You can no longer put off the inevitable: you're going to have to reschedule the plan, calling for lots of overtime from your remaining staff members.
You wish hiring temps was an option--but the complexity of the system, as well as security issues, requires that only employees work on this project.
It takes days of planning, but you finally come up with a new plan that will get the job done on time. The new plan calls for you to start working half-time on the project yourself. You actually look forward to doing some programming again--for one thing, you're good at it; and for another, it'll almost be like taking a vacation from having to deal with people problems all the time.
But just as you think you see a light at the end of the tunnel, engineer Todd Lankford blocks your view. He enters your office and says, "Boss, we need to talk. My girlfriend Lee Anne is in her eighth month . . . ." You want to tell Todd there's absolutely no way you can grant the leave he's asking for. But a little voice inside you says refusing Todd flat out will not be an effective way to introduce the topic of his working considerable overtime. Soon, you've got a little chorus of voices going: What if he's just making this story up ? What do your male engineers think about covering for their pregnant co-workers? Why didn't you take any of those other job offers after college?
When your internal ruckus dies down, you tell Todd you'll get right back to him.
What will you tell him when you do? And what will be your strategy for helping your team manage its commitments, including getting this project completed?
