Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
Your manager or colleague sends you an email with “Urgent” in the subject line that asks or instructs you to complete a new project ASAP. You already have a lot on your plate, but this sounds important, so you drop what you’re working on to get this new task done right away.
After you submit it, you receive a reply: “Thanks for taking care of this so quickly. I didn’t even need it until next week, but this is great!”
$@#%&*!
Similarly, maybe you had to grind to meet a tight project deadline only to find out that it’s been collecting dust on your manager’s desk for the past week because it wasn’t actually needed that far in advance.
What’s happening is false urgency, and it can unintentionally damage your team’s morale, well-being, and performance. Think of it as the workplace version of crying wolf.
Dina Denham Smith, an executive coach to senior leaders at major brands such as Adobe, Netflix, PwC, Dropbox, Stripe, and numerous high-growth companies, offers the following five tactics to combat a culture of false urgency at work.
Spot the signs of false urgency:
Recognize signs of false urgency in your team, such as chronic overwhelm, frequent fire drills, and working predominantly during off-hours. If you notice these indicators, you might unknowingly be promoting false urgency.
Identify the root cause of urgency:
Understand the source of your urgency. It might stem from anxiety or false beliefs. By questioning and reframing these beliefs, you can challenge assumptions and alter your perspective to ease unnecessary urgency.
Prioritize effectively:
Learn to prioritize important tasks over merely urgent ones. Avoid falling into the trap of focusing on deadlines rather than significance. Create psychological distance to focus on the bigger picture and consider the advantages of abandoning certain efforts.
Strategic procrastination for better results:
Embrace strategic procrastination by not rushing through tasks. Allowing time for gradual contemplation can spark creativity, encourage diverse ideas, and lead
to better outcomes.
Filter external requests and support your team:
Shield your team from unnecessary external urgency by vetting requests. Discuss trade-offs before immediately agreeing and empower your team to question unrealistic requests. Establish a culture where team members feel comfortable challenging false urgency.
Your ultimate goal is to promote a culture of genuine urgency within the team. Collaborate with your team to establish standards that encourage a balanced work pace. Consider outlining specific parameters that define what qualifies as an urgent task, such as strategic alignment, critical client needs, or safety issues. Conduct regular evaluations to reevaluate priorities and pinpoint instances of unnecessary urgency.
Additionally, set up effective communication channels and define reasonable response times according to the urgency of the matter.
Empower your team to question the urgency of tasks and offer feedback regarding instances of unnecessary haste, but also recognize that it can be challenging for team members to challenge their leader. As such, you want to create a supportive environment for them to express their concerns. When team members raise questions about deadlines, attentively listen to their perspectives, acknowledging their viewpoints even if you ultimately need to maintain the original deadline.
