PMcrunch

As leaders and project managers or program managers, we are subject to the ups and downs of what we could call the "project or program work cycle".  While sometimes things seem to be flowing forward and progressing well, like a well-oiled machine, at other times it seems that no matter what we do, progress is slow and difficult.  In leadership positions, this experience is inevitable, as everything is not "black and white".  How can we handle these situations?

Such situations are symptoms of being "stuck" in some way.  Being stuck can manifest itself on anyone related to the project, including:

1. ourselves
2. team members
3. outsourced providers
4. stakeholders
5. sponsors

It is our job to recognize when each of these 5 are "stuck", and to do something about it!  All too often our tendency to ask the same questions when facing the same circumstances, but when we are stuck, this will only produce the same results.  Consider asking new and different questions, no matter how odd they may seem.  Simply put, we need to ask the right questions.

One danger to avoid is asking “why?”.  This often equates to blaming conditions beyond our control.  Trying new and solution-oriented questions like “what” or “how” is a simple, yet powerful way to get unstuck.  We must do this in a "leadership" way by probing with each of the 5 groups mentioned above.  We must LEAD ourselves to solutions that propel our teams, our projects, and our programs forward by getting them "unstuck" when the inevitable happens.

As leaders, we need to remind ourselves that we have a great deal of control over the progress of our projects and programs, but we need to know what factors we can control and what factors we cannot.  We need to have the wisdom to know what we can change, and what we cannot.  This empowers us and those around us to get unstuck and keep moving forward in the face of changing circumstances.
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John Reiling, PMP
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