Sometimes it can be tough to get jazzed to tackle those tasks you hate (PROJECT MANAGEMENT: TACKLE (AND CONQUER!) THE PROJECT TASKS YOU HATE), but did you know you might also want to be mindful of taking on jobs you love? That’s right, indulging in your favorite duties could have unexpected consequences.
Getting lost in perfectionism. When you’re doing something you enjoy, there’s a real chance you’ll devote more attention to it than it actually needs. If you aren’t pressed for time, it might not present much of a problem, but if you’re under a typically hectic workload, you probably can’t afford to allow any single task occupy too much of your time. This becomes an even bigger issue if you end up neglecting your other responsibilities as a result.
Spending money on the wrong things. Part and parcel with perfectionism is the inclination to dedicate more money on your pet task than the budget initially allocated. You may be overestimating the duty’s importance in the grand scheme of things because you’re too fond of it, or you’re a bit of a snob when it comes to this particular item. If others in your Project Team take the same route, you could quickly discover that your project is over budget and in dire straits.
Avoiding delegation. It’s easy to give away tasks you don’t like much, while keeping those things you take pleasure in for yourself. Sometimes that’s the right decision, but there may be instances where you aren’t the best person in your Project Team to manage a particular duty. If a task is better suited to someone else on your team—either because they have more experience, more time, their level of seniority or signature authorization is more appropriate, or this task would normally be part of their job—think long and hard before you decide to hold onto it.
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