Prioritization and Dependencies

Comparing Level 1 and Level 2

Level 1

Level 2

Description

At Level 1, prioritization is mostly about awareness and guidance. You're still learning to break down work, understand what matters most, and recognize when tasks depend on others or have blockers. You lean heavily on your team and manager to help shape your focus. You may not yet be expected to juggle competing demands, but you're beginning to understand that not all work is equal—and you're eager to learn how to choose the right things to work on.

Description

At Level 2, you're beginning to take ownership of your own priorities. You don't just follow a plan—you help shape it by speaking up when things don't make sense, updating it when things change, and clarifying what matters most for your work. You understand how your tasks contribute to team goals and make basic tradeoffs when time or capacity is limited. You're getting better at spotting dependencies and coordinating with others so that work flows more smoothly.

Key Behaviors

  • •
    Checks in with manager or team to clarify priorities
  • •
    Asks for help when blocked or unsure about task order
  • •
    Follows sprint plans or task lists without needing to self-prioritize
  • •
    Notices when dependencies exist and flags them to others
  • •
    Breaks work into steps with guidance from others

Key Behaviors

  • •
    Reorders tasks based on urgency, scope, or impact with minimal input
  • •
    Flags when new information changes the priority landscape
  • •
    Communicates clearly about progress and blockers
  • •
    Identifies dependencies early and coordinates with relevant people
  • •
    Adjusts personal plan when team priorities shift

Common Struggles

  • May treat all tasks as equally urgent or important
  • Can get stuck when blocked without escalating
  • Might focus on low-impact work if priorities are unclear

Common Struggles

  • May overcommit or under-scope work due to lack of clarity
  • Might delay asking for help until priorities become tangled
  • Can misjudge the downstream impact of missed dependencies

Success Indicators

  • Can follow a plan and complete tasks in priority order when directed
  • Ask clarifying questions when priorities are unclear
  • Start to recognize when your work is dependent on others or creates dependencies for others
  • Understand how your work fits into the broader delivery goals of the team

Success Indicators

  • Proactively manage your own work in the context of team priorities
  • Coordinate with others to ensure handoffs and dependencies are smooth
  • Speak up when priorities feel unclear or unachievable
  • Make tradeoffs between scope, quality, and speed based on goals

Mindset Shift

From:

"I work on what I'm told to do."

To:

"I understand how my tasks contribute to the team's goals and adjust accordingly."

Mindset Shift

From:

"I manage my priorities well."

To:

"I help others make better prioritization decisions too."

Questions to Ask Yourself

  • What's the goal behind this work?
  • Is there anything more urgent or impactful I should be focusing on?
  • Am I blocked? Is anyone waiting on me?

Questions to Ask Yourself

  • What's the highest-impact thing I could do this week?
  • Who else is depending on me—and am I aligned with their expectations?
  • What would I change about the team's current plan if I had full say?

Build These Habits

  • 1
    Regularly ask how your work connects to project or team priorities
  • 2
    Communicate when something is unclear or feels misaligned
  • 3
    Watch how others on your team prioritize and manage competing demands

Build These Habits

  • 1
    Document and update your task plan, including priorities and blockers
  • 2
    Communicate proactively when things change
  • 3
    Look ahead to uncover risks, delays, or dependencies

Seek Feedback

  • "Did I focus on the right things this sprint?"
  • "What's the best way to handle it when two things feel equally important?"
  • "How do you decide what deserves your time first?"

Seek Feedback

  • "Did I flag this dependency early enough?"
  • "Would you have prioritized this differently?"
  • "Is there anything I'm missing that could affect our delivery?"

Signals You're Ready to Level Up

  • You speak in terms of impact, not just effort
  • You notice priority conflicts early and raise them
  • You think ahead about what might block your work—or someone else's

Signals You're Ready to Level Up

  • You're trusted to drive your own tasks from planning to delivery
  • Others rely on your prioritization judgment
  • You help reduce surprises by managing dependencies well

Focus Summary

  • Ask questions
  • Spot patterns
  • Start thinking in impact

At Level 1, your job isn't to have all the answers—it's to learn how to think in terms of impact, urgency, and sequencing. Show up curious, stay communicative, and treat every task as a chance to better understand the bigger picture.

Focus Summary

  • Take initiative
  • Think ahead
  • Prioritize with purpose

At Level 2, you're learning how to think like a project manager for your own scope. You bring clarity, reduce confusion, and help the team move faster—not by doing more, but by doing the right things.