Cliche #4 - Their incompetence - Your crisis

Frank's management cliche #4:

"Don't allow someone else's incompetence to become your crisis"

Explanation:
Here are a few examples, which I am sure will sound familiar.

Steve: "I need to turn this report in by noon today and I need your analysis first, you have 30 minutes!"

John: "I know I should have checked with you first, but I told the customer we would drop everything to get their product out today"

Deborah: "knock Knock, do you have a minute?" (which really means an hour, or the rest of the day)

Obviously crises do happen that are not the result of someone's incompetence, and sometimes a manager can be just the person to pull a rabbit out of a hat to turn failure into success.  Sometimes things happen that justifies turning a department, or a whole company, upside down at a moments notice.  Those aren't the times I'm talking about.  When a colleague has procrastinated to the point that only a heroic effort by you will meet a deadline, or a promise has been made by someone who should have known better, and now other commitments will be missed.

Other people don't know what a manager has on their plate before they make a request and some don't care.  It is up to the manager to create the expectation that all actions will be handled in the right priority and that" right now" is usually not the right time. The key to avoiding this type of problem is to have a well defined set of priorities and a written schedule for the day's activities.  If other people know that a manager plans out their day and sticks to the plan as much as possible, then interruptions have a visible effect on those planned activities.  If a manager is interrupted by a visiting colleague, subordinate, or superior, either in person or via phone call, the manager should politely acknowledge the interruption and schedule a time when the problem can be discussed.  It should only be the most drastic of problems that are allowed to be handled on the spot.  Consistently handling someone else's problem immediately will train others that the manager is always available for everyone else's priorities and they will supersede the manager's own priorities.  This is not to suggest that a manager should avoid helping others, on the contrary, they can do a much better job if that help is provided when there are not other pressing needs in competition.  That can only be done if the task is put in its proper priority and given the appropriate amount of attention.

A related item is the use of the "if I don't hear from you" email.  This usually takes the form of "if I don't hear from you by _(time)_ , I will assume you are OK with _(action)_ ".  A manager must make it plain to everyone that if they have not responded, the only thing that can be read into this fact is that they have not responded.  With the amount of emails that everyone is receiving today, it is easy to miss something.  This is a ploy someone takes to make their priority an urgent priority by other people.  It shouldn't be done, but when it does, a manager must set the record straight.  Obviously, if the person sending the email is a superior, a certain amount of tact is required in the response.