Too many cooks…
Unfortunately there are some projects you work on that end up having lots of stakeholders who all want a piece of the action. While this is useful and you can delegate tasks and responsibilities to active team members who are keen to support, there are some times when you need to tighten the control of the tasks and project, and ensure that the communication remains strong and via the correct channels.
A good Project / Program Manager knows when to delegate (and who to), and when to take back some control to ensure the project or program remains on the straight and narrow. It may feel contradictory to some, and potentially yourself, if you give people responsibility in the first instance and then have to reign it back in, but there needs to be this level of control to ensure that the project stays successful.
I’ve worked on projects where I’ve had to respectfully request that the communication all leads back to the right people and stop some team members running off in tangents and working with other groups (internal teams and also client user groups) and developing silos of information and discussions.
There’s nothing worse than speaking with a client and hearing, “I’ve already given the information to [insert team name here]!” It makes you as the project manager look bad (you’re not in control of the project), and it makes the team member look bad (they’ve not communicated and delivered the information back to the rest of the project team).
All in all not a good view you want to see happening to your projects. With this in mind I’ve identified some key points for consideration if you start to see this happening:
1. Have a clear Communication Plan and ensure everyone is aware of this and sticks to it
This should be made up front and approved at the initiation of the project. The Project and Program manager also need to ensure they adhere to this more than anyone and deliver on key feedback, support and meeting information to the rest of the team.
2. Keep delegated tasks clean and focussed
1 or 2 clear action items and tasks for each team member to ensure they deliver on them. I like to take the agile example for this and ensure team members are actionable items for each week, with a weekly update where they deliver:
- what they were tasked to do for the previous week
- what’s completed / outstanding
- what they’re intending to do for the next week
3. Ensure project meetings and updates have a section on “new feedback / information / updates”
This is key to ensure everyone is kept up to date and in tune with where the project is at and where it is heading. It also gives the team focus and ensures they feel connected and involved. Having team members who feel they are being left out may lead to frustration, a feeling of rejection and may develop independent thoughts.
4. Get the right team members involved at the right stages
There’s no need to have every person who comes into contact throughout the life of the project involved in every meeting. Scope out team members for the right meetings and discussions to ensure the correct skill sets are being used at the right times. Keep everyone else up to date with meeting notes, project / program status reports and weekly catch-ups.
5. Don’t be afraid to push back on team members who start to work independently of the project machine
This can be tough but you have to be direct and open with anyone who starts to run independently. The project relies on the team members working together as a unit to ensure clarity, consistency and are all heading in the right direction. If you’re a good manager you’ll be able to sit down with team members and discuss why this needs to be the case.
If your project feels like it is running away a bit, try giving these points a try and let me know how you get on.
Thanks,
Tony
