| Completing an Assignment Successfully |
Your boss has asked you to lead a project group in which completion of the work on schedule is critical. How can you be sure you do the work well and on time? |
| Define the assignment. Put
down on paper, in your own words, what you believe needs to be done and
what results you believe that you and the group are expected to achieve.
The more details you write down, the better. The more you plan and organize,
the more time and energy you are likely to save down the road.
Outline how the work will be done. Consider the project broadly. What other functions are involved? How much research may have to be done? What's the sequence of actions? It helps here to think of the final goal and work backwards. Identify those people whose help you will need. If you have a choice about your teammates, think about who would be best in each slot. Don't worry about whether they are actually available or willing at this stage. Review with your manager your work thus far. Do a memo, but ask as well for a face-to-face review as well. A project is usually a major accomplishment. If you have to redefine the job half way through, you'll be wasting valuable time. This is also the moment when you can ask your manager for help in obtaining the people you identified as the best suited for working on the project. Plan your work in detail. Once you've assembled the group, your next step is to meet with everyone on the team to come up with an operating plan. Make sure everyone agrees on the final plan. Then set milestones that are deadlines for each stage of the project. Complete the work. If you have monitored the work to ensure that your teammates have completed their assignments on schedule, and your original plan was well founded, you should complete the assignment on schedule. Review the final assignment. Whenever you're finished with a project, review the process and results. The best workers reflect on their jobs and how they accomplish work, always looking for ways to do better. |
|
| Back to Management |
Admin Professional's Training Resources
Training, Webinars, Seminars, Conferences from passionate trainers around the world.