Project Management in an Adversarial Environment

By April Wennerberg, PMP, MBA

I am sure, at one point or another in your career as a project manager, you have encountered an adversarial environment where project management had a tough time surviving. At times, employees not held accountable for meeting their deadlines. For example, on a Friday afternoon, they thought of leaving work early to have fun instead of meeting deadlines. They thought the idea of planning for a project was unnecessary because, in their minds, they understood how to do the project and didn’t want to take the time to write it down. They just wanted to get started doing the project so they could get finished quicker. We know if the real world, this leads to scope creep, cost overruns, and never-ending projects. My goal is to help you handle the above situation in providing some helpful hints to help manage in an adversarial environment. Review the importance of selecting the correct people for the project team, identifying team-building exercises, project site in-person or virtual, developing the project plan, and handling difficult team members.

The first step is selecting the project team leaders. Remember, the project team can make or break the project. Choosing the correct team leader and letting him/her help in selecting the rest of the project team will be one of your most important tasks and will help the leader and team “buy into” the project. Selecting team members is critical for having a successful project. It is helpful to have a team-building activity to define the new environment for the entire team. Projects with geographically dispersed team members should make it a virtual location. At the virtual retreat, you should focus on developing the project team into a well-organized unit. Don’t forget to have some fun at these events to build a closer-knit team. Break out coffee room work great to develop relationships between team members. It is crucial to make these break-out rooms just like you are a group of friends six or less sitting at a table having a face to face conversation. The key to the success of the break-out room, verify that everyone’s computer equipped with cameras, mic, and speaker work correctly. Creating this environment makes people feel like they are setting together, talking, and building friendships. Participants make it realistic by sipping on your drink while enjoying a snack and engaging in conversation. 

The second step that should be happening while you are selecting the project team is finding the best project management virtual tools. The key is when setting up your project team; you need to get them away from the company environment (company politics). The inclusion of salient team members in the process of selecting tools, hardware, and software for the virtual site will help build team ownership. A virtual location separate from the company environment is preferable. The idea is to limit the influence of the current situation and create a new environment that will support your team. Make sure the virtual site is easy to use and is a relaxed work environment to help the team be creative.

The third step is working together to create the project plan.  The project plan contains elements such as project schedule, budget, risk plan, quality plan, and baselines (Scope, Cost & Schedule). The project plan is a living document updated, frequently maintaining the project progress. By keeping the project plan updated, it will help soften the adversarial environment, because everyone on the team will be working toward a common goal.

The fourth step is dealing with difficult team members and their hidden agendas. As a project manager, I believe this is one of your most challenging jobs. Difficult team members should be handled individually with kid gloves. Goal, resolve Issues quickly before they spread to the rest of the team. It is essential hidden agendas are not undermining your authority, and you must manage team members proactively.

In summary, managing projects in an adversarial environment requires picking the right project team, having a project office or virtual site outside of the company’s current location, having a project plan that is a living document, and having processes and procedures in place to manage the project. Remember, you need to be flexible and ready to deal with difficult team members with hidden agendas quickly. By following these guidelines, you will significantly increase the likely hood of having a successful project in an adversarial environment.