This week’s question from the 3 Ps Network: How do I keep my project team motivated after setbacks?
Setbacks occur on the vast majority of projects. I’m yet to work on one without facing a curve ball or two (…or twenty in some cases).
The statistics back me up.
A 2013 study of 50,000 projects found 39% succeed (delivered on time, on budget, and with required features and functions), 43% are challenged (late, over budget, and/or with fewer than the required features and functions), 18% fail (either cancelled prior to completion or delivered and never used) (Source).
A key, but often overlooked, skill of a good project manager is recovering from the setbacks & keeping the project team motivated. But how do you do it?
Here’s how we tackle it.
Be prepared by building in contingency
Even the most rigorous project risk assessment will not identify all possible setbacks.
You can’t predict everything, and as such, you need to make an allowance for this in your project scope, schedule & budget. Build in 5% – 20% contingency. When those setbacks do occur you’ll be able to use this contingency factor. This will take the pressure off your project team and keep them focused & motivated on the job at hand.
Build motivation stocks by celebrating success & rewarding effort
Project momentum builds motivation. Build your team’s motivation levels by frequently celebrating & rewarding the achievement of project milestones. Do this from the start of the project. Use a variety of communication channels & rewards.
When a setback occurs, your highly motivated team will deal with it much more efficiently & effectively than a project team that is beat up & flat.
Shift the focus from negativity to recovery
When a setback occurs we tend to jump to the worst case scenario in our heads…but 99% of the time it’s not as bad as it seems.
Bring your team together quickly to define the “real” impact of the setback and then develop a recovery plan.
By doing this quickly & as a team, you stop people from jumping into that worst case scenario headspace and you give them an immediate course of action. Recovery actions reestablish momentum, which reinstates motivation.
The bond between your team becomes stronger & their motivation to succeed can often increase as a result.
Manage major setbacks with your sponsor
Major project setbacks occur. These are typically caused by a change in market conditions and/or your organizations priorities. These setbacks threaten the viability of the project.
The biggest killer of motivation in this scenario is having no clear direction from the executive level. Engage your project sponsor to immediately make contact with the executive team to define a course of action.
Deliver the honest message back to your project team. Whilst the message may not always be positive – i.e. the project is on hold until further notice – having clear direction is far better than having no direction at all. Your team can be redeployed. This will give them a sense of purpose and will minimize the impact on their motivation levels.
Take ownership, improve & educate
As the project manager you are accountable for the processes and systems used to deliver the project. 99% of project setbacks occur because of a process and/or systems failure.
When a setback occurs, rather than assigning blame, take ownership of the setback, define where the project processes & systems have broken down, fix them & educate your team.
You’re all in it together. Learning as a team & fixing the root cause of the failure builds your team bond & maintains their motivation.
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