What are the less-publicized “disruptors to objective-success” in our profession?

One situation which hit me hard was that the sponsor (my boss and also his bosses) had different goals as the client.

I may happen quite often, without being recognized. It may happen easily when your sponsor is incentivised on an annual or even quarterly base, but the project's duration is 2+ years. Or your sponsor changes.

While primary loyalty is to your employer (and sponsor), as a project manager you want to make the client happy and expect support from the sponsor in doing so. It is not necessarily an ethical dilemma though, just different business targets from both sides.

High Thomas,

I agree it’s not necessarily an ethical dilemma, but if your acting in the role of an “accountable project manager” (i.e., holding the reigns of the project and responsible for its success or failure) then I believe there are at least two variants of “different business targets” a PM should consider:

- No ethical dilemma: Different, but related/compatible business targets.
- Likely an ethical dilemma: Different, but competing/contrasting business targets.

I say “likely” as I don’t believe there is a dilemma if the PM brings the competing/contrasting targets into the light, and brings resolution to the concern. However, they may have unforeseen circumstances if they are aware of the contention and take no action.

Hi Kiron,

The “unexpected shifts in strategic direction many levels above…” is an interesting one and begs the following unfortunate question:

- Is this truly a strategic change for the benefit of the organization, or is this epistemic-subterfuge purposed for the benefit of the executive? In other words, is the executive using a passive-aggressive tactic to undermine the outcomes of the project to protect their domain?

Do you believe this is an appropriate question for a project manager to ask themselves based on the evidence? If so, what options does the PM have?