Your team is struggling to meet deadlines. What leadership development tools can help them stay on track?

One thing I didn’t see was leadership accountability. What if you, as the leader, are the problem? I saw a lot about coaching charts, etc., but hardly anything about self-accountability. You may just be the problem

-Enhance your team's time management skills by offering training or workshops on effective strategies. Teach them valuable techniques such as setting SMART goals, prioritization, and creating schedules to optimize productivity and meet deadlines. -Foster leadership development within your organization by investing in programs that enhance skills like decision-making, problem-solving, conflict resolution, and strategic planning. Effective leaders can guide their teams towards meeting deadlines through clear directions - Cultivate a culture of continuous learning and development within your team to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to face challenges and meet deadlines effectively.

First thing to understand when team is consistently missing deadlines are 1) root cause of the misses - Is team in alignment with the dates or are these imposed on them? 2) Does team understand the larger objectives (why) part? 3) How are the requirements created - big chunks or small chunks (INVEST for User stories)? 4) Are all the assumptions, risks and dependencies clear to the team? Coach the team to ask the right questions to ensure the ask is unambiguous. Writing OKRs can be a good way to help team understand the objectives and milestones (Key results) with timelines

To address deadline struggles, consider implementing tools like SMART goals for clarity, time management techniques such as the Pomodoro Technique, and project management software like Trello or Asana for organization and tracking progress. Additionally, fostering open communication channels and promoting a culture of accountability can boost team morale and productivity. Encourage continuous learning through training programs or workshops on time management and productivity hacks. Remember, providing regular feedback and recognizing achievements can also motivate your team to meet deadlines effectively.

One thing I didn’t see was leadership accountability. What if you, as the leader, are the problem? I saw a lot about coaching charts, etc., but hardly anything about self-accountability. You may just be the problem

Understand what is behind the "why" deadlines are being missed. Does the team not have the right tools in place to complete the given tasks? How about if the team needs additional training on a specific platform or technology? Is there opportunity for better communications? All of these will factor into understanding how to create a plan of action to loosen the choke-holds.

As a leader, you may think you know the source of the issue (struggling with deadlines). You might be tempted to dictate changes to your team about what they should be doing differently. But more likely there is something you aren't seeing because you are a part of the system that collectively missing deadlines. It's critical to step into co-creation as a leader and approach with humility. A few questions to consider asking your team: -what is your sense of what has us pacing behind? -how could we work together to shift that? -is this unique to this project or is this a consistent contributor? -what is one thing I could do differently that would enable you to better meet our deadlines?

Coaching sessions are a powerful tool to help your team meet deadlines effectively. These sessions involve focused dialogues, either one-on-one or with a professional coach, to amplify leadership skills. They provide fresh perspectives and insights that can help tackle challenges and achieve personal and team goals. Leveraging coaching can foster a growth culture, build trust, and enhance leadership effectiveness. By embracing open-ended questions, empathetic listening, and actionable feedback, team members can be empowered to work towards their goals in a confident and goal-oriented environment. This can help your team meet deadlines and surpass expectations.

Coaching a team that is already struggling is going to take a very focused solution oriented approach. You have to coach as a team, and not as individuals. The key is to build a psychologically safe platform for people to raise their issues. What is the issue? Is someone a bottleneck? Why? How did it happen and how can we adjust the process so that this bottleneck is removed? When can we try it? How do we get feedback? Often, through asking questions, you enable the team to solve their own problems.

Team behavioral assessments can help identify the behavioral tendencies of each member as well as the natural tendency of the team. Based on the results there are a number of ways to address their ability to get things done on time. Maybe they are not balanced in their team roles or they need someone on the team to be the driver that holds everyone accountable. A team discussion about their behavioral tendencies could go a long way in improving their results.

Seems like a disconnect between the people setting the deadlines and the people delivering on the deadlines. If this is a consistent problem examining priorities and communication between these groups might uncover the issue.

One very important step to take when you have a team that is struggling to meet deadlines is to actually dive into the "why" by doing a coaching root cause analysis. Sometimes pulling the group together and unpacking the things that are currently happening, you can find out so much about possible barriers such as lack of communication, not really understanding, lack of resources, etc. Taking the time as a leader and creating the space to stop, assess, address, regroup and press is a very powerful tool... and also shows empathy and understanding while still being able to paint the picture of importance around the task.

Developing your team’s ability to forecast and prioritize are crucial for managing their workload and meeting deadlines, but I also find power in developing their skills in advocating for themselves. This can look like negotiating deadlines for feasibility. This gives them the autonomy to own their work and consistently push updates to their colleagues / manager.

Try not to sacrifice the people for the process. If rigid structures exist, they often fail to help the organization become more effective. Learning to listen to others will most certainly help improve organizational engagement. Struggling to meet deadlines requires clarity and transparency. The real question is whether adaptiveness and collaboration are present.