How to Respond to Adjustments

 

This post's podcast episode is available at Sounder, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify.

When you are short of time, here is the one action that will give you 80 percent results in 20 percent of the time.

DO THIS

Assess how the adjustment will help or hinder progress.

BY DOING THIS

–      Determine how the change will affect your timeline, activities and resources required

–      Present your analysis to the project lead and manager

–      Negotiate how your plan will change to accommodate the change

Change initiatives generally involve continual revisions. Leaders request new activities, people modify their commitments, and new information emerges.  

Many people dive into accommodating the changes without assessing whether they help or hinder their success. Getting them done is more important than determining what is required to accommodate them. 

To assess an adjustment’s impact, estimate how it will alter the speed, level of difficulty or resources required. The answers will tell you if the change is positive, neutral or negative. If it’s positive, embrace the adjustment; if neutral, manage it with minimal effort; if negative, negotiate what resources or plan changes you need.

KNOWLEDGE BITES

ADJUSTMENT ASSESSMENT TOOL: How will I assess adjustments to my plan?

SUCCESS TIP

The faster you present adjustments to your plan, the more valid they’ll be perceived.

For more stories, insights and advice, listen to the Responding to Adjustments podcast episode with change management not-for-profit leader Laura Oliver.

Phil Buckley is the author of Change on the Run and Change with Confidence, host of the Change on the Run Podcast, and co-creator of the Sharing Change with Confidence Newsletter.

#change #changemanagement #transformation #leadership #projectmanagement #agility #podcasts

How to Avoid Team Burnout

This post's podcast episode is available at Sounder, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify.

When you are short of time, here is the one action that will give you 80 percent results in 20 percent of the time.

DO THIS

Balance expectations and resources continuously.

BY DOING THIS

–      Monitor plans to ensure there is enough time to complete all tasks.

–      Document gaps.

–     Communicate gaps to leaders with two options: increase resources or reduce tasks.

Burnout is a stress-related state of emotional, physical or mental exhaustion. It occurs when the demands of a job are greater than a person’s ability to manage them. Triggers include long hours, impossible deadlines, little control of inputs, hostile conditions and low rewards. In other words, project demands.

The impacts of burnout are devastating—extreme fatigue, loss of motivation, drops in performance, insomnia, feelings of resentment and hopelessness and illness. Fortunately, the conditions that lead to burnout are easy to spot: unrealistic expectations and insufficient resources are visible to all. To minimize burnout, review resource plans for gaps throughout the project. If conditions change (time, resources, scope), communicate imbalances to leaders immediately. Highlighting the risk of failure is the best defense against unrealistic expectations that cause burnout.

KNOWLEDGE BITES

RESOURCE ASSESSMENT TOOL: How many resources do we need to complete the task or project?

SUCCESS TIP

Cite similar tasks from past projects to maximize the credibility of your assessment.

To learn more about our post and podcast topics, check out the Change on the Run: 44 Ways to Survive Workplace Uncertainty book and audiobook at http://www.changeontherun.com or your favourite bookseller.

#change #changemanagement #transformation #leadership #teameffectiveness #burnout #podcasts