Steps to Management Success – Step 135: Keep Everyone Up to Date

STEP ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-FIVE

Keep Everyone Up to Date

When a number of people are involved in a project, their success often turns on how well they coordinate and work together. While they are working on projects, team members may get immersed in their specific tasks and their parts can take on lives of their own. As a result, they may lose sight of the team or other team members, drift, fall out of step, or get lost.

WHAT IT MEANS: When working with others, operate as a team. To do so, each team member must understand his or her role in and know how his or her performance impacts all other team members as well as the project as a whole. Any action by one or more team members can change the project to some degree. So, if others are not informed about changes or developments in the project, they can end up operating in the dark, in a vacuum, or on an alternate plan that could move the project in the wrong direction.

ACTION PLAN: Keep everyone on the team informed so that everyone stays in the loop. Make all decisions or give instructions by sending e-mail to the person or persons affected and copying all other team members. When you issue face-to-face instructions, immediately confirm them by e-mail and copy the rest of the team. Prompt e-mails will let any team member quickly dissent, make alternate suggestions, or request further discussions, which could help the team avoid costly mistakes.

EVEN BETTER: Designate one team member to notify the others of changes. As soon as a decision is made, inform that member so he or she can immediately e-mail the information to all other members of the team.

(Excerpted from: 10 Clowns Don’t Make a Circus. . . and 249 Other Critical Management Success Strategies by Steven Schragis and Rick Frishman)