelfth to the sixteenth. So if there is

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<v Speaker 1>anything you'd like me to know about or do before

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<v Speaker 1>I head out, please let me know by February sixth,

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<v Speaker 1>if at all possible. Otherwise, I look forward to being

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<v Speaker 1>in touch after I get back. Now, of course, we

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<v Speaker 1>don't always know when people will be out of the office.

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<v Speaker 1>If winter where you live is like winter where I live,

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<v Speaker 1>the unexpected starts to become the expected. Germs are everywhere

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<v Speaker 1>this time of year. People have to miss work because

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<v Speaker 1>they are sick themselves, or they are taking care of

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<v Speaker 1>a kid who is home from school. Then there's the

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<v Speaker 1>weather snow and ice that prevent us from getting where

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<v Speaker 1>we need to go, that prevent school buses from getting

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<v Speaker 1>where they need to go, which means more days with

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<v Speaker 1>kids home from school. Unexpectedly, people can lose power in hailstorms.

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<v Speaker 1>It happens, but that doesn't mean we need to throw

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<v Speaker 1>up our hands and decide that the future is unknowable.

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<v Speaker 1>All deadlines will inevitably be missed. The truth is that

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<v Speaker 1>even the unexpected can be planned for. Hopefully, everyone who

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<v Speaker 1>can work from home has a setup that allows them

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<v Speaker 1>to work from home. Consider setting the norm that anyone

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<v Speaker 1>who could work from home takes their laptop home every night.

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<v Speaker 1>That way, if someone is out unexpectedly for weather or

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<v Speaker 1>child's illness, they can work remotely. I'll note that if

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<v Speaker 1>you are a manager and also set the norm that

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<v Speaker 1>something is better than nothing, you will happily take the

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<v Speaker 1>three hours someone can work from home while a sick

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<v Speaker 1>child is napping or watching videos, rather than complain about

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<v Speaker 1>your employee not being in the office for eight hours.

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<v Speaker 1>That will inspire people to try to keep things moving forward,

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<v Speaker 1>even under less than ideal conditions for major projects. It

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<v Speaker 1>is also a good idea to plan in redundancy. Just

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<v Speaker 1>like every Broadway show has understudies for the major roles,

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<v Speaker 1>your team needs to have a back up person for

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<v Speaker 1>any work that can't be easily rescheduled or can't be

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<v Speaker 1>done remotely. You might even call it an understudy role

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<v Speaker 1>just to get people to take it more seriously. You

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<v Speaker 1>might need to perform the leading role tomorrow. Are you ready.

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<v Speaker 1>The goal is that when two team members are out

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<v Speaker 1>of the office because flights from the West coast are

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<v Speaker 1>all canceled due to a blizzard, the work can keep

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<v Speaker 1>moving forward. Perhaps sometimes delays are inevitable, but a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of delays are avoidable with a little more intentional scheduling

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<v Speaker 1>and communication. Despite illnesses, whether and scheduled time off, you

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<v Speaker 1>can keep the team going and feel like you are

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<v Speaker 1>getting a lot more done in the meantime. This is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura Vandercamp. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For

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<v Speaker 1>more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.