"Simple" Project Management part 2: Holding People Accountable

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Project management is all about executing projects and completing actions. Success is not possible without a robust plan to manage the accountability of people that own particular tasks. In a previous post, we described simple project management as being who does what by when. The second part of the “simple” project management is to focus on the requirements of getting the WHO to do the WHAT by WHEN to generate the successful outcome of the expected results. When it is due. The key?

Communication. Often. Early and often.

There you go, that’s the trick.

Seriously, there is nothing else.

Okay, maybe that is a little too global. Too ephemeral. We assume people know how to communicate and do it effectively. No, we are humans and we are train wrecks. Messy, messy, messy.

You communicate clear expectations based on the owner. WHO. They know they own it, and there is no question that they own it. In this, we assume of course that they are capable of owning it.

You communicate clear expectations based on the WHAT. They know WHAT is expected. WHAT is not vague or general. It is specific. They are capable of being able to complete the actions required.

You communicate clear expectations based on WHEN. Assuming the date or time selected is realistic, maybe a stretch or challenge, but doable.

All of this is tied neatly in a bow with feedback. Feedback that is delivered as early and often and as close to the behavior as possible to ensure the actions are on track.

“selective focus photography of woman wearing black cold-shoulder shirt using megaphone during daytime” by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

You communicate by whatever means possible. Early and often. You keep communicating until the task is done and even then, you follow-up with feedback. There is no such thing as “over communication” because most people will say you never said it (heck, I do it). It is also not “micromanaging,” as all you are doing is managing. Continually checking the pulse of what task needs to be accomplished is not micromanaging. People will quickly realize that you are not going to go away until they complete that task.

The challenge with project management is that you are in charge of a project, but usually, you are not directly in charge of the people that are supposed to do the tasks. Meaning the project teams are not direct reports to you, so positional power does not affect them. You need to use expert power or referent power to convince them to do what needs to be done. As a project manager, you are to motivate them by whatever means possible to complete the task in the time allotted.

We are paid to get stuff done.

There are different methods to move people to action. Some methods include the servant leadership style or leadership by example. However, there are times when you need to command, coerce and cajole people to complete tasks. Each method works, depending upon your audience and project team, as each will respond differently. You must learn to depend upon all methods of clear communication that is needed by the individuals of the team in order to complete the particular tasks.

However, there are times when you have people that are assigned to a project that fails to complete the work as required. It happens. Now you need a recovery plan. If you follow up often, provide feedback, and have open communications, you should not be surprised if it is suddenly late. Whatever time you gave them to complete the task, they now have one-third of that time to complete the final actions. For instance, if they had three days to complete the task and missed, they would now have one more day to finish it. They should have already understood the requirements, assuming you communicated it properly. They should have understood the expectations assuming you communicated it properly (John, you have three days to complete this task). They accepted the time frame allotted and bought into it (yes Mike, I know I have three days to do that task). Now they missed. You need to give them the opportunity to be able to complete the task. A get-out-of-jail-free card. Remember, you are here to complete actions and get results. What happens when they miss a second time? It is now necessary for you to warn them that you are going to call them out in the next status meeting with whoever is the sponsor of the project that’s their particular tasks are incomplete and needs to be completed before you are able to move on. Giving them the last chance to finish the task. It is a form of escalation before it becomes truly escalated. Giving them three opportunities to be able to complete the task on time is important before you decide to go the escalation and public roasting route.

It is necessary to have strong relationships because relationships matter. And without relationships, people will not work with you, as trust is key. With project management, you have to ensure people complete their tasks as needed. You will be challenged. You get questioned as to why it needs to be done at all. You will hear complaints. You will hear the excuses saying, “I am busy.” We hear them all. Be strong. Be steadfast. We are all busy. We will always be busy. However, we need to be effective. In order to be effective, we need to deliver results.

Go do.

Now.