The top causes of project failure that any project manager must avoid
Are you a new project manager about to embark on the adventure of managing one of your first projects? Maybe you’ve been a project manager for a while, but you can still remember the sweet old days when you were trying to put on a smile to convince your team you had it under control, when really, you were freaking out a little on the inside! Anyone who has experienced this before, I’m sure, could say that it would’ve been helpful for someone to lay out all potential causes of FAILURE from the get-go and tell them what to AVOID doing as a project manager!
Well, that’s what I’m here to do today – for the new project manager, or any PM who wants a little bit of a refresher.
Now, without further ado, here are the most common reasons why projects fail.
- Dodging Conflict Resolution
As a project manager, you MUST address conflict (and I can assure you that conflict WILL come up, so don’t think you can avoid it easily). If you don’t address conflict, it spirals out of control and spirals into NEW conflicts, which will impact your project. And it could impact it on a variety of different levels – scope, timeline, budgets, you name it! Conflict resolution is absolutely key.
- Expectations that are vague or unrealistic
As the project manager, not only is it your job to set SPECIFIC, ATTAINABLE expectations for your team and project, but it’s also your job to motivate your team to get their work done by due dates. It is critical that you ensure everybody is on the same page so that there’s no work being missed (or unnecessary work being done – you want to be efficient!) and there are no misunderstandings. Having clear expectations will keep everyone motivated and on track.
- Poor Communication
As a project manager, it’s important that you communicate and even over-communicate. Ensure that you’re reinforcing your messages because even if you think you’ve communicated it effectively, once often isn’t enough. Remember that everyone’s minds are in different places because they’re also focused on the individual tasks that they must accomplish. So, this means that you might have to say things several times to truly keep everyone on the same page.
Are those all the reasons why projects fail?
No, of course not! I’ve just created a video that shares with you five reasons projects fail with an additional download that includes TEN reasons. I really recommend you equip yourself with this information, especially if you’re a new project manager. If you’d like to watch the video and find out more reasons that projects fail, along with details of how to avoid those reasons, head over to YouTube and I’ll continue to share with you!
Meanwhile, if you really are committed to mastering your next project, do consider taking my SLAY Project Management online course where I show you step-by-step how to successfully manage a project, plus you get access to every template you will need, along with detailed video instructions on how to fill them out.
-Adriana
