At PeopleResults we have blogged before on the need for individuals to prioritize and offered insights and recommendations on how to do that well.
This blog takes a different approach. Today’s topic is how essential it is for organizations to practice effective prioritization. THIS is the time of year when teams and departments plan for 2020. Everyone is aligning around what their focus will be in the new year.
Are you going to do a few things well?
Or are you going to attempt to do it all?
Chances are good that you are not staffed or resourced in such a way that you can accomplish everything that’s on the list for 2020. This means, as a leader, you’re going to have to work with your team and your stakeholders to assess the appropriate combination of effort + impact to the business to determine which items become your highest priorities in the new year.
The other, lower priority items are not bad ideas. They are not NOT important to someone. But it cannot all get done. Something has to give.
When you try to do it all, inevitably:
- Timelines slip
- Quality suffers
- Teams get overloaded
- Credibility is lost
- Work/life balance gets sacrificed
So, leaders, what is your team going to have the courage to say NO to in 2020?
Betsy Winkler is a Partner at PeopleResults. She can be reached on Twitter @BetsyWinkler1.
