“Get the team together now, we have to change the plan.”
Words that make every team member cringe and fear what’s about to happen.
The news is usually either –
- You have to do significantly more work in the same amount of time, or
- You have to do the work in half the remaining time
Depending on how frequently this happens to teams, the reaction can be more or less pronounced.
Many times it descends into “marching orders.” The manager or executive says “because I said so” and the team submits.
That’s not a formula for the team’s best work.
What’s undercutting them is the threat.
Threat Level
“Because I said so” has diminishing returns proportionate to the age and relationship involved.
Parents of small children get away with it a lot more than executives speaking to adult workers.
That’s why most of the time, “because I said so” comes with an implicit or explicit threat of “if you don’t, you won’t work here.”
This is a big red flag for any worker, and a sign of a “leader” who’s overloaded with their own anxiety and is spilling it down onto the team.
The antidote is context.
Context Matters
If the decision has been made, then someone, somewhere has that context.
- Why the choice was made.
- What made that the option that was picked.
- What other options were considered.
- Why the other options were discarded.
- What trade-offs are considered acceptable.
If a team gets none of that context, they’ll spend days and weeks trying to work it out for themselves. And in trying to advocate for options that won’t be accepted because they’ve already been rejected by the key decision makers.
That’s a lot of waste, happening because information is locked in someone’s head behind the stress of the situation.
You can unlock it by knowing to ask explicitly for the context, in a way that is empathetic to the moment.
“I expect that you’re still processing this change too; we’re all struggling to grasp what this means and why we’re doing it. Every bit of information about the why and what other options were ruled out helps us get on track again. What more can you share, and who can we connect with if you don’t have more?”
You won’t use those exact words. The important parts are to acknowledge that the person who came with the announcement is probably only a little bit ahead of the news. They’re human, stressed, and likely expecting a negative reaction.
Explaining why the context helps you and your team, while maintaining understanding of their humanity and likely feelings give you the best shot at getting more information.
It may not change everything, it will give you more to work with.
Sometimes that’s the best option you have.
You can do this. I can help.