Priorities Are Personal

My priorities may not be your priorities and that's okay.

Let's talk about the intriguing world of priorities in collaborative work. We all have our own set of tasks and goals, but what happens when they don't quite match those of our colleagues? Don't worry, it's a common scenario. In this article, we'll explore how to work together seamlessly, even when our priorities diverge.

Prioritization in Teamwork

In a perfect world, our priorities would be perfectly aligned, creating a smooth path to success. However, reality often throws us a curveball. When we work with others, whether within our team or across departments, we often find ourselves in situations where our priorities aren't quite aligned.

Prioritising is an easy task when you're flying solo. You identify what needs attention and get to work. But things get interesting (and sometimes tricky) when you're part of a collaborative effort. Someone may approach you with a task they consider urgent, but you may not share their sense of urgency or importance. These differing priorities are nothing to get upset about; they're just part of the collaborative game.

The Power of Clear Communication

To effectively navigate these priority mismatches, open and honest communication is your best friend. Instead of assuming that everyone agrees on priorities, take a moment to acknowledge the differences. Try saying something like, "I understand that this is your top priority. Please understand that it's not mine. My focus is on X because of Y". This simple conversation can clear up any confusion and provide valuable context for your colleagues.

Finding Common Ground

Sometimes compromise is the way to go. If it helps you move forward without sacrificing your goals, great! But remember, it's also OK not to compromise if it doesn't meet your goals. The important thing is that both sides understand and respect each other's priorities.

In this collaborative journey, it's important to recognise that what's at the top of your list may not be on someone else's radar. This diversity of priorities is not a barrier, but a natural part of teamwork.

The ultimate goal in any organisation is to minimise these differences in priorities. Achieving complete alignment on every task may be a dream, but it's a goal worth pursuing. By actively working to reduce the friction caused by conflicting priorities, we can create a more productive and harmonious working environment.

As software product managers and engineers, our ability to manage different priorities is essential to achieving our common goals. Open communication, acknowledging differences, and occasionally finding middle ground are the keys to successful collaboration. While perfect alignment may be elusive, our ongoing efforts to minimise differences in priorities can lead to greater success in our endeavours.

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Recommendation: If you're interested in project management, I highly recommend "The Long Missing SoW", a brand-new, but already impressive newsletter on software project management!

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What I read

This is a separate section of this newsletter. I will list some of the best articles I have read on the Internet. They may or may not be related to the topic of this article. I will keep a list of the best articles (currently >700) at https://www.digital-product-management.com. These are today’s picks:

Who Should Rule the Product? Leadership communicates strategic context down, Product teams communicate tactical context up.

How platform teams get stuff done: A variety of patterns for that cross-team collaboration.

Product Ownership Evolution Model: Getting to a common understanding of product roles on your organization. (Link points to German page; English template available for download.)