Robert, a project manager, told me he uses the weekly project status meeting as a bully pulpit to shame any member of the team who didn’t satisfy their task deadlines. I’ve seen him in action — his face becomes grotesque as he verbally assaults his teammates.
I believe it’s wrong for Rob or anyone else to attempt to shame another person. But it’s also wrong for a teammate NOT to satisfy a task deadline.
Is it shameful not to meet a deadline?
Yes.
Attempts by people like Rob to shame me in front of my teammates don’t shame me. When I fail to satisfy a task deadline, I’m ashamed of my silence. Nothing prevented me from notifying my teammates that I wasn’t going to meet a deadline.
On a functional team, you can notify teammates about deadlines that won’t be met; and you can ask teammates for help. The sooner you ask or notify your teammates, the more effective a teammate you become. It may be possible to make the deadline with help from teammates. But that isn’t a possibility unless you ask for it.
Your employer may have an unwritten rule (see my post about an impact of corporate culture) that says don’t pop the collective fantasy about the schedule by notifying your teammates of an impending delay. Each time you follow the unwritten rule, the more ineffective a teammate you become.
You can choose again. Inappropriate silence hurts every member of the team, especially you. Find a different employer or a different team or a different mindset that enables you to be an effective teammate who can say, “I need help,” or “I won’t meet that deadline.”
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