No more missed deadlines

“Two out of three teams missed the deadline on this one. I’m so frustrated.”

I asked what happened to the two teams that finished late.

Answer: Nothing.

They were told to please hurry up and get it done.

Now imagine you’re on the third team.

You worked late. Reprioritized. Pushed hard to deliver on time.

Are you doing that again on the next project?

Probably not.

Because the company just taught everyone that deadlines don’t actually matter.

And this goes way beyond timelines.

Any time you catch yourself thinking:
“Why is it so hard to get people to do X?”

It’s worth asking:

How have we as leaders unintentionally taught people that something is a low priority, or entirely optional?

Start reinforcing expectations by consistently recognizing when people meet deadlines and addressing the issue head on when they don’t. With real consequences (as necessary) to change the behavior.