Make Sure Your Projects Succeed
Cassandra, a beauty from Greek mythology, was granted the gift of prophecy from Apollo, who loved her. But when she spurned him, he cursed her: Although Cassandra could foresee future events, nobody would believe her predictions.
Corporate training company VitalSmarts recently surveyed 589 project managers and found that they suffer from a syndrome reminiscent of Cassandra's curse: They see what's coming but can't convince others to act in a way that will avoid negative results. These project managers are the first to know when their projects are in trouble, but their warnings are rarely heeded.
We first asked them to focus on a past project that had failed to meet its budget, schedule or deliverables. Nine out of 10 said they knew before the project was half completed that it was destined to fail. Nine out of 10 also said they weren't the only ones who knew. They indicated that several, most or all of the team members knew in advance that the project was doomed.
So were these failures inevitable? The project managers didn't think so. Eighty-one percent said there was a key decision-maker who could've gotten the project back on track. But 15 percent said that decision-maker was "impossible" to approach, and 66 percent described the decision-maker as either "very difficult" or "difficult" to approach. As a result, only 10 percent of project managers approached the decision-maker and successfully resolved project issues. Seventy-two percent approached the decision-maker without success.
What's more, the Cassandra curse isn't just a phenomenon viewed with 20/20 hindsight. Among the project managers polled, 92 percent said they currently work on projects that are unlikely to be successful, and 81 percent have already concluded that they won't be able to convince key decision-makers to take the steps required to bring their projects back on course. More than three-quarters of the project managers admit they won't even try to convince those decision-makers.
More than three-quarters of the project managers surveyed described their projects as "slow-motion train wrecks." Anticipating the inevitable crash leads many to experience the following:
• Stress and tension at work (63 percent)
• Frustration and anger (60 percent)
• Wasted time and unnecessary work (57 percent)
• Undermined respect for managers and leaders (55 percent)
• Angry outbursts/shouting matches at work (46 percent)
• Thoughts of quitting (44 percent)
• Longer hours or evening and weekend work (34 percent)
• Lost sleep (34 percent)
• Time away from their families (31 percent) What Senior Leaders Can Do
Senior leaders need to make it safe for project managers to speak up—and make it certain their warnings are heeded. More than half of the project managers who tried to warn leaders about problems backed off because the decision-maker became defensive, wouldn't listen or wouldn't take their concerns seriously, or because the project manager began to fear retaliation. Leaders can improve the situation by taking a few steps:
1. Build the business case for change. Project failures are extremely costly but rarely documented. Tracking and publishing project success rates will demonstrate the scope of the problem.
2. Invest in training. Most project managers lack the skill and confidence to successfully hold politically risky conversations.
3. Hold senior management accountable. If 10 percent of project managers can speak up successfully now, set a goal to double or triple that. Try to drive that percentage up to 100.
What Project Managers Can Do
Fortunately, there are always some project managers—usually about 10 percent—that are skilled at speaking up in politically risky situations. We can take away several tips from them:
1. Don't assume others won't listen. A key mistake many project managers make is to give up too soon. When we put managers into simulated crucial conversations and asked them to think out loud, the vast majority spent their time thinking through all the risks involved in speaking up. They ended up talking themselves out of saying anything.
2. Take a page from the military's playbook and "salute the flag" before you disagree with your "commanding officer." The vast majority of the project managers polled said they fear that speaking up will be career-limiting. Saluting the flag tells the decision-maker that you're on their side and you respect their authority.
3. Make your positive intentions clear by stating a mutual purpose. Phrases that work: "I want what you want" and "I value you and your opinion."
4. Communicate consequences. Explain your warning by showing how inaction will affect the consequences that matter to the decision-maker. Take the time to explore the purpose behind the project and to identify the important consequences it's designed to achieve—from the decision-maker's perspective. Also, examine the negative consequences that will occur if the decision-maker fails to take action.
5. Determine who will do what by when. Twenty-seven percent of the project managers surveyed said they thought they had agreement from a decision-maker who didn't follow through. That can often be prevented by rigorously following and documenting project-management processes.
The Cassandra curse may in fact be a myth, but our research shows that there are quite a few "Cassandras" out there who can prevent project disasters if their warnings are heard and understood.
Benefiting from their warnings requires action from both senior leaders and the Cassandras themselves. Senior leaders need to make it safe to speak up and place priority on listening. Project managers need to make the choice to speak up and acquire the skills they need to do so effectively and respectfully. n
David Maxfield is vice president of research at VitalSmarts, a Provo, Utah-based corporate training company (www.silencefails.com).
Tip Sheet: Tools of the Trade
Here are some steps senior management and project managers can take to avoid project failure:
1. Make it safe for project managers to speak up.
2. Track and publish project success rates.
3. Train project managers to speak up effectively.
4. Don't assume others won't listen.
5. Communicate to decision-makers that you're on their side.
6. Make positive intentions clear.