You don’t need a better plan.
You need a better shared understanding of the work.
In Part 1, we talked about what happens when teams aren’t designed to work together - when everyone’s quietly improvising, even with a clear plan.
One of the biggest culprits?
No one agrees on what “done” means.
I’ve never met a team where this was easy.
Every leader I work with assumes the team’s clear.
And every team I meet… isn’t.
Here’s what it looks like in real life
A team thought they were just slow.
But when we zoomed in, they weren’t slow, they were circling.
Because everyone had a different definition of “done.”
For one person, “done” meant first draft complete
For another, it meant approved and sent
For someone else, it meant published and client-ready
So tasks kept bouncing.
They were “done,” but not really.
Reopened. Reworked. Re-explained. Again and again.
And you could see it in the tools, too.
Their Kanban board had three different versions of “done”:
“Done.” “Done (FINAL).” “Done FINAL FINAL.”
Because no one trusted that the first “done” really meant done.
The design team had files called:
FINAL_V1.psd
FINAL_V2_UPDATED
FINAL_FINAL_NEW_THIS_ONE
Everyone laughed, but also winced.
Because these little jokes?
They’re just workarounds for a conversation the team hasn’t had yet.
Why does this happen?
Because most teams don’t define “done” before the work starts.
They figure it out after things go wrong.
And when the pressure’s on, “done” becomes slippery:
It depends on who’s asking
It depends on how tired we are
It depends on what day it is
It depends on whether someone’s had their caffeine
Or whether it’s Friday afternoon and everyone just wants to be finished
“Definition of done” becomes a moving target. A vibe. A gut feel. And that’s where work falls apart.
The fix: Build your “done checklist”
We paused.
Slowed down.
And the team built a shared definition of done, together.
It included:
What quality looks like
What’s included and what’s not
What handover requires
Who signs off and how
What “done” means for this team, on this project
It took time. It sparked real debate.
But when they cracked it?
Work moved from wading through treacle…
to a hot knife cutting through butter.
No more vague handovers.
No more “I thought you meant…”
No more scrambling to finish what was “already done.”
✅ How to define “done”—before the work starts
Here are a few ways to make this easier for your team:
1. Ask, “What does done not include?”
Sometimes it’s easier to start by agreeing on what’s out of scope. This clears assumptions fast.
2. Imagine handing it to someone else.
If a new person picked this up tomorrow, what would they need to see, know, or access to carry it forward confidently?
3. Agree on the final touchpoint.
Who signs off? What’s the last step? Where is the work stored or shared? These small details often cause big slowdowns.
4. Put it in writing.
Even if it’s rough, get your “done” checklist into one place—before the work starts. It’s easier to align when you’re calm than when you’re under pressure.
5. Revisit it midway.
It’s okay to adjust. Just do it together, not silently. “Done” drifts, unless you hold it steady as a team.
🧭 Ready to fix the friction?
If “done” keeps slipping, and your team is working too hard for too little progress, this is the moment to pause and get clear.
In a free 30-minute strategy session, I’ll help you:
Spot where “done” is breaking down
Pinpoint the friction that’s slowing everything down
Share tailored tools (from our Collaboration Toolkit) that your team can use to fix the blocker, right away
You’ll leave with language to take back to your team, and a clearer path forward.
Not theory. Not fluff. Just clarity, structure, and one or two practical things to try this week.
It’s not the whole solution, but it’s a very good start.
👉 Book your session. It’s free, focused, and worth your time.
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