Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/675319
THE WINDOW IS OPEN. AGENTS WANTED | 800-872-5999 PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES. ELIMINATING OBSTACLES. Many times, we will choose words that allow us to position the status in a benign way, if not outright fib a little (or a lot). We might employ an "if you can't beat them, confuse them" mentality. We might even say we're a little behind, but I'm sure we'll be right back on schedule in no time or that we're a little over budget, but we can recover that in a later stage. Our hope is that we can buy more time to actually get everything back on track. Now let's say that your sponsor takes you at your word (and why not, she trusts that you are telling her the truth). She will have no reason to worry or be concerned that there are significant and potentially lethal (to the project) hazards afoot. But there are no real secrets in an organization and before long another senior manager finds out about the issues. If this other senior manager is friendly to your sponsor, she will advise her of her findings and you will be called in again to explain the discrepancy. Unfortunately, you will likely exit the meeting with her having less trust in you or your ability to successfully lead the project. Your stature will be diminished as will be your influence. And you will still be faced with all of the initiative's challenges. However, let's say the other senior manager is a rival to your sponsor. As rivals are likely to do, he will want to publically show up your sponsor as not being in touch with her own projects and people. All of this effort will be in an effort to diminish her stature and influence. At the executive meeting, he will ask her about the project and its status. She will respond with all of the optimism that you had led her to possess by your less than honest report. She will then be confronted, in front of her peers and superiors, with the adverse facts and be asked to reconcile the conflict. What do you think will happen to her, you and perhaps even the project itself? What if she pulls the plug and summarily ends the project in a damage-control effort? What will you tell your team? All of this reverts back to the trust issue. The sponsor trusts the team leader not only to ably lead the initiative forwards but to honestly communicate the status, even if it's not good news. e team leader trusts the sponsor to support the project and provide both additional resources and senior management cover when things aren't going quite right. Additionally, the team members trust the team leader to ably direct the project and communicate honestly about the status and other relevant information, while the team leaders trust the team members to responsibly complete their tasks and to honestly communicate issue between them and to him. All of this trust is lost if there is any dishonest communication between any of the parties. It truly is a Garbage In-Garbage Out entity. Save the little white lies and misplaced optimism (if need be) for the non-project related interpersonal interactions and be honest regarding the project. Moe Glenner speaks and writes about communications, innovation and change leadership. His new book: +Change: Genesis of Innovation is available now on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1R1RIUw. More about Moe and his work can be found at www.LeadershipTakeoff.com Vo l . 1 0 , N o . 3 TRUCKSTOP.COM 13