Who does what by when? - Leadership Questions #4
Clarify simple tasks and complex projects, no Gantt charts required
Question
Who does what by when?
Answers
Examples from my career
From my 1:1s with my manager: I (who) will send a first draft for the initiative’s one-pager (what) by this Friday 10:00 am (when).
From my 1:1s with a direct report: Sally (who) to share a list of potential resources to grow her Strategy skill (what) in our next 1:1 (when).
When I led a cross-functional task force: Thomas, Nathalia, and Jordan (who) to review drafted milestone Google doc via commenting (what) by July 12th end of day (when)
Examples from the community
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Be mindful
Read the room: Let’s assume you’re joining a large meeting with senior leaders you haven’t engaged with much and you feel that actions aren’t documented crisply. Challenging people to commit to “who will do what by when” is likely a “career-limiting move” in that situation.
Know your role: Using “who does what by when” pays dividends when leading projects or organizing meetings and workshops. You don’t have to be managing people to reap its benefits.
Master your 3-column tables: I use it for teams in virtual whiteboards or for various 1:1 note documents.
Source
Horstman, Mark, Horstman’s Law of Project Management, 4th January 2009
Despite all protestations to the contrary, no matter how complex the project, they all boil down to who is responsible for doing something, what they're responsible for, and when they have to have it done by.
