To edit the page, the password is go
List-Id: pmclinic-scottberkun.com.lists.scottberkun.com List-Archive: <http://lists.scottberkun.com/private.cgi/pmclinic-scottberkun.com> - Good leaders make it easy to follow them. They provide logic for their decisions and encourage feedback on their decisions. In this vein, approach scheduling as a negotiation "Hey team. We need to do X. I know X is hard, but here's the 5 reasons why we have to do it, and have it finished in Y amount of time. Can we deliver on X and Y?". As opposed to "X must be done. Do it now!". The first invites a discussion and involvement, and gives people the logic needed to believe and commit - the later gives them nothing but an order. On larger orgs the discussion may need to start with leads and trickle down, and may require a series of discussions. - Robin pointed out that people need justification for why they should work hard - especially if it's not the first time they've been asked to go into crunch mode on a project. People become understandably jaded when their chains have been yanked too many times. It's an act of disrespect to keep yanking the same chain, and to get upset when the response gets worse each time. The failure is management (the chain yanker) and not the team (the yankee). - Cynically speaking, If you yourself, as a PM don't believe in the schedule, and are in a large org, work to understand which other teams will be the long pole, and manage your team around that deadline. Keep your team safe from the full schedule pressure, but don't drive them crazy on a wild schedule goose chase. To paraphrase Robin, when management creates a big game of schedule chicken, a single PM can't fix that, and management gets what they deserve.