How Do I Get My Staff To Stick To Deadlines?

I love a deadline, and chances are if you're reading this you do too. It's how we get things done!

When I say I like a deadline I mean that that's what motivates me. It doesn't necessarily mean that I'll work sensibly before said deadline but it does mean it'll be done when the deadline arrives (last-minuter here!). I need a deadline.

But people like you and me can get very frustrated when people who we work with don't stick to deadlines. In fact, we find it very hard to fathom why they don't. This is only made ten times worse when we are leaders expecting - and relying on - our colleagues and team members to get things done.

So, how can you get your staff to meet deadlines?

What's their motivation? It's probably not deadlines.

You have to know what motivates people. As a leader, yes you can say 'a deadline's a deadline' BUT if you want the work doing you have to do more.

People who expect other people to do things simply because 'that's the rules' aren't really leaders - they're managers. Leaders work out exactly how to support each individual to do their job well and rules are blunt instruments.

Rules (such as deadlines) can be used to hold people to account (and they should be) but rules are not the teacher. You don't learn to do something just because a rule exists about it.

So find out what motivates them. Is it gaining a sense of satisfaction for themselves? Is it pleasing someone else? Are they motivated by knowing exactly why they should do it? Figuring out how each person ticks and what makes them work is key - something like Gretchen Rubin's 'The 4 Tendencies' book is great for leaders who are trying to do this.

What's their previous experience? Probably deadlines being used as stick to beat them.

Some people may not respond to deadlines because of negative past experiences of deadlines.

If they've worked for a boss who never supported them, never understood their motivations, and even treated them poorly as a result of failure to meet deadlines, they may be deadline-averse. We might think that this approach would scare them into meeting deadlines, but that's not really how trauma works!

As part of getting to know a team member's motivation, it might be worth asking about how they have managed deadlines in previous jobs or in life in general. This might start a useful conversation about what they've experienced before and how that is affecting the way they work in the present.

How will you support them to stick to deadlines? Not by just telling them to.

You're a leader - it's your job to support people. If they're struggling with something then you help them with it. It might be that the piece of work you're asking them to do is beyond their capability. Or perhaps its within their capability but they lack confidence. Or they're a perfectionist so they're putting it off because they feel like they won't do it perfectly. They might be fully capable of doing the job and the only thing they need help with is getting it done on time.

Find out what support they need and provide the support. A simple conversation with questions asked outright but without a judgmental spirit should help you to quickly find out what you need to know.

Who decided the deadline? If it was you, perhaps you didn't decide on the best one.

It might be that the deadline you've provided actually clashes with deadlines provided by someone else in your organisation. Or they might have a lot going on right now in their home life and meeting the deadline just isn't possible. Co-create deadlines with your team members and they are much more likely to meet them. You've got to be human, empathetic and realistic if you want people to get stuff done.

If your people are struggling to meet deadlines, perhaps it was set too late so they couldn't do it in time, or too early so that they felt like it wasn't urgent. Perhaps the amount of work expected in the timescale was too much, or they needed the volume of work breaking down into smaller manageable chunks with lots of little deadlines? Again, it's about finding out what works for the people in your team.

Why do you love sticking to deadlines so much? Is that hindering you as a leader?

Leaders must also examine themselves in every situation like this. What are your values? What makes you feel so strongly about the issue? How might those biases affect the way you lead other people, and the expectations you hold of other people? What if those things are getting in the way of people getting their work done?

Being a leader doesn't mean getting everyone to do everything your way. It's more about helping people to do things in a way that works for them. Yes, in both cases the work does need doing, but one way will develop much more goodwill, trust and team spirit.

Just because you like things a certain way, doesn't mean others will. As with anything in leadership you have to put your people first and find the ways that work for them. Because when it works for them, they will work for you.

I work with team leaders in all kinds of organisations, empowering them to in turn empower their teams. If you need a guiding hand in leadership matters, drop me and email or give me a call and together we can work out how to get the best out of your people.