LEADERSHIP

82 • LEADERSHIP
you’ve arrived at this chapter without a solid list of tasks and
milestones, STOP! Now is no time to be jumping off the roof!
Go back and build consensus around an approach and its required
activities and actions. Remember, every outcome from
this point forward is based on the quality of the WBS: bad list
= bad plan = bad results.
It’s easy to move forward with the wrong WBS—we can all
be blindsided. Everyone can fall victim to the proverbial “unknown
unknowns." And once you’ve made the leap into implementation,
changing trajectories mid-air isn’t always an
option. That takes superpowers you’ll find only in Marvel
Comics. For now, I’m moving our planning discussion forward
with the assumption that either you have a good task list
(created by the people who will be doing the work) or you’ll
build one before taking this next step: creating the schedule.
I know you're ready to jump into this project and get
things moving as quickly as possible, but before you leap,
make sure all everyone team members on your team knows
their roles and is are committed to their responsibilities. The
work breakdown structure process has given you and the core
team members a pretty good idea of who's going to be doing
what, but at this point you need to get specific: exactly who, is
going to do exactly what, exactly when. Getting specific about
roles and responsibilities is the leader's job. Don’t ignore this
simple but essential step: make sure all team members know
their roles, responsibilities, and timeline of results. Facilitating
Clarity of Action helps leaders reinforce Purpose and nurture
their team members’’ Enthusiasm.
In small-project environments and where team members
frequently work together, a little additional planning and
communication ado may be necessary to keep everyone in