Getting Someone to do a Task without an Escalation to their Manager
I think every project manager knows this situation:
I am in a meeting with some colleagues for a project. It is clear that there will be a task to do in the next couple of days. It is also clear who should do it.
during the meeting this person clearly states that the current workload does not allow any additional tasks at the moment.
let me show what I do if this is the case!
How do I get the Support I need from a Person?
I take the following 4 step approach to get a task done:
I talk to the person face to face or at least on the phone. I don't start a discussion during a virtual meeting in front of other colleagues.
I ask the person what needs to be done to finish the task. This helps me to understand the situation of the person better.
I explain to the person why this task is important for the project. I also explain the benefits for the project/ company/ department.
I try to give a specific date and time as deadline. This gives more flexibility for the planning.
if they understand the urgency and importance, they will deliver within the given time frame.
What is the Common approach?
a common approach which you will find across the internet is the following:
find out what the other person wants or needs
check what you really want from that person
figure out a way to give the other person what she/he wants while getting your task done
basically trading but with tasks or favors. In general this sounds like a good thing, right?
well, if you always ask yourself "what is in for them and what is in for me", you always expect something in return.
maybe not now, but in the future. This "expecting something in return" will automatically come to your mind cause your brain is trained to think like that.*
I believe that you shouldn't ask or expect anything in return at all. Give the other person value, do the task they ask you for. In my experience the value will come back to you in the future 10x more.
but don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean you have to accept every single task. Just be kind.
Reasons why a Person won’t do a Task
in my opinion there are only two things that can get in the way:
trust
maybe there was a situation in the past where I mislead the persons trust. I have to find out what this probably could be and fix it.priorities
everyone has a daily agenda which you have to follow in some way. The task I want the person to do is just not important for my colleagues as it is for me.
What to do if the Task can’t get done?
if they won’t do it because they don’t trust me, I did something very wrong in the past. I speak then to them, cause it is usually a misunderstanding.
but I have to build that trust back to were it was and this takes time and effort. So this reason will stay for a while.
if they won’t do the task because of priorities I do the following:
I offer support with other tasks.
That can be as simple as pack a package for them and bring it somewhere. Or do a excel sheet for them. I basically try to squeeze a little bit of time out of their calendar so they are able to do the task. This approach goes a little bit against what I wrote above. It is a situation like "I do that for you, so you do the task for me".I ask if the both of us can talk to the manager and rearrange the priorities of some of the tasks. This will probably help to get the task done before the deadline. Some might say this is an escalation. In my opinion it's not because it's with the agreement of the person you are talking too and it's just about finding a solution.
this topic comes down again to communication or the lack of it.
like I wrote in my previous article about kindness it is necessary to use the right communication at the right time.
but how can that be done? Don't worry, I will create a post on this as well in the future. Meanwhile you can contact me directly if you wanna know!
thank you for your time,
daniel
Resources
*: Post on the Forbes-Blog "How To Get People To Do Things For You (Without Being Manipulative)"
