It’s a real pain when you are late with an assignment because you are waiting for someone else to give you somethi
ng you need to complete your project or task. You asked them for it, maybe several times, but still they aren’t complying. Are you supposed to throw them under the bus and tell your boss, “I would love to finish the project, but Joe from Accounting still hasn’t given me the spreadsheet I need? Should you send a sarcastic email to Joe, subject line, “6th Request”?
It’s hard to know what to do, but the most important thing to remember is that your first responsibility is to your boss and to get the job done. So if you are not getting the support you need, it’s up to you to raise your hand. Simply falling short of your deadline and/or blaming someone else will surely not win you any points, on any front.
When you are communicating with someone from whom you need something, the better your relationship with that person, the greater your chance you’ll get what you need. If you have a good relationship with someone, it can feel uncomfortable to press them when you need something and they are being unresponsive. And when you don’t like someone, we tend to expect the worst from them, and we are usually not disappointed.
No matter what the relationship with our colleague, in situations like this you need to remind them that you are all working for the same outcome, to better serve the customer or patient. Explain how what you need from them, fits into the big picture and that you are depending on them to complete your task. Be as clear as you can on what you expect from them and when you need it by. Ask how you can make it easier for them to help you, and be prepared to do that. Get verbal or written commitment from them. Saying or writing it tends to make people more committed.
Then you have to check in politely before the due date to see if they are still on target for meeting the deadline. This will minimize the risk of finding out about a problem that it’s too late to fix. If people ignore you by email, pick up the phone or go see them in person. Find out how things are going. And don’t start with what you need. Ask how their day is going or before you check in on what you need. If you are still ignored, then it is your responsibility to escalate before your project is late.
I always like to give the person the benefit of telling them what I am going to do before I do it so they have one last chance to help. This avoids that ‘throwing them under the bus” feeling. Here’s where you find out if they are just being unresponsive, or they really don’t have the time or ability to help you. Say something like, “You seem to be really busy. I still need to get my project completed on time, so if you don’t think you will be able to get your part to me by the end of the week, I’ll discuss it with my boss to see if we have an alternative resource.” If they are just being lazy, this just might give them the kick they need to get started. Remember, there really is a possibility that they are too busy to help you and hopefully this will open the door for them to communicate that as well.
But it’s still your responsibility to figure out how you are going to get your job done. If you can’t do that, then you have to escalate this to your boss so he can help you come up with another resource and possibly change the deadline. Believe me, your boss would rather be updated on your progress, than find out on the due date that he is not going to have what he needs.
Thoughts…….. Contact me at abbe@TECResourceCenter.com