Don’t go quietly

As soon as you bring someone else into a project you need to up your communication game. Where it was ok to noodle along at your own pace without anyone looking over your shoulder, you now have to keep them in the loop – just so all the dishes arrive at the table at the same time.

The bigger the project or the wider the team’s dispersed, the greater the comms commitment.

From Gantt chart to Basecamp to Trello, all the tools help. There’s nothing better for sharing files and plans and documents, even hopes and dreams. But when it comes to cracking nuts, solving problems and the daily task of leaping tall buildings, there’s still no substitute for talking it through – water cooler, phone or Skype.

“I’m struggling with …, Any ideas about …, Have you seen this before …, Can you help me with …?”

You could decide not to disturb them, wait for each one to reach out if they need to, give them their space. Might work. Or you could take the initiative (you know, leadership) in the knowledge that even the loneliest of rangers likes a chat; find out how everyone’s doing, share a war story, make sure they’re still on the same page.

Don’t go quietly. Make the call.

Skippy Strategy: It’s guaranteed that everyone isn’t on the same page even five minutes after the last meeting. Check in as often as you need to keep everyone on the path.

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Category:
Teams