Why You Should Take a Bow When You Deserve One
In a June coaching session, I was talking with a young project manager about wrapping up his project. We talked about risks and issues he had encountered. We talked about how the definition of the project had evolved as the project progressed. We talked about scheduling and about how some things took longer than he thought they would and others didn’t take as long as he thought they should. His human resource consumption was roughly in line with original estimates. The one thing that stood out was he was significantly under his fiscal budget—spending less than half of the initial estimate.
When I asked about the budget, he shrugged and said that when they did the initial estimate eighteen months earlier (public sector clients often have to estimate significant projects in the fiscal year before they occur), the hardware solution used for the estimate baseline cost X dollars per unit. When it came time to procure and install, a better device was on the market that met their needs at half the cost.
“That’s great news,” I said. “You should feature that prominently in your project close out.”
“What’s the big deal?” he asked. “Sometimes you come in under, sometimes you come in over. We had to provide these devices. It’s not like we had a choice.”
This project manager is a smart guy. But I realized he was thinking like an engineer. Engineers are great people (I used to be one), but the inexperienced ones are often oblivious to the political dynamics of large organizations.
I explained that it was true there was little choice, but if his project had come in substantially over budget, there would have been drama in the executive suite about another IT project exceeding its budget. The organization would have had to find the money somewhere, and it would have created hard feelings.
“Sometimes projects are late and over budget,” I said. “It’s hard to estimate IT projects, particularly so far in advance. When a project exceeds its budget, everyone notices. Your boss has to go on bent knee to her boss, begging forgiveness and explaining what went wrong. That comes with the turf of running a department.
“What is helpful for your boss is if people like you take the time to publicize when things go right. Taking the time to highlight success helps remind the folks in the nose-bleed section of the organization chart that your boss doesn’t always come bearing bad news. A success story helps blunt the criticism of the next tragedy. It reminds people that failure isn’t a pattern.”
My message to my client and my message to you are the same: When things go right, take the time to make sure the project’s sponsors or funders get the word. The people responsible should get the credit they deserve.
