Is it ever appropriate to “sandbag” as a Project Manager?
We’ve heard the term “sandbagging” when it comes to Sales. It’s when deals that are already done are held aside until later in the week, month, or year until there’s a bigger incentive in place. While not too many PMs are paid commission, I have seen instances of “sandbagging” when it comes to status reports. For example, a project deliverable may be complete or further along towards completion than is reported on the status report. Why? Perhaps not give an idea of how long something actually took to complete or maybe to extend the good will created by “good news” over an extended period of time.
What are your thoughts on sandbagging on status reports? Is this something you may have seen before and do you consider it ethical? Any other examples you may have seen where this type of behavior occurs? Saving Changes...
I really cannot think I have ever seen that happen, although there is a chance I wouldn't have noticed, but what is more common is that things are reported as complete when they actually are not.
This is especially true in some organisations where reports & papers have to be submitted a couple of weeks before a board meeting - there is a strong temptation to assume that all will go well in that period... Saving Changes...
I've only ever heard of this expression in the case where a PM is put inside a sandbag and then used by the rest of the organization as a stress-relief tool; some argue that this method is more fun than tar and feathers.
While I certainly understand the reasoning behind why someone would keep completed work in his pocket, I've never seen it happen. On the other hand, I see the opposite all the time - projects in the red reported as green because red might hurt the poor little sponsor's eyes. Saving Changes...
Elizabeth HarrinDirector| RebelsGuideToPM.comLondon, England, United Kingdom
I haven't come across this before. Normally I'm so grateful to be able to report good news that the idea of holding it back never occurs to me! Saving Changes...
Barry SmithePMO Project/Program Manager| Taylor CorporationCedarville, Oh, United States
There have been times when I have delayed reporting a deliverable is complete, but it is primarily because I believe there is some risk around the "good news." When communicating status with Senior Management they tend to very high level and will latch on to anything reported as complete. On the other hand, I think it is very important to be transparent with my sponsors so I don't think it is ethical to delay if the news is real. Saving Changes...
Nadia MullerProject Manager| PaySpaceRandburg, South Africa
I can't say that have personally come across "sandbagging" when it comes to status reports as positive feedback to the key stakeholders holds more benefits to the project than to withhold such informartion. Even though the information is positive, I would still deem it as unethical as withholding information, good or bad, does borderline on dishonesty. Saving Changes...
Russell GeakeProject Management Consultant| Deciduous Partners LtdLostwithiel, Cornwall, United Kingdom
"We are committed to doing what is right and honorable"
The AND is very important. What SEEMS right may not BE honourable... I'm sure we've all had experiences that we can identify with here.
Sandbagging is the little white lies that help nobody can quickly turn into dirty secrets. If you sandbag a result that you then later have to acknowledge occurred previously, e.g. it becomes obvious that the same resources could not have acheived to milestones within one reporting period. Then the integrity of the reporting will be called into question, and potentially the reputation of the PM may be adversely affected.
Saving Changes...
Wai Mun KooPMO Director| Intergraph PP&MSingapore, Singapore
I have not seen it in work so far, but I have seen it in school projects in the past. Similar to the mentality of keeping research and progress in a stealth mode, project teams are trying to hide information from their competitors regarding the progress of their projects so that they are able to beat others by surprises. Saving Changes...
"Humanity has advanced, when it has advanced, not because it has been sober, responsible and cautious, but because it has been playful, rebellious and immature."
