I have
been managing projects of various shapes, sizes, and content for over 20
years. From design and implementation of
multi-million dollar pieces of equipment, electro-mechanical controls for
appliances, business process redesigns, and ERP tool suites, I’ve participated,
managed or lead hundreds, if not
thousands of discrete projects from inception to completion. Recently, I was reminded how important it is
to not just communicate project success, but to, also, acknowledge failure.
It is easy,
as a project manager, to be enthralled in the day-to-day execution of a project
plan, checking off milestones and deliverables, while you march toward successful
on-time, on-budget, and on-scope completion. We often forget how important it
is to loudly proclaim the small victories that equate to project nirvana. Did you complete user acceptance testing for
10 facilities? Great. Send out a note letting management know that you are
reducing risk at Go Live because you tested not just the tool, but the business
process, and master data in advance. Purchasing
negotiated a savings for a component needed for a new design? Wonderful.
Perhaps a shout out on the company portal for helping to reduce the new
product introduction cost is warranted.
Success,
big or small, should be celebrated.
Taking the time to communicate these victories to stakeholders is important
to both the overall success of your project and for helping to build
credibility and respect for project managers and their teams. Whether we like
it or not, perception is reality. If we “finish” a project or task and have not
communicated the complications, herculean efforts, obstacle avoidances, or
tactical execution, we have no one to blame but ourselves when management under
values the role of a project manager and the importance of employing formal
project/program management methodologies.
In
contrast, this is, also, our opportunity to acknowledge failures, roadblocks
that we did not adequately identify before we started, risks that were not
uncovered before they caused delays, or stakeholders that never embraced our
call to change. A healthy recognition of breakdowns in our process, methodology,
tools, etc…allows us to learn and grow.
It also demonstrates to our peers that while we may have experienced a setback,
we have meticulously examined the problem, are committed to improvement, and
are cultivating our lessons learned for the betterment of the organization.
Sometimes,
we try to frost over failures, redirecting inquiries, deflecting concerns.
Personally, I think this almost always backfires. It diminishes the credibility
of the project team, adding to a perceived lack of expertise. Perhaps, we did
not think this project warranted a professional project manager, as it was a
single site implementation and we were working with the software vendor. In some circumstances, this would be a fair
assumption. We discovered that the
interaction between our business processes and the tool created conflicts and
moving forward, we really need someone to lead our change management efforts. Excellent.
We have now communicated that we had an issue, we have identified a root cause,
and an action plan for moving forward. It may still take management some time
to determine if they want to relaunch the project, but it supports the notion
that we are capable, proficient and skilled.
In
closing, I would like to provide my top 3 communication requirements for
project managers:
1) Communicate both within and
outside of your team regularly.
It
is not enough for your champion, working team, or project customers to know
what is happening. You must remind others in the organization of what you are
working on, why it is important, and that it is moving forward.
2) Highlight your team’s
accomplishments and any obstacles that they identified and overcame.
This
is your opportunity to give props to the guys and gals that make you and the
project look good. No need to be sugary
or over inflate your praise. A simple
proclamation of a job well done goes a long way.
3) Acknowledge shortcomings and
provide corrective actions.
Do
not shrug off or make light of a botched job.
Be specific and forthcoming. ALWAYS
highlight what you learned and how you are going to apply the knowledge moving
forward.
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