When you hear the term ‘spin’ in the Press it means that somebody is causing others to have a particular bias toward an issue or to influence in a certain direction. It is also generally met with a certain degree of skepticism.
Since part of the job of a Project Manager is to deliver bad news early and often, is there a place for ‘spin’ when it comes to delivering such news? What types of spin have you experienced from team members, or seen others deliver, and what are the pros and cons of delivering bad news in such a way? Saving Changes...
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Elizabeth HarrinDirector| RebelsGuideToPM.comLondon, England, United Kingdom
I don't consciously spin the bad news but I do try to present solutions at the same time as presenting an awkward message. My approach is to focus on what we do next, not what has gone wrong. It is useful to understand the cause of the bad news to prevent it from happening again, but in project terms, I would rather my team focused on moving things forward during a crisis (and bad news and crises seem to go together!). Saving Changes...
Shoaib AhmedProgram Manager| Eagle Technology GroupWellington, New Zealand
I would look at ensuring good tracking of projects to ensure least amount of bad news. Something like Earned Value Analysis gives you a good method of picking downward trends early and also a way of understanding impact ... how much more, how late etc. If you pick the trend early enough, usually the amount of bad news is less and at the same time any fixes is more manageable. Saving Changes...
Wai Mun KooPMO Director| Intergraph PP&MSingapore, Singapore
I agree with what Elizabeth said, i.e. to 'spin' the message towards solving the problems in hands rather on dwelling on with who is to be 'blamed'. I have also seen others that use a lot of good news to mask out or minimize the impact of the bad news reported in the message. Saving Changes...
I think the problem with "spin" is when it is done poorly. When you spin well, you are giving people a lens through which to understand the news, which can be done in the ways others have mentioned here. When you do it badly, you're just lying or covering up, like a used car salesperson. The point is to be absolutely honest, but to help to advance the conversation in a productive way. Saving Changes...
Hans RobbersSenior Director| SalesforceVlissingen, Netherlands
If spinning means deceiving we should stay away from it. As Elizabeth is stating we should always focus on the future and how we solve the topic. By presenting options to solve and requesting a decision the focus is on the future.
A same approach to the team works. Before presenting the solution to the board or sponosr the team need to define the possible solutions. Therefore it is important to gain trust from the team, which results in an open atmosphere and thus early information of (potential) problems. In some case this might lead to corrective actions within the tolerance levels and thus no escalation required
trust this helps Hans Saving Changes...
Bernard GorePortfolio, Programme & Project Professional| NZ PoliceWellington, New Zealand
"Spin" is almost universally the act of trying to give an impression at odds with the reality of the issue, and as such we should NEVER engage in that.
There is PR and appropriate messaging - for example when we deliver bad news making sure that we temper this with relevant good news, but only in a way to provide a balanced view, not one to "bury" the bad news. Saving Changes...
