Deadlines: Paralyzing or Energizing?

The U.S. Congress is facing a looming deadline that has serious economic consequences. We are up against the debt ceiling, and if they can’t agree on and ratify a viable plan by August 2nd, we will default on our debt. It remains to be seen how this challenge will be addressed, and whether the political issues can be put aside for the good of our country and its people.

We all face deadlines in our lives. They may be as simple as paying our utility bills or filing our taxes by April 15th. Many are more complex, such as finishing a big project at work that has hundreds of moving parts. Some people react to deadlines in a positive way, and others fight against them all the way.

You may be motivated by deadlines, finding energy and focus in the challenge. This is a healthy reaction to the stress imposed by a due date. Good for you!

But for some, facing a deadline can have an unfortunate paralyzing effect that is counterproductive. That reaction comes from being in a state of panic. Symptoms are avoidance of the work, a tendency to toil aimlessly on manageable tasks that don’t really contribute to the main goal, wasting time trying to move the deadline, or some form of howling at the moon, “Why me? What am I going to do?!” In this case, it’s critical to stop wasting time and energy.

• First, validate your deadline. Is it self-imposed and somewhat arbitrary? If imposed by someone else, find out whether it’s absolute, or can be changed without meaningful consequences.
• If you are in a serious time crunch, boil down your goal to a realistic absolute minimum. What can you do that meets the specific requirements without adding a bunch of bells and whistles?
• Ask for help, if without assistance you will miss the deadline. Be sure you can articulate exactly what type of help you need.
• Work with people, not against them. You can’t afford to allow office politics to get in your way.
• Keep your boss apprised of your progress, so they know if they need to step in.

Meeting a hard deadline may require the investment of extra hours or days of work. You can push through the challenge if you believe it’s important and the finish line is in sight. (Sure hope our politicians can do the same.)

When Hiring Contractors Makes Sense

You are faced with a project and a deadline that cannot be accomplished with the resources you have on staff. It doesn’t make sense to hire full-time team members to meet that need, only to lay them off after the crunch is over. In this type of scenario, as in some others, temporary contractors are the answer. How do you know when you should consider adding contractors to your team to achieve your goals?

• You are managing a project that requires skills you don’t have internally (and you don’t have time to learn them).
• You simply need more hands and heads than you have, due to time constraints.
• There isn’t anything to be gained by your team doing some tasks themselves (their expertise adds no specific value), and your people’s time is better spent on other things.

• It’s cheaper to hire help than to pay your people to do the work. Remember, you pay 20% + for benefits for your full time employees.

• Your project requires a spike in activity that doesn’t continue later into the schedule.

• When you want to “audition” a candidate for a permanent position.

But BEWARE:

• Don’t spend time and money educating contractors to do things that would enrich the skills and experience of your team – unless your team can partake in the education as well. Otherwise, your people will resent the heck out of the situation (and you).

• Avoid giving contractors work that your team considers “choice”, like working with new, cool technology, traveling to exotic work locations, or getting exposure to executive management.

• Don’t give contractors the same benefits/privileges as your employees, unless you want to risk a lawsuit.

• Don’t treat your contractors like slave labor. They are people too and deserve your respect. Besides, you may need them again someday.

• Be sure there is a transfer of knowledge/learning from your contractors to your employees before the end of the contract. Don’t let the knowledge walk out the door, or you may have to buy it back again later.