A positive outlook grounded in reality
One of the many reasons to consider conducting an independent client review is to avoid falling into all too familiar traps. Doctor Ed Hoffman, formerly a senior exec at NASA, now CEO of Knowledge Strategies LLC, has succinctly described two related but very different traps in this piece published in ASK magazine in 2013. One is the ‘conspiracy of optimism’ and the other is the ‘danger of pessimism’.
This delicate balance between maintaining a positive outlook and remaining grounded in reality is familiar territory for leaders of complex projects. There are two traps that must be avoided.
Optimism
The first is the conspiracy of optimism. Optimism that is not grounded in reality results in failure. It leads team members to hold their tongues when they should speak up, for fear of being branded the bearer of bad news.Transparently false optimism will destroy a leader’s credibility with the team.
Pessimism
The second trap is the danger of pessimism. A manager who conveys a sense of doom about a project’s prospects will create a negative story line for the team. Eventually that story becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Team members will believe that their project is slated for cancellation, cuts, or failure. Instead of working hard, they will begin looking for cover or the nearest exit.The standard tools of the project manager’s trade don’t offer much guidance about how to define reality and navigate this balance.
Management solutions
Experienced leaders know how far they can push their teams to come up with breakthrough solutions for seemingly intractable problems. They invite open discussions grounded in interpretations of hard data, and they give their teams resources and latitude to work creatively. They motivate by defining reality in terms of the mission context, sometimes using external pressures to set up an underdog dynamic. They stretch their teams without breaking them. These skills cannot be taught in a classroom or captured in a professional certificate. The ability to define reality in away that strikes a proper balance between motivating the team and acknowledging hard truths can only be learned on the job. It is the essence of leadership.
Whether your teams may be guilty of optimism or pessimism, the results can be the same – damaging to client relationships. Worth checking up through an independent review?
