Successful Project-Based Work Leaves Nobody Behind

 

For as long as I can remember, I have been a hero-worshiper of the big adventurers of the last two centuries.  Walking to school, I used to cut across a nearby golf course, which served as the frozen wastes of Antarctica all winter long.  Shipwrecked and alone struggling to find shelter on the barren waste kept my imagination occupied many mornings on the way to elementary school.  Adventurers like Ernest Shackleton, Admiral Richard Byrd, and Robert Peary served as the models for my escape from the frozen wastes of Mick Riley golf course.

As I grew older I came to understand the significance of the failed expedition of Shackleton's Endurance.  Recognizing his ability to keep the crew together and accomplish the incredible feat of overland travel to sea and the treacherous crossing in open water to Elephant Island, it's hard not to admire the strength of leadership and character required as his men become progressively weaker and the odds of success seemed to get worse. 

Knowing that the crew's only chance of survival was to make an 800+ mile  rescue attempt from Elephant Island to the distant whaling station of South Georgia Island across some of the most violent seas in the world in a 21' lifeboat, the ship's carpenter, Harry McNish raised the sides, strengthened the keel, and crafted a makeshift deck of wood and canvas for the trek.  Shackleton refused to take more than four weeks worth of supplies because he knew that if they didn't make it safely to South Georgia in that time the boat would be lost.  With five other hand-picked seamen, they boarded the lifeboat James Caird and struck out for rescue.

They miraculously made the fifteen day journey through a hurricane that sunk a 500-ton steamer bound for South Georgia from Argentina.  Upon arrival, Shackleton immediately sent a boat to rescue the rest of his crew waiting on Elephant Island.  Sea ice foiled his first three attempts, but on board the Chilean Navy tug Yelcho, he was finally able to reach Elephant Island and rescue the crew.  Unbelievably, not a man was lost, all 22 were saved.

Many of the same traits that served Shackleton and his crew are those that help ensure successful projects (fortunately without the risk to life and limb):

1. Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined: Successful cooperation depends on clearly defining what you are trying to accomplish.  It's easy to make assignments and hold each other accountable for whether or not specific tasks are completed, but cooperation can only happen if everyone understands the vision of what they are doing "together."
2. There is a determination to finish what is started:  Objectives might not always be easy.  If all you ever hear is, "yes, but," you're team is defeated before they've even begun.  This can make the team adversarial—the opposite of cooperation.  Take time to find out why there is push-back and work together to find a solution.  Cooperation implies working together to overcome obstacles.  Saying, "Just make it happen," doesn't just make it happen.
3. Everyone is accountable to their role and responsibilities: Make expectations clear in the beginning, and regularly evaluate progress against expectations.  The crew of the Endurance counted on their shipmates to do their part.  The team members of successful teams do the same thing.

Although it might be easy to give Shackleton all the credit for the daring rescue, history confirms that the 22 men of the Endeavor worked together to ensure that they all safely made the journey home.  Fortunately for us, creating an atmosphere of collaboration and cooperation doesn't have the same life or death consequences it did for the crew of the Endurance.  However, just as Shackleton and his men leveraged their training and expertise, the right project management tools can help project managers and teams successfully overcome the challenges of project-based work.

What are some of your project management best practices or project management tools that help you manage work successfully?