How to subconsciously encourage employees to comply with the project deadlines
Project management in any area assumes the presence of deadlines. There is a principal who crowns with himself all the work and speaks about his completeness / incompleteness. As a rule, plans include other deadlines for smaller stages.
Projects involve working together. This means that the tasks and deadlines for completing one team member can significantly affect the execution time of other colleagues. It's like a domino effect , where the negative effects will lead to an uncontrolled expansion of the scale of the project.
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However, the whole point is that the deadlines are rarely respected, regardless of whether it is related to work or daily life. By their nature, people tend not to take seriously the distant, suggesting that there is still enough time. As a rule, they are mistaken.
What is the psychological subtext here?
As mentioned above, this behavior is characteristic of many people due to their nature. Psychologists have many reasons. I will give some of them.
Motivation
Have you ever taken an exam, preparing for it all over night? If yes, then you must remember your excitement. The closer the date of an important event, the deadline of a project or task, the closer you get to it, the more excitement and nervousness you feel. In English, there is even a special term - Goal Looms Larger Effect .
And that's how psychologists describe its essence: the motivation to complete a task increases when the amount of time to it decreases. The closer you get to success, the more effort you put into achieving it. In other words, as soon as you get closer to your goal (task, deadline), the more you think about it. And this increased attention helps to benefit.
Pressure
From the point of view of psychology, other points can be explained. For example, there is a category of people who believe that under pressure they work better . However, this is meaningless, since it is difficult to make maximum efforts in a limited amount of time. It follows that these people do not work at all without deadlines. And if they are delivered, they still try to stretch the deadlines.
Planning errors
But there is still such a thing as a planning error - the tendency to incorrectly determine the time to complete any task. There are several reasons for this.
We do not take into account the experience of previous planning . Most students, even if they are in their last year, will be more difficult to assess the time period for writing their coursework. And this is despite the fact that they wrote it at least once a year.
We do not allow options that something could go wrong . Plans in our view always go according to the best scenario. We devote to the completion of the task as much time as necessary according to such a course of events. But it rarely happens that everything goes as planned.
And finally, we do not take into account all stages of the task and the time to complete each of them . If a student needs to write a term paper, as a rule, he does not take into account the time that is worth spending in the library or in communication with the teacher to obtain information. It seems to him that all the time will be spent solely on writing. He does not take into account everything else.
But I will not delve into the further nuances of human psychology, but I will tell you how to encourage staff and team members to be respectful and, most importantly, comply with the deadlines for completing the tasks and the project as a whole.
1. Set only real deadlines.
How often have you come across a situation where several final deadlines are set for the same task? When the first deadline approaches, it becomes clear that it is not real. The project manager or manager used him to manipulate the team with something like this: if the terms of the first (fake) deadline are not respected, then the next (real) will be exactly followed. Not the most successful example of management, even if you are a guru and know leadership styles in management .
How to subconsciously influence the team?
Break large tasks into smaller tasks with a shorter time span. Create and assign tasks that require a day or two. Team members will understand that they are going in a continuous stream, and clearly marked deadlines are not difficult to observe.
2. Allow the team to put deadlines
Project participants (sponsors, clients, etc.) often do not have even the slightest idea of how all the processes take place in it. They do not know how everything works and how everything is organized. Such persons designate final dates, but the performers immediately realize that they are difficult to observe.
How to subconsciously influence the team?
Include a command in these processes. Let them estimate the actual deadlines for completing tasks. Such a move will characterize you as a resourceful manager.
First, an atmosphere of teamwork is created. The greater the involvement in teamwork, the more responsible the project participant.
Secondly, team members set deadlines based on a real understanding of the work ahead and the amount of time needed to complete it. Moreover, if the teams set the deadlines themselves, they will have nothing to complain about. After all, they all appreciated and counted.
3. Explain
Explain is extremely important. It is not enough to say when the deadline. Be sure to clarify why this is important. At least you will call back.
Be as precise as the situation requires. No need to say the following.
- All errors in the project should be corrected by next Monday to 18:00.
It is much better to explain the importance.
- All errors in the project should be corrected by next Monday to 18:00. This is important because on Tuesday we have a new sprint, based on all the corrections.
How to subconsciously influence the team?
Follow this model always. After all, she gives a complete picture of the deadline. Understanding is the key to helping you treat deadlines with more responsibility and seriousness.
4. Focus on the negative effects of deadlines.
The question of psychology. If deadlines are not respected, attach importance to the negative consequences that will affect the entire project and team. Fear and everything connected with it, to a greater extent affect people, than something positive and pleasant. And fear motivates well.
Let's go back to the example above. To give importance to negative results, add another sentence.
- All errors in the project should be corrected by next Monday to 18:00. This is important because on Tuesday we have a new sprint, based on all the corrections. If we do not start it, sponsors will cut costs, and this will directly affect our wages.
How to subconsciously influence the team?
Use this tactic, but be careful: too frequent threats can undermine morale. Focus on the negative consequences, but do not threaten your team.
5. Use the reminder system
Of course, you should not be reminded daily about deadlines, speaking about them like a parrot, on every occasion. But you should not take the opposite position, saying about them once and forgetting.
Try to invent your own reminder system, or use the already proven one. The main thing is that it works.
How to subconsciously influence the team?
There is a very effective solution. Instead of constant reminders of when a task should be completed, try engaging team members in a discussion by asking when the deadline is for a particular task. If the colleague himself answers your question, it means that he will not forget about the dates.
6. Use effective software
Even very experienced managers do not always complete projects on time. A good solution would be to start using an efficient and reliable tool. Of course, it may take a long time to find the right one. But it's worth it.
In fact, the market offers a variety of various tools, differing in functionality, working principles, interface, etc. Therefore, they can easily get lost.
How to improve teamwork and keep deadlines?
Choose a tool that has already proven itself. For example, it can be based on the Kanban method. This is a visual system in the form of cards, showing who has what tasks, when they need to be completed, etc.
Here is how it looks on the example of the popular service Trello.
In the IT field often use sprints . Here the JIRA tool has proven itself well. The manager easily creates tasks, assigns responsible persons and sets deadlines for each sprint.
But how does the project look like on the example of the GanttPRO online Gantt chart. All tasks are visualized here, you can see the deadlines for their implementation and progress.
However, here you can find a suitable project management service for you.
Summarize
In any project it is important to respect the deadlines But this is not always easy to do, especially if there are many tasks and participants in the project. To increase efficiency, try subconsciously influencing the command:
Projects involve working together. This means that the tasks and deadlines for completing one team member can significantly affect the execution time of other colleagues. It's like a domino effect , where the negative effects will lead to an uncontrolled expansion of the scale of the project.
')
However, the whole point is that the deadlines are rarely respected, regardless of whether it is related to work or daily life. By their nature, people tend not to take seriously the distant, suggesting that there is still enough time. As a rule, they are mistaken.
What is the psychological subtext here?
As mentioned above, this behavior is characteristic of many people due to their nature. Psychologists have many reasons. I will give some of them.
Motivation
Have you ever taken an exam, preparing for it all over night? If yes, then you must remember your excitement. The closer the date of an important event, the deadline of a project or task, the closer you get to it, the more excitement and nervousness you feel. In English, there is even a special term - Goal Looms Larger Effect .
And that's how psychologists describe its essence: the motivation to complete a task increases when the amount of time to it decreases. The closer you get to success, the more effort you put into achieving it. In other words, as soon as you get closer to your goal (task, deadline), the more you think about it. And this increased attention helps to benefit.
Pressure
From the point of view of psychology, other points can be explained. For example, there is a category of people who believe that under pressure they work better . However, this is meaningless, since it is difficult to make maximum efforts in a limited amount of time. It follows that these people do not work at all without deadlines. And if they are delivered, they still try to stretch the deadlines.
Planning errors
But there is still such a thing as a planning error - the tendency to incorrectly determine the time to complete any task. There are several reasons for this.
We do not take into account the experience of previous planning . Most students, even if they are in their last year, will be more difficult to assess the time period for writing their coursework. And this is despite the fact that they wrote it at least once a year.
We do not allow options that something could go wrong . Plans in our view always go according to the best scenario. We devote to the completion of the task as much time as necessary according to such a course of events. But it rarely happens that everything goes as planned.
And finally, we do not take into account all stages of the task and the time to complete each of them . If a student needs to write a term paper, as a rule, he does not take into account the time that is worth spending in the library or in communication with the teacher to obtain information. It seems to him that all the time will be spent solely on writing. He does not take into account everything else.
But I will not delve into the further nuances of human psychology, but I will tell you how to encourage staff and team members to be respectful and, most importantly, comply with the deadlines for completing the tasks and the project as a whole.
1. Set only real deadlines.
How often have you come across a situation where several final deadlines are set for the same task? When the first deadline approaches, it becomes clear that it is not real. The project manager or manager used him to manipulate the team with something like this: if the terms of the first (fake) deadline are not respected, then the next (real) will be exactly followed. Not the most successful example of management, even if you are a guru and know leadership styles in management .
How to subconsciously influence the team?
Break large tasks into smaller tasks with a shorter time span. Create and assign tasks that require a day or two. Team members will understand that they are going in a continuous stream, and clearly marked deadlines are not difficult to observe.
2. Allow the team to put deadlines
Project participants (sponsors, clients, etc.) often do not have even the slightest idea of how all the processes take place in it. They do not know how everything works and how everything is organized. Such persons designate final dates, but the performers immediately realize that they are difficult to observe.
How to subconsciously influence the team?
Include a command in these processes. Let them estimate the actual deadlines for completing tasks. Such a move will characterize you as a resourceful manager.
First, an atmosphere of teamwork is created. The greater the involvement in teamwork, the more responsible the project participant.
Secondly, team members set deadlines based on a real understanding of the work ahead and the amount of time needed to complete it. Moreover, if the teams set the deadlines themselves, they will have nothing to complain about. After all, they all appreciated and counted.
3. Explain
Explain is extremely important. It is not enough to say when the deadline. Be sure to clarify why this is important. At least you will call back.
Be as precise as the situation requires. No need to say the following.
- All errors in the project should be corrected by next Monday to 18:00.
It is much better to explain the importance.
- All errors in the project should be corrected by next Monday to 18:00. This is important because on Tuesday we have a new sprint, based on all the corrections.
How to subconsciously influence the team?
Follow this model always. After all, she gives a complete picture of the deadline. Understanding is the key to helping you treat deadlines with more responsibility and seriousness.
4. Focus on the negative effects of deadlines.
The question of psychology. If deadlines are not respected, attach importance to the negative consequences that will affect the entire project and team. Fear and everything connected with it, to a greater extent affect people, than something positive and pleasant. And fear motivates well.
Let's go back to the example above. To give importance to negative results, add another sentence.
- All errors in the project should be corrected by next Monday to 18:00. This is important because on Tuesday we have a new sprint, based on all the corrections. If we do not start it, sponsors will cut costs, and this will directly affect our wages.
How to subconsciously influence the team?
Use this tactic, but be careful: too frequent threats can undermine morale. Focus on the negative consequences, but do not threaten your team.
5. Use the reminder system
Of course, you should not be reminded daily about deadlines, speaking about them like a parrot, on every occasion. But you should not take the opposite position, saying about them once and forgetting.
Try to invent your own reminder system, or use the already proven one. The main thing is that it works.
How to subconsciously influence the team?
There is a very effective solution. Instead of constant reminders of when a task should be completed, try engaging team members in a discussion by asking when the deadline is for a particular task. If the colleague himself answers your question, it means that he will not forget about the dates.
6. Use effective software
Even very experienced managers do not always complete projects on time. A good solution would be to start using an efficient and reliable tool. Of course, it may take a long time to find the right one. But it's worth it.
In fact, the market offers a variety of various tools, differing in functionality, working principles, interface, etc. Therefore, they can easily get lost.
How to improve teamwork and keep deadlines?
Choose a tool that has already proven itself. For example, it can be based on the Kanban method. This is a visual system in the form of cards, showing who has what tasks, when they need to be completed, etc.
Here is how it looks on the example of the popular service Trello.
In the IT field often use sprints . Here the JIRA tool has proven itself well. The manager easily creates tasks, assigns responsible persons and sets deadlines for each sprint.
But how does the project look like on the example of the GanttPRO online Gantt chart. All tasks are visualized here, you can see the deadlines for their implementation and progress.
However, here you can find a suitable project management service for you.
Summarize
In any project it is important to respect the deadlines But this is not always easy to do, especially if there are many tasks and participants in the project. To increase efficiency, try subconsciously influencing the command:
- Set only real deadlines;
- Let the team set deadlines;
- Explain;
- Focus on the negative consequences;
- Use the reminder system;
- Use effective software.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/333796/
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