Worksheet for Negotiating Priorities

INSTRUCTIONS

Often, you need to negotiate with your manager or managers to set or revise priorities—deciding
what tasks or projects you’ll accomplish, in what order, and when. When problems arise, revisit your
priorities immediately with the people who are overseeing your work. You may even want to have all
of your bosses talk together to help coordinate your projects. Use this worksheet to prepare for a
discussion with your boss or bosses to negotiate priorities.

1. Time requirements. What are the time requirements of the projects you or your team are juggling? Are
they realistic? Identify what you can and cannot do.

2. Schedule deadlines. How might you coordinate the deadlines for all of your projects? How might you
schedule deadlines for new work in ways that avoid putting other projects in jeopardy?

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© 2016 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved. Harvard Business School Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School
3. Alternative approaches. What alternatives might you suggest if your priorities don’t match your
managers’ expectations? List several approaches. Identify the trade-offs involved with each approach.

4. Follow-up. After you have reached agreement on priorities with your boss or bosses, how might you
follow up to demonstrate your commitment? List the ways you might communicate this commitment. Draft
any messages you might send to your manager or managers.

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© 2016 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved. Harvard Business School Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School