A while back I blogged about Micromanagement and Project Scheduling and I want to carry on with that theme with a method that could be used when teams are under pressure.
When we are under pressure to deliver, we tend to make silly mistakes like micromanaging our teams, not scheduling their time efficiently or quite frankly just running around screaming “My hair is on fire, my hair is on fire!”
People and teams under pressure revert back to what they know best, and most of the time it is not to deliver at warp speed without making any mistakes. When you are under pressure, logic and common sense go out the window and this is where the managers and leaders need to step in.
When under pressure you need to slow everything down and ensure that your team focuses on delivering one piece of work at a time, and do not expect fireworks here either. When under pressure they will make mistakes and “forget” the simplest of things as well, it sounds crazy but people do funny things under the pump.
Something you can try and implement is to break down the deliverables into smaller chunks. I like to work in ¼, ½ and 1 Day chunks, which makes it easier to plan and execute. Once broken down into these sections structure the delivery in line with what your customer would like to see or use first, for example, try and balance your deliverables in a 50/50 split between back end and front end, so that your client can see visible progress as well as additional functionality.
Some ground rules here though, you and your teams need to buy into this process and commit to meet the deadlines promised daily to ensure that you move forward at a steady pace. Another thing to remember is to have show and tells or walkthrough’s often with your client, so as to show visible progress and to ensure that you are still on the right track with what the client requires.
Keep your communication clear and concise and remember that in this case emotions are the enemy, as by now the pressure should be on and people will already be a bit tense and not to mention extremely sensitive. Do not hover and do NOT micromanage, have structured feedback sessions daily and ensure that you minimise interruptions to the team, let the team focus on what each individual team member needs to deliver for the day, and ensure that you assist them in doing so.
There is also no right or wrong way to use this method as it will work in standard waterfall or agile type projects, just remember to focus on doing one thing well at a time and keep moving forward.
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