At first glance, deadlines and kangaroos don’t seem related. However, we can learn a lesson by watching kangaroos move. They don’t just hop nonstop in every direction. They pause and look around before making their move. Sales reps could use more of that approach. Between client requests and art approvals and other tasks that stack up in the workday, it’s easy to commit too fast — and that’s usually when deadlines start to slip.
Karin Hurt, the founder and CEO of Let’s Grow Leaders, says even when your team is highly capable and gets a lot of work done, they may still sometimes struggle to hit their deadlines. That’s why she says it’s so important to pause — as kangaroos do — before committing to deadlines. In this issue of PromoPro Daily, we share Hurt’s thoughts on how you can help your team pause and hop from one deadline to the next without missing the mark.
Diagnose before fixing. Missed deadlines aren’t a motivation problem, according to Hurt. Think of them as signals. Before setting another deadline ask if your team is missing clarity on the scope or if there are any interruptions that are pulling their focus away. You should also consider if your team members may be overcommitted. They may simply have too much on their plate.
Turn agreement into commitment. Hurt says it’s critical to “schedule the finish” with clear agreement and defined ownership. Many teams simply agree to deadlines before they’ve paused to assess risks, tradeoffs or capacity. That, she says, is not ownership but optimism. Before finalizing a deadline, ask: “On a scale of 1–5, how confident are you?” and “What would need to change to protect this date?”
Protect focus. Just as kangaroos protect their joeys, Hurt says leaders must protect focus with the same seriousness. If every new request gets an automatic yes, deadlines quietly become optional. She suggests creating a team agreement for interruptions, like what requires an immediate response and what can wait. For example, you could say, “If we say yes to this, what moves?” Hurt says focus doesn’t survive good intentions — it survives protection.
Surface dependencies early. Kangaroos often move as a mob, Hurt says. One shift affects the whole group. In the workplace, deadlines may slip when people forget they’re part of a system. One late submission or delayed decision cascades quickly. At the start of any deadline conversation, Hurt suggests asking “Who are we waiting on and who is waiting on us?” as well as “What decision could slow this down?”
Manage energy, not just effort. Hurt points out that kangaroos don’t sprint nonstop. They manage energy across terrain. At work, teams that are always busy but rarely finish aren’t lazy — they’re stretched. She says you can make capacity visible by asking what’s already on the plate and where you need to build in recovery time.
If your team keeps missing deadlines, the answer usually isn’t working longer hours. More often, it comes down to being more intentional about how deadlines are set in the first place. As a leader, you can help by clarifying the scope, watching for roadblocks and protecting your team’s focus. You may not be able to reduce the workload, but you can make it feel a lot more manageable.
Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Karin Hurt is the founder and CEO of Let’s Grow Leaders, a global leadership development firm. She’s also a keynote speaker and the award-winning author of multiple books.
