QUICK TIPS: STAYING ON POINT
Pass work along to those who can help you. I don’t understand why people choose to horde work. All you’re doing is setting yourself up to miss deadlines and make yourself appear that you don’t know how to function as part of a team. I guess part of the strategy of hording work is to look really busy, to feel important (simply by possessing a lot of work), and to demonstrate value to an employer (e.g., no one else can do any component of my job).
But, by showing that you can identify what it takes to get a project done or assignment completed, you are showing that you have a very clear understanding of the nature of the work you are performing.
Now, it’s one thing to try to pawn off pieces of your assignment on other staff. It’s another thing—and a positive one—to be able to explain why a team effort may be necessary to finish a job on deadline. For instance, one explanation for seeking assistance might be that there are nuances to a task that no one anticipated, which is making the work take longer to complete. You can take the opportunity to explain these nuances/glitches and then ask for one or two other staff to assist with such things as making phone calls, etc. That’s just one example of how not sitting on work (read: hording work) can work in your favor to show that you have the foresight to predict potential problems that can cause a missed deadline.
Another reason not to horde work…
you’ll only end up stressing yourself out and making yourself feel run down because you’ve got too much to do. At some point, that huge workload is guaranteed to come back to haunt you.
Or, how about this…
you’ll just piss off the coworkers who have to bail you out, at the last minute, to get work done. No one will forget that they could have possibly had weeks to work on a project, but were shortchanged of time because of you! People will think that you desire to be the workplace martyr who holds on to every piece of an assignment, but causes everyone to scramble to meet deadlines. No one appreciates being put in a crisis situation. If you create a pattern of hording work and needing to be bailed out, your supervisors and coworkers will think that you routinely mismanage projects, can’t prioritize/multi-task, and do not like to work with a team.
Instead of hording work, delegate work as much as possible. If you have to get approval to pass along work, do so. One of the best things about delegating work is that it provides you with opportunities to say that you’ve supervised the work of other staff. And, that added responsibility will go a long way to proving that you’re ready to take on additional responsibilities.
But, by showing that you can identify what it takes to get a project done or assignment completed, you are showing that you have a very clear understanding of the nature of the work you are performing.
Now, it’s one thing to try to pawn off pieces of your assignment on other staff. It’s another thing—and a positive one—to be able to explain why a team effort may be necessary to finish a job on deadline. For instance, one explanation for seeking assistance might be that there are nuances to a task that no one anticipated, which is making the work take longer to complete. You can take the opportunity to explain these nuances/glitches and then ask for one or two other staff to assist with such things as making phone calls, etc. That’s just one example of how not sitting on work (read: hording work) can work in your favor to show that you have the foresight to predict potential problems that can cause a missed deadline.
Another reason not to horde work…
you’ll only end up stressing yourself out and making yourself feel run down because you’ve got too much to do. At some point, that huge workload is guaranteed to come back to haunt you.
Or, how about this…
you’ll just piss off the coworkers who have to bail you out, at the last minute, to get work done. No one will forget that they could have possibly had weeks to work on a project, but were shortchanged of time because of you! People will think that you desire to be the workplace martyr who holds on to every piece of an assignment, but causes everyone to scramble to meet deadlines. No one appreciates being put in a crisis situation. If you create a pattern of hording work and needing to be bailed out, your supervisors and coworkers will think that you routinely mismanage projects, can’t prioritize/multi-task, and do not like to work with a team.
Instead of hording work, delegate work as much as possible. If you have to get approval to pass along work, do so. One of the best things about delegating work is that it provides you with opportunities to say that you’ve supervised the work of other staff. And, that added responsibility will go a long way to proving that you’re ready to take on additional responsibilities.
posted by S. Mary Wills at 9:43 AM
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