Urgency at work is a fact of life. Especially at nonprofits.
There’s so much to do, and usually not enough people to do it all.
Emergencies come up out of the blue, throwing the best of planning and schedules out the window.
But some of us have faced another kind of urgency: False urgency.
This happens when urgency becomes a way of life, leading to pointless busyness and difficult deadlines that don’t lead to actual progress.
False urgency almost never improves productivity. In fact, it more often does the exact opposite, as frequent missed deadlines lower morale, performance becomes hurried and slapdash, and people’s wellbeing suffers. When false urgency continues over time, it can drain people’s energy, increase stress and anxiety, and cause burnout. And it can create a “boy who cried wolf” atmosphere, where people are unable to respond to real urgency when it comes up.
False urgency can rise from the need to increase productivity with a limited team. Sometimes it comes from inexperienced leaders or managers who don’t really understand the dynamics of the workplace. It’s especially common at nonprofits, because we are so driven by the importance of our causes.
Whatever the cause, false urgency is destructive, with the damage increasing over time.
Here are three symptoms of false urgency to look out for:
- You (and others) are constantly fighting fires. Fewer and fewer things happen on schedules, and deadlines are typically “ASAP.”
- It’s expected that everyone will work evenings and/or weekends all the time.
- Deadlines are unrealistic and there’s rarely any reason for them being that way.
Here are some ways you can deal with false urgency if it is part of your life at work…
Set priorities by importance, not just urgency
It’s tempting to always order your to-do list with the closest deadlines first. Instead of defaulting to that, think about what is most important. Like big, time-consuming tasks that have more distant deadlines. If you put those low on your list, they will just become a much bigger problem later on.
Distance yourself
It’s easy to let the urgency become your whole world. This causes you to lose perspective and leads to a kind of pointless wheel-spinning. Ask yourself questions like, “How will all this look a year from now?” Or imagine the challenge is happening to a different group and you’re looking at it from the outside. What advice would you give. Psychologically distancing can help remove panic and stress from your response.
Recognize “sunk costs”
Chances are, even in situations of true urgency, you and your team are doing things you could abandon. This happens because we are all reluctant to walk away from things we’ve already put a lot of time, effort, and money into. Ask yourself, “Is this really a way I should be spending my time?”
What to do about false urgency if you are a leader or manager
If you are at or near the top of your organization’s hierarchy, or even somewhere in the middle, part of your job is to help your team act with urgency when it is called for, and to differentiate real urgency from false. You likely have perspective on situations that others don’t have. That knowledge can be power!
- Recognize the signs. Is your team constantly overwhelmed and reactive? Do you constantly have to apologize for extreme urgency? Does your team get all the “real work” done on evenings and/or weekends? Does your team react in panic mode even when you haven’t asked for unusual urgency? These things typically are signs of false urgency.
- Look to the source of urgency. False urgency often comes from anxiety, especially about the demands of those above you. If you see that in your situation, reframe your thinking. Instead of reacting out of fear, employ leadership, carefully challenging unrealistic demands. Good workplaces are built on vigorous debate.
- Protect your team. A manager who functions as a conveyor belt, passing demands and assignments through to the team without any analysis or understanding is not doing a great job. Look for false urgency coming from above you and shield your team from it. Negotiate difficult deadlines. Seek workarounds and other solutions. Caring for your team is a key part of your job.
- Build a culture of real urgency. I don’t want to give you the impression that urgency is bad. Sometimes it’s necessary, and it can even be energizing to teams. If all emails in your organization are marked “urgent,” work to change that, so “urgent” really means URGENT. Consider having different processes for normal projects and those that are truly urgent. Give your team the safety to push back on urgent requests.
False urgency kills real urgency. You don’t end up doing more work faster. Instead, you get a more stressed team, poorer quality of work, and you lose your best people.
Keep this in mind for a better work experience for everyone.
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1 Comment. Leave new
Your link to this free workshop does not seem to work. Great blog on false urgency. Thanks.