Why Poor People Management Guarantees Project Failure

Project statistics across multiple industries show that significant numbers of projects don’t meet their original goals, timelines or budget. Often, the focus is on what are considered the “hard” failures, such as technical issues, budget overruns, or errors in scheduling. The true causes, however, often turn out to be “soft” failures, such as in people management.

The human element is not a variable to be controlled, but can be the single most critical asset that can be maximised to improve project outcomes. Poor people management not only leads to minor setbacks, but it also creates systemic failures that make it virtually impossible to achieve true success in some project environments.

So, let’s look at the direct links between poor managerial practices and project derailment; and highlight the specific gaps that need to be closed if project outcomes are to be improved in any meaningful way.

1. The erosion of engagement and productivity

A key outcome of poor people management is that you have a demotivated project team; this is a direct route to failure. When a project manager is lacking in some of those essential skills that help provide clear direction and proper mentorship, then the sense of commitment and efficacy felt by a team can be eroded.

Lack of clear direction and goal alignment

Often poor managers do not translate business objectives into clear, measurable and individual team goals in their entirety. This level of confusion can result in misaligned efforts and a higher level of rework. Research often cites an absence of clearly defined goals as a top factor in project failure. When team members do not understand why they are undertaking a task or how that task contributes to the bigger picture, compliance is exchanged for results, and any motivation to go the extra mile evaporates.

The vicious cycle of demotivation

When a project begins to run late or misses some of its target as a result of poor management, the manager’s response can be one of micro-management or blame. This can demoralise a team further, resulting in a decrease in productivity, a loss of focus, and an increase in the likelihood that the next milestone may be missed. As a cycle this is a self-fulfilling prophecy of project failure.

The failure of resource management

Statistics are very clear on this point; poor resource management is frequently cited as a top challenge. This is primarily a people management issue, rather than a spreadsheet problem. It means managers are not keeping accurate forecasts of the required skills. Rather, they are overloading key personnel, or neglecting to secure the appropriate talent at the right time. This results in burnout for the small number of highly skilled team members and wasted time for the under-skilled.

2. Communication breakdowns and scope creep

Communication is mainly consider a soft skill in project management, however, its failure has quantifiable, hard consequences of a financial and reputational nature. Poor communication is the inability of a manager to set-up clear channels, define expectations, and listen actively.

The silo effect

An ineffective manager often becomes the single point of failure in terms of communication, thus creating information silos. When important information regarding requirements, risks or dependencies is not exchanged freely across team members or departments, misunderstandings and miscommunications escalate. This directly leads to unrealistic estimations and delays in project schedules.

Fuelling scope creep

Inadequate stakeholder management and poor communication is fuel for scope creep. When a project manager doesn’t define and defend the scope statement effectively, stakeholders look for easy opportunities to add new requirements. The inability of the manager to diplomatically but firmly enforce a change control process results from a lack of negotiation skills and confidence. The team then needs to absorb additional work, resulting in cost and schedule overruns.

The incompetent sponsor syndrome

Poor people management extends upward to sponsor management. Inadequate support from sponsors is an often-reported cause of failure. The responsibility of the project manager is to “manage” the sponsor with clear, consistent communication, alignment of expectations and regular reporting. A manager lacking effective communication skills will not be able to secure the consistent engagement and appropriate authority that is essential for project success.

3. The collapse of leadership and accountability

Leadership is separate from management, and its non-existence results in a vacuum that can quickly fill with blame, politics and risk aversion.

Ignoring risk signals

Effective project managers need their team members to help identify emerging risks. When they create a culture of fear or blame, team members don’t often report issues. Critical risks are then downplayed or ignored until they become crises that are unmanageable This can contribute to the statistic that many projects fail as a result of undefined opportunities and risks.

Failure to delegate and develop

A project manager who is ineffective is often not willing to delegate tasks, they fear a loss of control, or lack the mentoring skills to effectively delegate. This can overburden the manager and also stall the development of team members; the team can be left with an acute skill deficit which is evident when complex tasks arise. The long-term organisational cost is lack of management depth and succession planning.

Lack of Accountability

If a project manager doesn’t assign clear roles and responsibilities, then holds individuals accountable, the structure of the entire team dissolves. With no clear accountability, projects lack discipline, and individuals procrastinate, resulting in schedule slips and a feeling that “the project will fail anyway,” which ultimately leads to failure.

Closing the management skill gap

A high rate of project failure directly reflects on an organisation’s failure to adequately develop project managers. The solution is not simply more stringent methodology compliance, but rather comprehensive training and development which focuses on behaviour-based project management.

Training programs need to emphasise practical, scenario-based skills. This means considering emotional intelligence, conflict resolution and negotiation, leadership and coaching; and stakeholder engagement.

When an organisation invests in practical, targeted, people management training they can directly alleviate the “soft” risks that are often at the heart of most project failures. It is only when a project manager is a competent leader that the success rates of projects align with the potential of their technical methodologies.

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