Effectively Dealing with Conflict on Projects – Part 2
Posted by Brad Egeland
In Part 1 of this series we looked at the first five of ten ways to calmly and constructively work on dealing with conflict within your projects. How the project manager proceeds with conflict resolution can have a huge effect on the project and the team members involved and possibly on the overall outcome of the project. And let’s not forget the customer satisfaction component – especially if the customer is observing or involved in the conflict.
In this Part 2, we’ll examine ways six through ten of dealing with project conflicts….
6. The project manager keeps everyone focused on the cause of the conflict. He avoids the tendency to blame someone or to rationalize it away. Staying focused on what caused the conflict can be the best course toward actually resolving it. Straying from that can lead to the ‘blame game’ which we all know is not a product road to take.
7. The project manager keeps the big picture in focus. He asks himself what the best way is to resolve the conflict so as to achieve the project goal. Always be thinking in terms of the overall project goal. When you do that and allow that thought process to guide your actions, then you’re more likely to resolve project conflicts in ways that are not detrimental to the project and its forward momentum – assuming it has one.
8. The project manager sets a plan for resolving the conflict. He also remains objective. Planning is critical in all project management actions. And that applies to conflict resolution as well. Jumping in without proper planning could land you on one side or the other in the conflict or leave you less than objective in your actions. That is not a place you want to be as the project manager.
Effectively Dealing with Conflict on Projects – Part 1
Posted by Brad Egeland
I’ve written about this one before but bears discussing again. Why? Because conflict on the project is inevitable. It’s as inevitable as project risk, project budget issues, death, and taxes. If the project manager has to deal with conflict, then it makes sense to do so as logically, graciously, and constructively as possible. After all, remember that it’s real people you’re dealing with even if you sometimes have trouble keeping them focused on the end goal and not on issues with each other or the assignments you’ve tasked them with.
Let’s look at a few ways that the project manager can calmly and constructively work to deal with conflict on the project:
1. The project manager diffuses the charged emotion within himself. This is basically the classic ‘count to ten’ process we try to teach our kids and ourselves. Before reacting, take a deep breath and count to ten. You’re less likely to kill someone that way and less like to do something that could permanently taint your career. Remember the old “if you can’t say something good, don’t say anything at all?” Well, that’s not really what I’m talking about here …. it’s more like “don’t say anything out loud that you wouldn’t say out loud after counting to ten first.”
2. The project manager diffuses the charged emotions in other people. This is kind of like separating fighters and telling them to go back to their corner. Calm the parties down that are having a conflict and basically have them count to ten. Probably figuratively speaking. Tell them to go to lunch, come back, and we’ll figure out how to settle the disagreement. Lunch always helps. And sometimes food – or lack thereof – is part of the problem. You’ve seen the recent Snickers commercial with Betty White, right?
3. The project manager identifies the facts of the situation to determine the cause of the conflict. He avoids comments that can be viewed as taking sides or being accusational. The last thing the project manager needs to be doing is taking obvious sides in disagreements among project team members or with the customer. Remaining impartial and appearing to be the mediator or even facilitator, if necessary, is key. I’ve said that the project manager needs to be a good negotiator. Look for ways to offer give and take opportunities. Look for ways to make this turn out to be in everyone’s favor. It’s not easy, but if you look hard enough, you’ll likely find it.
Caring Enough to Do It Right
Posted by Brad Egeland
I’m a foster parent who is also an adoptive parent. What that makes me is a foster parent who ‘really’ cares…. a lot. And I have friends who are in the exact same place. I recently ran into a situation that translates very well into frustrations we see in the project management world all the time. It centers around the equivalent to what we all know as requirements.
On one hand you have a biological family who pose a threat – they are safety concern for whatever reason. They have visits with their biological child – that’s their right as parents until a judge says otherwise. You have a visitation center who’s guidelines call a ‘supervised’ visit one thing. On the other hand you have a caseworker who thinks a ‘supervised’ visit means something entirely different – like one-on-one supervision – not fully understanding that a truly ‘supervised’ visit requires a judge’s order. And in the middle you have a foster parent who cares and happens to be the only one who sees and understands the disconnect between the two.
Do you see how this applies? Has this ever happened to you as a project manager or a project team member? You have the customer sponsor, primary stakeholder, or project manager who thinks they need ‘x’. Then, during meetings after kickoff you encounter customer SME’s or end users (many times they are one and the same) who say they need ‘y’. And there you are, the only one in the middle who really sees the disconnect.
You’re either a very concerned foster parent who’s trying to look out for the defenseless life of a small baby or the frustrated project manager who’s trying to look out for the well-being of a project that now appears headed toward a re-work phase where project requirements once thought to be ‘solid’ now need to be revisited. At the very least you have a big project budgeting issue. In the worst case scenario you will experience resource issues, extreme budget problems, task conflicts, timeline issues, and a potential project cancellation as you deal with going back and re-doing some work from the beginning while the project essentially comes to a screeching halt.
Project Managem-ANTS!
Posted by ElizabethAnts are being used to advertise the project management courses at City University of Seattle! As part of a creative campaign, called ‘Citywise’ for the City University of Seattle, an Ant Habitat has been installed in Tacoma International Airport. It’s part of a blended advertising campaign which is designed to show the blend of experience you get as a City student, both in and out of the classroom.
The ants are supposed to represent a case study in organisational structure. It’s an interesting idea, and I suppose it might get a few more people along to City to find out about their graduate degrees in project management! Has anyone passing through Tacoma actually seen it?
Effective Project Presentations
Posted by Brad Egeland
During the course of our projects, we sometimes have the opportunity to give presentations either to our customers or to our executive management staff. This may be a proof of concept presentation, a project kickoff presentation, or a presentation to startup a new phase of the project. Whether you are a project manager or team member, as a presenter it’s a good idea to must follow six fundamental steps:
Know yourself and the audience
Find out about the audience to ascertain your commonalities and differences. You can get useful information, for example, by interviewing people who know audience members. Follow up by making a list of what you share and don’t share with the audience. This knowledge will prove useful in preparing the presentation.
Perceive your audience and how it perceives you
Look at ways to influence the audience to see you in a favorable light. This will make it easier to communicate your message. You can win the audience over, for example, by expressing values or experiences you share with its members.
Determine the type and structure of the presentation
Answer all the who, what, when, where, and why questions pertaining to your topic. Determine if your presentation is meant to inform, persuade, or explain. Then formulate your overall strategy to achieve the goal of your presentation, and your tactics for executing that strategy. If you are able to anticipate most of the questions in advance, then you won’t be blindsided by questions that can torpedo your presentation. The more knowledgeable you sound, the more successful your presentation will be.
Develop the material
Build your presentation. Determine the content and logically arrange it. For example, you can arrange topics chronologically or by level of importance. Also incorporate visual aids, statistics, and other materials. When prepare for something like a project kickoff, base the order of your presentation and the information contained within on some common high-level document, such as the Statement of Work.
