Derailed project gets back on track

In this particular case, the project manager takes over a project that has been running for 4 months in a large manufacturing company. It is a strategic project, so the number of stakeholders is large, and the organizational focus is high. However, after a crucial status meeting in the project, it becomes clear that the steering committee has not been formally established, there is no agreement on who the customer for the project is, what the project should deliver (scope), and the general mood and communication among project participants are not constructive. The project has fallen apart, and with a strategically important deliverable as the goal, stopping the project was not an option.

The project manager starts by clarifying the schedule with the organization's PMO (Project Management Office): The project must be put on 'pause' to ensure peace, until the threads are sorted out, the steering committee is established, and a clear course can be set. The individuals originally designated as steering committee members at the start of the project are contacted by the project manager to schedule the first steering committee meeting.

The project manager then begins to assess the situation. It turns out that the problems have been building up for some time, and at the status meeting, the conflicts finally erupted. The project manager has a series of conversations with each of the project participants. Many emotions are involved, and the open space to 'unload' gradually gives way to more constructive and objective conversations, where participants can focus on the real goal: to get the project back on track and create value for the organization. The project manager adopts the role of the listening, neutral person who does not take sides but ensures focus on everyone's indispensability, the small successes, and a general optimism.

Since frustrations and emotions have come to light, it is important to also set them aside: The project manager insists on dealing with facts and not emotions. Even if something has gone wrong, it does not add value to continue discussing who is to blame. The focus is on agreeing on how the project can move forward.

Alongside conversations and mentoring for project participants, the project manager works on aligning and implementing roles and responsibilities. The clear distribution of roles and responsibilities ensures that all project participants and stakeholders are aware of their roles. The clear boundaries are fundamental, as the project needs to restart after a two-month hiatus.

The project gets back on track after two months of cleanup. Project participants and stakeholders agree on goals and scope, the negative atmosphere is gone, and everyone contributes constructively with the common goal in mind.

It is clear that if we underestimate the importance of relationships in projects, we risk project failure. The described example clearly shows that working on relationships, attitudes, and emotions can be central in project management discipline, and the project manager's ability in this area is of great importance. The project manager from kaastrup|andersen was chosen because of his passion for leadership and his ability to achieve results by working with people and their relationships.