Watch out… this is a rant. But I have to be honest… I am guilty of this too but have been working on improving for the last year or so. And as I improve… it frustrates me more and more when this happens to me!!
I call this situation or these people “the dumpers”. And that is what it is… last minute dumping of responsibilities. You know that partner or prospect or person who is days or weeks or months late with information you have been asking for to complete a task they asked you to do!!! You know those folks… they fail to communicate, they don’t get back to you and the deadline is looming for something you have been tasked to do (typically by them) and you need information from them to do the work.
Then on Friday at 4:30 pm on a long weekend they send you the information that you need and the project is due Tuesday 9 am. Furthermore, they do not send you everything, in their rush to get it “off their desk” and onto yours, they were not thorough and have left you still with a lack of information to complete the project. AGHHHH! It drives me crazy.
And then there are the folks who do the same but in even a worse scenario. After weeks of requesting information for the project, they send it to you on a Tuesday at 7 pm apologizing for the delay and providing you with some (but again not all) of the needed info. So, you reply with appreciation of them working so late to get you the stuff (finally) to ask for the last of the needed info they failed to provide and then you get that dreaded out of office… they are away as of Tuesday evening for 3 weeks on a medical leave or holidays or secondment. But they are able to “clear their conscience” and feel they got you what you needed.
All I can say is think about what you are doing and how you are affecting the lives of others you work with. Try harder to get stuff to others in a timely fashion and don’t clear your plate onto someone else’s plate the day before holidays or late on a Friday afternoon and expect them to manage without you when you don’t send them everything they need. Come on folks… do better. I am trying to. I am still guilty of being late on some things, but I do my best to be through when I deliver and also keep timelines updated so they know when to expect delayed deliverables.
If you want to have a chance to rant about things like this or other topics you want to learn more about from others to people who will listen, empathize (because they have been there) and be able to relate, then register for Canada’s #1 sponsorship marketing conference, the Western Sponsorship Congress® – Alberta Forum .
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