In this day and age of multitasking
the old adage “think before you speak” has fallen by the wayside. However, it’s
the little details, those words and phrases that we snap out in a hurry, which
can come back and haunt us. For example, complete the following multiple-choice
question:
What does ASAP (“as soon as possible”) mean?
(A) Yesterday.
(B) By the end of
the day.
(C) Drop
everything and do it now.
(D) Within the
hour.
(E) When you’re
finished with the project you’re working on right now, make this the next
priority.
In our hurry to delegate tasks and
get back to the hundred and one things on our own to do list, it is tempting to
simply tell the person we’re delegating the task to that you need it “ASAP.” If
your interpretation of ASAP is (D) (Within
the hour), and your team members’ interpretation of ASAP is (E) (When you’re finished with the project are
working on right now, make this the next priority) we are likely to have
two people who think they have a meeting of the minds when in reality we’ve
just set our team member up for failure and, in all likelihood, increased the
stress and frustration for both of us.
If you
have the luxury of working with a team with some history, then through trial and
error, you have probably figured out each other’s definitions of ASAP. However,
if you’re working with somebody new there is a pretty good chance that your
definition of ASAP and their definition of ASAP are not the same.
While I
would like to delete the term ASAP from our vocabulary, I don’t have that power. So
my delegation tip in a nutshell is:
I) If you’re a manager or supervisor
– take an extra minute or two and give them a real deadline. If you need to
build in extra time do so, but don’t use the term ASAP unless you go on to
define what ASAP means to you.
The
benefits you will receive are going to be (i) increased trust from your team
member and (ii) less stress for both of you because when your team member knows
exactly what you mean it is far easier for them to manage their time, i.e.
tasks are likely to be submitted when you want/need them.
II) If
you are a delegatee, and your manager or supervisor uses the term ASAP frequently
never leave the conversation at that point. You need to find out what ASAP
means to them. You can do this by asking a follow-up question or two. Here’s an
example, “So is 5 o’clock okay?” (Your ASAP clock feeler question) If it is not
you will know that immediately and they will more likely clarify by telling you
something along the lines of “Absolutely not, I needed on my desk no later than
2 PM.” You will have your answer and you can plan your time accordingly.
