Leadership Sniglets

On the 1980s HBO show Not Necessarily the News, comedian Rich Hall created Sniglets, which dictionary.com defines as “any word coined for something that has no specific name. Words like Jokesult (When someone insults you, you call them on it, and they say, “It was just a joke.”) and Chwads (discarded gum found beneath tables and countertops) were born to humorously explain commonplace things or actions. I’ve created 20 of my own project management and leadership sniglets; some made up words, others repurposed words or phrases. I hope they resonate with you and put a bit of humor in your day.

• ProcrastiCrisis – When a chronic procrastinator creates a last-minute crisis for others to meet a deadline.
• Love Bombing – When nervous execs take up all your time trying to help a project manager on a project in trouble.
• SME Leakage – When subject matter experts (SMEs) leave a project, and their expertise walks away with them.
• Go Fetch Delegation – When a manager delegates a small task, the follower executes, then the follower waits for the next task to be delegated.
• Sleeping Bagger – When someone takes pride in working around the clock during a crisis.
• Pontifiwaster – The person in a meeting who talks a lot but contributes nothing to the meeting purpose.
• Surprise Party – When a project manager blindsides his manager with bad news about a project in a public setting.
• MinMute – On an online meeting or conference call, the quiet time between when someone is asked a question and he says, “Sorry, I was on mute.”
• MuteCop – The person on an online meeting or conference call who chronically tells others to mute themselves.
• Instant LinkPitch – The person who connects with you on LinkedIn and immediately pitches you on his products.
• Fauxback – When someone asks you for feedback then argues with you about it.
• FuzzyDater – The project manager who chronically uses “ASAP” or “TBD” when specifying a due date for a task.
• ZoomPooper – The person who uses the bathroom while his/her camera is still on.
• ZoomPeeker – The person on an online meeting who looks like he/she is peering over a fence.
• ZoomMuteLooper – The person on an online meeting or conference call who repeatedly hits the mic button to try and unmute him/herself.
• ZoomWheezer – The un-muted heavy breather on an online meeting or conference call.
• FeatureSneaker – The person who tries to get last-minute features added to a solution.
• ScopeNoper – The project manager who always says “no” to any changes in scope.
• NonSor – A project sponsor who never shows up.
• GraveDigger – The project manager who keeps giving bad answers at exec briefings.

Have any of your own? Send them on to me!