Healthcare IT & Transformation

Project Rescue

I am often asked to come in to save an off-track project or implement software or process change an organization has been trying to get in place for years. Frustration is usually high and skepticism can be even higher. I am hired to “make it happen” which, honestly, I always do but perhaps not with the method my clients expect.

I am always under pressure to prove myself and show that I won’t “fail” like all the others. My clients expect miracles from me and fast. It is always hardest in the first few weeks and months (depending on project size) as I work to right the ship and get momentum working for us.

This is where customer expectation management is the key skill! So key, in fact, that I’ve written and taught courses to other consultants on these critical skills.

I remember a colleague from one of the big four coming to me when I had just taken over as project manager on a large enterprise wide implementation under his portfolio. The project was way off-track and over budget and the client was panicking. My big four colleague wanted to know what I was going to say to the client right away to calm them down and prove myself. He also wanted to know why I was so calm. I said that words alone were not the solution and there was nothing I could say to make the client calm down. I was calm because I felt confident I could achieve the goals for the client.

Actions are what the client needed to see. It takes a few weeks to make an impact but the impact of positive actions towards a goal is felt by all: by the client; by the team; and by anyone else with a stake in the outcome. In general all participants on a project team want it to be successful. They want the outcome of their work to be productive and they want to achieve but sometimes projects go round and round in circles without forward momentum. Once there is a defined project and the project has started, the project manager’s role is to move things forward. Don’t get caught up in politics, bureaucracy or resistance. Move the ship forward and everyone will jump on.

Communication plays a role in customer expectation management but without actions; words mean nothing. Once we showed progress toward the goal we had something to regularly communicate to the client. Ultimately the client was happy with the outcome… a successful implementation.

I think all too often project managers with professional credentials are hired but they only have the tools of project management and not the “soft” skills to employ them most effectively. Project management is both an art and a science.

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