Both Sides Now

Andy Jordan is President of Roffensian Consulting S.A., a Roatan, Honduras-based management consulting firm with a comprehensive project management practice. Andy always appreciates feedback and discussion on the issues raised in his articles and can be reached at [email protected]. Andy's new book Risk Management for Project Driven Organizations is now available.

  Communications Management   Leadership   ProjectsAtWork  

What do you do when your team’s view is at odds with your organization’s perspective? It would seem like a no-win situation for even the most experienced project managers, but it can be an opportunity to demonstrate true leadership. Here are three steps to diffusing the conflict and providing value.

I was recently approached by a project manager who was caught in a very difficult situation. His project was part of a larger program that was experiencing difficulties. The organization’s view was that the program would still deliver on time, so extreme measures were being taken to maintain the schedule: interim milestones were being severely compressed and scope was changing to the point where the benefits were questionable. At the same time budgets were being locked down so new resources were not available to help out.

The project team felt that the project had already reached the point where there was no way that the work could be completed within the current schedule. They were demoralized by what they perceived as the refusal of the organization to face the reality of the situation. The team was venting to the project manager and he felt handcuffed because he was trying to support the official organizational position.

This is a situation that is going to be difficult for any project manager, but it is also where you can truly add value to the organization and …

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