Lifescripts, 3rd Edition

98Asking a Coworker to Accelerate Their Work

STRATEGY

You truly can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. And when dealing with peers in the workplace, you need honey to spare. Though you and a peer may be handling the bulk of a project's responsibilities, neither of you may be able to control its scheduling. If you need to ask a peer to accelerate their work, you'll need to have empathy and emphasize that circumstances are beyond your control. You need something from your peer—their share of the work, earlier than expected—and nothing works better than good old‐fashioned commiseration. Make it clear you're under the same pressures, and you'll both need to push harder and work longer hours to meet this new deadline. Resist the temptation to march in and bark orders. Sure, you're upset, but being aggressive and demanding will be, well, vinegar. Such an approach might make an overworked and potentially resentful colleague sabotage the project. The desired outcome is the completed project—so don't forget about office harmony. You want to be able to call on this colleague in the future; break the news gently, non‐aggressively, and make it clear you're a team. Remember, empathize, commiserate, and then get to work.

TACTICS

• Attitude: Think humble indignation here. You both need to step up the pace, so express your own frustration and regret, then emphasize the task at hand. Be prepared to handle flak; your colleague might become angry at you for bearing the bad news. Shake ...