♪ Hey ♪
- Hey, thanks for taking a few minutes
to talk about project management with me.
My name is Brett Harned
and I'm the Director of Education at TeamGantt.
I'm just getting started with my day here
and I'm enjoying a cup of Methodical Coffee,
Costa Rica, La Pastora blend,
it's super delicious.
So into the PM stuff,
I've been talking a lot about tools
and tactics on this little show
and I think it's time to dig into the grittier side
of project management.
Because let's face it, project management is so much more
than reports and plans and spreadsheets.
That stuff's important,
but I'd say what's more important,
are people and relationships
and that can be really tough work.
I think the most important work you can do as a PM,
is to build trust and solid working relationships
with your team and with your stakeholders.
And the best way to do that,
is just to be honest about what you know,
and what you don't know
and to keep project details out in the open.
The minute that you hide or avoid an issue,
is the minute that you open yourself to being exposed.
That sounds so dramatic,
but I really do think it kind of is.
I mean, really, if you think about it,
let's say that you discover a task
on your project is over budget.
In the back of your mind, you're probably thinking,
eh, not a big deal,
we'll make that up later,
somewhere else in the project,
there'll be more time.
I have to say, this is the thing that drives me crazy.
It's basically the thing that sets off an alarm
in my head as a PM coach, right?
Here's the thing,
you don't actually know that you can make up that time.
And if you don't do it,
you're gonna have to answer for it.
Also, you probably aren't even the reason
for that overage.
But that's project management,
we have to fix other people's mistakes
and do everything in our very limited power
to keep things on track.
Trust me, I know that it's a tough job.
So back to that budget overage,
I think you should acknowledge it and address it,
get it out in the open and move on.
At a minimum, just making sure everyone is aware
of the issue will do two things,
first, it'll let you relax,
because you know that everyone's aware.
And by making them aware,
you can most likely come up with a plan
for making that time up,
rather than hoping for that to happen.
Some of us call that hope creep in project management
and it's a real problem for PMs
because it often comes from team members
who don't want to expose their own issues or delays,
in hopes that it'll just resolve itself.
But remember, very few issues actually resolve themselves
and it's your job to do that.
Okay, so I feel like maybe I'm minimizing this,
just be honest thing
because yes, it's an easy thing to say
but it can be kind of scary to do.
Because at the end of the day,
you have to share bad news
and that bad news is probably related to an important thing,
like a deadline or a budget.
Essentially, something went wrong
and you have to find a way to say that
without sending another person like a team member,
or manager, a client, or a stakeholder into a fit of rage.
So that reminds me of a story.
So, there is this time I was working on a project
where our designers presented ideas to our clients
without checking in on whether those new cool ideas
were actually in scope for us or not.
You can imagine, I was disappointed.
And of course, those ideas were not in scope
and of course, the clients loved every single one.
(sighing)
Who had to rectify that situation?
This guy.
So here's what I did.
First, I explored the situation.
So, I was 100% in the know about all the things
related to the overage before I had the conversation
with my client.
Essentially, I dug back into our scope
to see if I could justify the additions to the scope.
And honestly, I just couldn't.
Then I thought, okay, how much more time
and budget would we need to actually do this?
I drew up a really quick estimate,
reviewed it with the team
and guess what, it wasn't cheap.
But it was realistic
and we were confident in it.
So that led me to the real prep,
thinking through how can I share this very bad news
in a way that will not make my client angry?
I mean, the news was just ridiculous.
Essentially, I had to say,
sorry, our bad, we can't do that cool thing
that we proposed, because it's actually out of scope.
I mean, we can do it, but we need more time
and a lot more money, embarrassing.
Clearly, I couldn't say that,
so I had to put myself in my client's shoes
to really understand the impacts, right?
Having that level of empathy
for the other person's situation,
definitely helps you to frame the conversation.
For me in this instance,
it was really about claiming ownership
of the issue and apologizing for the misstep.
But the other thing I did was come to the table
with some alternatives.
So, I knew that the estimate was a lot
and just offering an increase in budget
and scope would feel greedy and maybe even disrespectful.
So I got creative,
I came up with some options.
I told them we could do the work,
we could split the work with you
and we could minimize overages,
we could move part of the work to a phase two,
or we could even just scale the design back
to fit within the original scope.
So, I knew that I'd never remember these options
in an actual call,
that's just who I am,
so I jotted them down in my notebook,
so I could review them with my client
and not sound like a nervous idiot.
And I suggest you do the same thing
because being in command of the facts,
is important when you're delivering bad news.
And if you wanna come to an agreement quickly
and next steps, you'll do that.
So here's what happened.
I called my client.
I was direct and honest.
I can remember saying,
"Hi, Chris, thanks for taking my call,
I have an issue that I'd like to resolve with you."
And I just said it.
What my team delivered was great,
but unfortunately, the solution is out of scope.
I'm sorry for this,
but I wanted to talk through some possible solutions
so we can stay on track.
So I got those words out
and I waited for the reaction.
I'm not gonna lie, it was not pretty.
He actually yelled at me,
raised the voice.
I was completely shocked,
but honestly, not personally affected by it.
You know when you've worked with a variety of clients
from different backgrounds
and a lot of different personalities,
you get a variety of replies.
There's bound to be a raised voice
or an angry sneer every once in a while,
you deal with it as a PM.
And really, in that situation,
I did feel bad.
I just wanted to fix it peacefully.
So I apologized again and rolled into the solutions.
I did that because I think being respectful of people's time
and getting straight to solutions,
is the best way to recover.
And honestly, the way that you recover,
is what people typically remember.
They remember that more than the actual mistake,
so handle this like a pro
and you'll get the outcome that you want.
For me, in that project,
the outcome was actually the combination
of our teams working together to implement that design.
So that meant that we increased our scope,
but we shared the responsibility with the clients.
In the end, that worked out really well
and we ended up working well together
and doing more work with that team.
I like to think that was because we built
a solid working relationship based on trust.
So yes, I'm saying it,
I'm gonna take that credit.
I'll take that credit as a PM when I can,
because it's not often that you get it.
So, let's do a quick caffeinated recap
on how to break bad news, ready?
First, understand why the issue happened
so you can explain it.
Then, outline alternative options for resolving the issues.
Have some empathy,
put yourself in that other person's shoes
and try your hardest to understand how they'll be impacted
by the news you're delivering.
And tailor your approach to that person and situation.
Have the conversation, in-person is great,
but a phone call or video conference works too.
Do what's convenient and impactful.
Personally, I like to schedule a meeting,
but sometimes an impromptu meeting can work.
This is where you can use your own intuition.
Think about it,
when out of the blue call with bad news,
catch that person off guard and upset them,
if the answer is yes, then schedule a meeting.
Then be direct and honest.
Remember, don't beat around the bush,
get the issue out there.
Then listen and let the other person react.
Remember, stay empathetic.
I already said that but I'm saying it again.
Hear them out, apologize again if you need to
and move into number seven,
which is to present the options you come up with
before the call.
Then, just work through it.
If there's anything that I've learned in my career,
it's that there's no project issue
that cannot be resolved
without an open, honest conversation.
So prepare yourself, put your game face on
and just deal with the issues as they arise.
You can do this, I promise.
And that's it for this episode folks.
Tell me, have you had situations like the one
I just described?
Did you handle it differently?
Did you handle it well?
I'd love for you to share your tips,
tactics and even stories in the comments.
And while you're at it,
please give this episode a thumbs up
and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Also, be sure to check us out on social
where we're sharing a lot more project management content
and tips, tactics and of course an amazing project planning
and management tool called TeamGantt.
Thanks again for joining me today with Coffee with Brett,
hopefully you're enjoying your own cup.
I hope you have a great day.
♪Hey ♪