In Projects, We Trust

Bart has been in ecommerce for over 20 years, and can't imagine a better job to have. He is interested in all things agile, or anything new to learn.

  Career Development   Communications Management   New Practitioners   ProjectsAtWork  

Trust is the currency a project leader must deal in. It requires clear communication, doing rather than telling, making human connections, being open and honest, and answering tough questions. Here are five ways to earn and keep the trust you need from your team members, stakeholders, sponsors and clients.

In our daily lives, we are faced with trusting people all of the time. We trust that the driver of an automobile will stop as we are crossing the street, the barista will give us a cup of the decaf that we ordered instead of regular, or the stranger standing behind us on the subway platform won’t push us onto the tracks. In other situations, we trust that our accountant is doing our taxes correctly, or the dentist is filling the correct tooth. We can’t live our lives without some degree of trusting others, and as consumers, we look for signs that the person we are working with is worthy and able to put our minds at ease. It’s these signals of trust that concern a good project leader.

As project leaders, we aren’t usually performing surgery or put into life-or-death situations, but we are granted with million-dollar budgets, and sometimes, the life or death of a company may rely upon our abilities. Someone along the way needs to trust that we are able to deliver, not just to the letter of the agreement, but also what the business needs in order to …

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