Your team keeps missing deadlines

You are responsible for commitments you make on the team's behalf and priorities team members cannot resolve. Ask: “The vendor comparison was due Friday. You sent it the following Wednesday. Tell me what happened between agreeing to Friday and the deadline.”

Ask how the person estimated the work and what changed after they agreed.

• If they accepted the date without estimating, review the remaining tasks together. “Tell me how long you think this takes before we agree on a date.”
• If another assignment took priority, decide which deliverable comes first. Include work you added.
• If they kept revising completed work, show which requirements were satisfied and confirm when to send it.

Check other explanations, including missing information, approvals, or a skill that needs coaching. Check the remaining work and existing commitments before proposing a revised date. Agree on the revised deliverable and date with the people affected.

Ask for a warning as soon as completion becomes uncertain. Respond when someone gives one: “You told me about the missing pricing before our review. I'll get a decision from procurement today.” Follow through on that promise.

Review work while there is time to act. At the deadline, check whether the recipient received usable work. On later commitments, check whether estimates improved, warnings enabled decisions, and the constraints you addressed recurred.

Tell the recipient what is complete, what remains, and what you need to finish. Propose a revised date or smaller deliverable, and confirm agreement before updating the commitment.

Ask your manager: “The vendor comparison and customer update are both due Friday. I can finish either with the time available. Which takes priority?” If you cannot yet estimate completion, explain what you need to learn and when you will provide an estimate.