As has been mentioned above, communication is the key when handling the majority of issues when it comes to team members and personnel. Transparency and communication when it comes to leaves of absence and vacation is immensely helpful. By knowing when people will be unavailable and what deadlines overlap with these leaves allows for collaboration and shifting of roles and responsibilities to ensure project goals are met.

An interesting question that was brought up was what to do when individuals are members of multiple teams or projects. As someone who works in a small company and is a part of multiple projects, my absence can have a larger impact on a project’s progression than in a much larger company with larger teams. The key to managing this is communication with my PMs, but also delegating roles and responsibility more. As someone who likes to be responsible for every aspect of my projects, it becomes impossible when other projects are due or need attention. So the best way to handle this, is to know my ability and the ability of my team members, and shift some of the work to other members when appropriate. This ensures smooth project progression even in case of other obligations or absence.