The Ultimate Guide to Getting People to Take Responsibility ...

: They don't trust or respect their colleagues. Skiptocontent (Thispostcontainsaffiliatelinks.Readmyfulldisclosure.) Muchofwhatwedotodayreliesonotherpeople—otherpeoplewhodon’tworkforus.Whetheritwasaspartofaprojectoranotherprofessionalinteraction,I’msureyouhavemetcolleagueswhoaren’ttakingresponsibilityatworkfortheirtasks. It’sapaintoworkwithcoworkerswhowon’tstepup.Itmeansyourjobturnsintomicromanaging,spoonfeedingandgenerallyrunningaroundafterpeoplewhoprobablyearnquiteenoughtobeoperatinginamoreprofessionalmanner. Ittakesupalotoftimetoo:timethatcouldbebetterspentdoingyourownjob. Ifthissoundslikeyourworkenvironmentthentherearethingsyoucandotochangeit.Inthisarticlewe’lllookat: 7reasonswhypeopledon’ttakeresponsibilityfortasksHowtodealwithpeoplewhoarelazyHowyoucaninfluencethecultureoftheofficesothattakingresponsibilitybecomesthenorm. Readytolearnabouthowtohelpyourcolleaguestostepup?Let’sgo. Inthisarticle:Whydon’tpeopletakeresponsibilityfortheiractions?#1:Theyhaveneverbeengivenresponsibilitybeforesotheydon’tknowwhattodonowtheyhaveit.#2:Theydon’thavetheskillstodothework.#3:Theydon’tknowhowtomanagetheirtimeortasks.#4:Theydon’thavethetime.#5:Theworkistooeasyortheythinkitisboring.#6:Theyneversigneduptotheplanandtheythinkit’sunrealistic.#7:Theydon’ttrustorrespecttheircolleagues.Dealingwithlaziness6WaystoinfluenceyourteamtotakemoreresponsibilityWorktogethertosetthedeadlineEnableresponsibility,notpassivityTakeitfurther:Moretips(video)Furtherreading Ishouldsaynowthatchangingbehaviorishardwork.However,therearesomefool-proofstrategiescomingupthatyoucanstartputtingintopracticetoday. Whydon’tpeopletakeresponsibilityfortheiractions? Unfortunatelythereisn’taclearcutanswertothis.Therecouldbeanynumberofreasonswhysomeoneisn’ttakingfullresponsibilityfortheirtasks,eveniftheirjobdescriptionsaystheyshould. You’llhavetohaveaconversationwiththemabouttheirperformancetotrytouncoverwhytheyaren’tpullingtheirweightontheteam. Hereare7reasonsforpeopleshirkingtheirworkloadandwhatyoucandoaboutit. #1:Theyhaveneverbeengivenresponsibilitybeforesotheydon’tknowwhattodonowtheyhaveit. Youcan:Beclearthattheyareresponsible.Tellthemthattheyhavetheauthoritytomakedecisionsandinwhatsituations. ArolesandresponsibilitiesdocumentoraRACImatrixcanhelpwiththis.Oncetheyhavesigneduptotheirjobdescriptionandtheresponsibilitiesthatbrings,holdthemaccountable.Youmightbepleasantlysurprisedbytheirchangeinattitudeoncetheyknowwhatisexpectedofthem. #2:Theydon’thavetheskillstodothework. Youcan:Findoutiftheyarestruggling.Maybetheworkistoohardortoocomplexforthemtomanagealone. Iftheydon’thavetheskillstocompletetheirtasksitwilllookliketheyaren’ttakingfullyresponsibilitybutactuallytheycan’t.Offertrainingifnecessary,ororganizesomementoringforthem. Theworstcasescenarioinvolvesremovingthemfromyourprojectteamandreplacingthemwithsomeonewhocandothejob. ItisalsoworthlookingintotheSituationalLeadershipmodelifyouaren’tfamiliarwithit.ItisbasedonassessingtheSkill(ability)andWill(attitude)ofthepeopleontheteamandchangingyourmanagementstyleaccordingly. Peoplewhoarewillingbutlacktheskillarekeepers—youcancoachthemthroughtheirtasksorofferthemtraining.Thenhopefullytheywilltakeresponsibilityforfuturesimilaractivities. #3:Theydon’tknowhowtomanagetheirtimeortasks. Youcan:Help.Everyonecanlearnhowtomanagetheirtimeandtheirworkload.Youareprobablyquitegoodatitandhavealottooffer:developingyourteamisalsopartoftheprojectmanager’sresponsibility. Thedifficultyhereisthatit’sembarrassingtoadmitthatyouarenot.Thereforeyoumighthavetoguessthatthisistherealreasonwhytheyaren’tsteppingup. #4:Theydon’thavethetime. Youcan:Helpthemfocus.Thisisadifferentproblemtotheoneabove.Inthissituationtheyhavetheir“normal”worktodoandtheydon’thavethetimetotakeontasksforyouaswell. Theyneedhelpdefiningtheirprioritiessotheyaren’tspendingtimeonlowpriorityworkwhentheyshouldbedoinghighpriorityprojecttasks.Thinkabouthowyoucanhelpthemwithtimemanagement. Youmayhavetoinvolvetheirlinemanagerortheotherpeoplegivingthemtasksasyoucan’tjustwaltzinandsayyourworkismoreimportant.Prioritizeeverythingtogetherandifyourworkdoesn’tcomeoutontopthenyou’llhavetomanagearoundthatdecision. #5:Theworkistooeasyortheythinkitisboring. Youcan:Findwaystomakeworkmoreinterestingorappealing.Peoplewhodon’ttaketheirprojectworkseriouslyordon’twanttoengagewithyouortheirtaskslackthewilltoworkonwhatyouhaveallocatedtothem. Makingitmorechallengingbygivingthemresponsibilitymightactuallymakeitbetterforthem. #6:Theyneversigneduptotheplanandtheythinkit’sunrealistic. Youcan:Avoidthissituationbylettingpeoplesettheirowndeadlines.Oratleastnegotiatethedeadlineswiththem—don’timposedeadlinesonpeople. There’smoreinthisarticleabouthowtomanageyourprojectplanwhenyourteamdoesn’tbelieveintheschedule. #7:Theydon’ttrustorrespecttheircolleagues. Youcan:Panic(justalittlebit,awayfromanyonewhowillseeyou)becausethisisadifficultsituationtoresolve.Iftheteamdoesn’tgetonbecausethereisbaggageandageneralfeelingthatthere’snopointinworkingtogetherbecausetheircolleaguesarelosers,thenthat’sachallenge. Youprobablywon’thavethefullhistoryofwhathasgoneon.Focusonbuildinggoodrelationshipsbetweenindividualsandlettheteamcometogetherasateamlater. You’llalsohavetogettothebottomofwhythereisnorespect:whatisitexactlythatindividualshavedonethathasmadetherespectinherentintheworkplacedisappear? Finally,there’soneotherreasonwhypeoplemightnotbedoingwhatyouneedofthematwork:laziness. Dealingwithlaziness Sowhathappensifyouthinktheyarelazy? Youcan:Takeastand.FortunatelyIrarelyhavetoworkwithpeoplewhocan’tbebothered.Thatlackofcommitmentisaproblemforme,soIwouldbeputtingthemunderformalperformancemanagement(oraskingtheirmanagertodoit). Theiroptionsareshapeuporgetout.Yourteamistoobusytocarrysomeonewhodoesn’twanttobethere. Oh…andbreathe!Thisisareallydifficult‘people’situationandyoumightneedyourownsupport,likeamentororatrustedcolleague,tohandleit. Thatexplainssomeofthereasonswhypeoplemightfailtostepupontheteam.Nowlet’slookatmorethingsthatyoucandoaboutit. 6Waystoinfluenceyourteamtotakemoreresponsibility Makeiteasiertoworktogetherthanworkseparately.Usecollaborationtools,sharednetworkdrives,emaildistributionlists.Geteveryoneonthemusingthemcorrectly.Rewardsharing/collaborationbycallingitoutandthankingpeoplefortheireffortstoworktogether.Teambuildingthatfocusesonexplainingwhatotherpeopleactuallydo.Whenyoudon’tunderstandyourcolleagues’jobsitistooeasytobelievetheydonothingalldaybutcreateproblemsforyou.Here’sabingogameforworkthatyoucanuseasagentlewayintoteambuilding.Geteveryonetosittogether.Movedeskallocationsaroundsothepeoplewhoworktogetherthemostsitclosesttoeachother.Setupasharedconferencecallfacilityandencouragethemtouseit.Iftheydon’t,callthemoutonit:“Nooneusedtheconferencecallnumberthisweek,didn’tyouhaveanythingtotalkabout?” Thinkingthat’sonly5?Here’sthenextone…it’sabiggie. Worktogethertosetthedeadline Finally,hereisatechniqueIlearnedfromGet-It-DoneGuy(agreatresource,ifyoudon’tknowhimalready). Worktogethertosetthedeadline.Let’ssaythatEmilyisgoingtoprepareanoptionsappraisalbyWednesday.Sheagreestothat.YoubookameetingforWednesdayafternoon.Yousay,“Ifyou’vealreadysentittomebythenandIdon’thaveanyquestions,we’llcancelthatmeeting.” Emilythenhasanincentivetodotheworkbythedeadlineandgetthemeetingcanceled. Ifshedoesn’tdeliver,youholdthemeetinganduseittoworkwithherorstandoverheruntilyougetwhatyouwant.Thisisnottheidealuseofyourtime(orhers)butatleastyougetwhatyouwantbythedeadlineanditdoesn’tholdyouup. Ifshedoesdeliver,cancelthemeetingandeveryoneishappy. Ireallylikethisapproachandamlookingforwardtotryingitout.Luckilyforme,Idon’tworkwithverymanyflakypeoplesoImighthavetokeepthistechniqueinreserveuntilIreallyneedit. Enableresponsibility,notpassivity Beresponsibleforhelpingpeopletakeresponsibility.I’vebeeninmeetingswheresomeoneasksmeforaprogressupdatewhenthepersondoingtheworkissittingnexttome.I’vebeencopiedinonemailswherethesenderisaskingmetoasksomeoneelseaquestionandthencopiedinthepersonwhowillanswerthequestion! Facilitateresponsibilitybynotrisingtothesesituations.Italsohelpsbreakdownsilosbecauseyouforcetherightpeopletospeaktoeachother. Whenpeoplelookatyoufortheanswer,passiton.“Adam,that’saquestionforyou.”Don’tmicromanage,becausethatiswhattheyarelookingfor. Ifyouaren’tsureabouthowtogivecleardirectionsanddelegatework,readthisguideonhowtodelegatetasks. Takeitfurther:Moretips(video) DidyouknowthatwehaveloadsofusefulvideosoveronFacebook?IrespondtoqueriesthatpeoplehaveaskedinmyFacebookgrouporonemail,andsharegoodpracticesformanagingyourprojects. Checkoutthevideobelow.Wetalkedabouthowtoholdsomeoneaccountablefortheirtasksandalso: HowtomakeriskmanagementmorethanapaperexerciseWhetheryourshouldtakeyourPMPexamnoworwaitforversion6tocomeout AndIsharedabookoftheweekrecommendation. JointheProjectManagementCafeFacebookgroup.Ifyoucan’twatchoneofthelivebroadcasts,thevideosareallrecordedandavailabletowatchlater. (18minutes,safeforwork) Furtherreading TomKendrick’sbook,ResultsWithoutAuthorityisverygoodoninfluencingandhowtomakepeopledothingswhentheydon’tworkforyou. SteverRobbins,theGet-It-DoneGuy,istheauthorofGet-It-DoneGuys9StepstoWorkLessandDoMore.Readmyreviewofhisbookhere(shortreview:oneofmyall-timefavoritesonproductivityandtimemanagement). Pinforlaterreading: ElizabethHarrin Author,mentor ElizabethHarrinisaFellowoftheAssociationforProjectManagementintheUK,atrainer,mentorandauthor.Shehelpsmanagersjuggletheirprojectsandditchtheoverwhelm,makingtoolsandtechniquesworkintherealworld.ElizabethisalsothefounderoftheProjectManagementRebelscommunity,ateaching-ledmentoringgroupforprofessionals.She'swrittenseveralbooksforprojectmanagersincludingManagingMultipleProjects. Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Linkedin Pinterest Amazon Goodreads BookBub Postnavigation Previous PreviousBenefitsManagementTemplate[FreeDownload]NextContinue 15CleverWaystoSaveTimeatWork SimilarPosts SharingthetenthingsthatIloveaboutmanagingprojects. Datataxonomyisagreatwaytofindthedatathatyouneedinprojectmanagementsoftwaretools.Thishowtoguidewillshowyouhowtouseit. Thevideobegins:Haveyoueverthoughtabouthowsomepeoplemakedoingprojectmanagementlookeasy,anditseemsliketheyknowitall?Peoplelistentothem,peopletakethemseriously,peoplerecognisewhattheydo,andthey’vegotsupportfromsomewhere–theirboss,theirmentor,someone.Hello,mynameisElizabeth… BythetimeIwashalfwaythroughtheintroductionIlikedToddWilliams.Ilikedhiswayofthinking,hisfaithinprojectmanagementandinpeople,andhisabilitytotellstories.Iwassoldontheideaofabooktellingmehowtorescueaproblemproject,eventhoughIwasn’t… Learnwhatmanagingstakeholdersisreallylikeandwhythetrainingcoursesdon’ttellyouwhatyouneedtoknowinthisexpertinterviewwithRogerJoby.Rogerisco-authorofAPracticalGuidetoDealingwithDifficultStakeholdersfromGower. “Projectmanagementisindeedaveryexcitingandrewardingprofession,butatthesametime,itisoneofthemostdifficultjobs,oftenmisunderstoodbyprojectteammembersandmanagementalike,”writeDanEpsteinandRichMaltzmanintheirbook,ProjectWorkflowManagement:ABusinessProcessApproach.Iagree;itcanbeachallenge… ToggleMenuClose Searchfor: Search