If you might miss a deadline, speak up beforehand:
1. ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐-๐๐ฝ
โHey, X is taking longer than expected. I was going to share with you today, but will send it tomorrow. Let me know if that works, thanks!"
2. ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ
โHey, it looks like I likely wonโt be able to get X done by later this week because Iโm prioritizing Y and itโs taking longer than expected. I recommend having me work on one this week, then ship the other next week. How does that sound?โ
3. ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ถ๐ฐ
โIโm looking ahead to our launch date next month, and am worried we may miss that timeline if we want to execute well on our GTM plan. Instead of using brute force to make it happen, Iโm thinking we either cut scope or push the deadline out two weeks because we havenโt announced the launch date publicly yet. I have some ideas around trimming scope on a few things I donโt think will make a huge difference on the outcome. When can you chat about this?
4. ๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ-๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐
โIโm looking at our ship date, and I have a hunch itโll be tight. We can rally to make it happen, but that would mean putting X and Y on the backburner for a few weeks. Can we discuss?โ
The thing managers dislike: If you miss a deadline but don't mention it at all...It feels like you're trying to sneak by hoping no one will notice.
I used to WANT to speak up, but wasn't sure how to do it. Once I developed the language, I became more confident and proactive about it.
(To be clear, you shouldn't push back on deadlines haphazardly. Be intellectually honest about your bandwidth.)
In my experience, most managers are quite reasonable if you speak up early. I hope these scripts help give you a place to start.
Which one above jumps out at you?
1. ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐-๐๐ฝ
โHey, X is taking longer than expected. I was going to share with you today, but will send it tomorrow. Let me know if that works, thanks!"
2. ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ
โHey, it looks like I likely wonโt be able to get X done by later this week because Iโm prioritizing Y and itโs taking longer than expected. I recommend having me work on one this week, then ship the other next week. How does that sound?โ
3. ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ถ๐ฐ
โIโm looking ahead to our launch date next month, and am worried we may miss that timeline if we want to execute well on our GTM plan. Instead of using brute force to make it happen, Iโm thinking we either cut scope or push the deadline out two weeks because we havenโt announced the launch date publicly yet. I have some ideas around trimming scope on a few things I donโt think will make a huge difference on the outcome. When can you chat about this?
4. ๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ-๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐
โIโm looking at our ship date, and I have a hunch itโll be tight. We can rally to make it happen, but that would mean putting X and Y on the backburner for a few weeks. Can we discuss?โ
The thing managers dislike: If you miss a deadline but don't mention it at all...It feels like you're trying to sneak by hoping no one will notice.
I used to WANT to speak up, but wasn't sure how to do it. Once I developed the language, I became more confident and proactive about it.
(To be clear, you shouldn't push back on deadlines haphazardly. Be intellectually honest about your bandwidth.)
In my experience, most managers are quite reasonable if you speak up early. I hope these scripts help give you a place to start.
Which one above jumps out at you?
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