Bet on Yourself – Stand Up For Your Convictions and Rescue Your Projects

Project professionals are taught to never disagree with authority, to avoid conflict, and suppress their own convictions. I see this happening more so today than ever before in my 25 years of professional experience.

“Here’s what you need to do, now go and do it!” When you hear this, are left feeling dissatisfied, frustrated, and uneasy? Then you are not alone, you are in the vast majority.

However, when you see those who have the courage to put up a challenge effectively, you notice them right? ?These are individuals with substance, conviction, a unique drive to deliver the best outcome for the project.

This article will show you what you can do today to really make the difference on your projects and in your career, so you do not become the automaton, but a free thinker with the drive to stand your ground.

No time to read on? Go to the end of the newsletter for ways I can help you.

Back Yourself

The clearest evidence of individuals avoiding intellectual conflict stems all the way back to when we were in schools, and thus this mindset becomes institutionally entrenched in the minds of so many.?And so on through university we are taught the non-negotiable truths of science, engineering, and management from first principles.?

The reality is that our projects predictably fail. Over budget, over time and under benefits, over and over again. The default probability is that the projects you are working on will fail anyway. So, accepting what we are told is simply not enough on its own for our projects to succeed. There is something missing!

Research shows that people, in the majority, often remain silent even in situations where speaking up could save lives. The example is a nurse witnessing a doctor (person of authority) entering an operating theatre without following basic hygiene protocols. This phenomenon is not unique to any particular industry, population or time period. Even in high-stakes scenarios, most onlookers remain silent and allow the person of authority to go unchallenged.

Insane Predictions!

This tendency is seen across various fields and certainly in our industry. The study also identified that 70% of the project managers studied, no one spoke up to challenge top-down directives, plans, programs, budgets, contracts, specifications. Even when they thought they were going to be hopelessly late and over budget on their current project, because they knew the deadline and budget they were facing were insane.

70% at least !! So, it is actually happening. It’s not just my perception.

But why does this happen?

To avoid conflict of course! The majority of people opt to remain silent, rather than risking offending or incurring the wrath of their peers or superiors.

Is it just me, or does there seem to be an ever-increasing tendency for project professionals to avoid engaging in a point of conflict? Unwilling to go against the grain and stand out different from others.

So many competent project professionals do as they are told, showing at face value that they have got this, not willing to show themselves up as thinking differently, coming across as sceptical, or less than optimistic in front of their superior. If you walked away from a meeting like this, are you left with feelings of discontent, confusion and frustration? Is this a stronger feeling than the immediate sense of shame, embarrassment, fear when facing the prospect of standing up to challenge your superior in front of everyone else?

Opportunity Cost.

The irony of such negative perceptions of conflict is that it’s very presence can be more constructive than its absence. The culture to avoid conflict is such that individuals supress themselves and their curious nature because of the thought of challenging and jeopardising the project plan, your boss' credibility, or that even of the organisation’s CEO.

When we are left with teams being informed, instructed, and set on their way, capable people are being funnelled into restrictive compliant ways of thinking and working. This increases frustration, reduces creative thinking and cooperation, generally dumbs people down, leaving them feeling disengaged. Known psychological fact!

Encourage Scrutiny and Invite Discord.

Project team members are set up with insufficient scrutiny that is necessary to fully understand and convince themselves of, and thereby invest themselves in, the delivery of best value to the project.

The benefits are well documented, so let’s cut to the chase. Effective constructive conflict can stimulate curiosity and interest, solve problems, prevent stagnation, promote cognitive, social and moral development in individuals and superiors alike, and are part of the process of testing and assessing oneself and others. When this is done right, a highly enjoyable experience will ensue, as you deploy the full and active use of your skills and abilities. Come on!!

Steve Jobs in an interview described constructive conflict as being like "common stones that had gone in (a rock tumbler) through rubbing against each other like this (clapping his hands), creating a little bit of friction, creating a little bit of noise, had come out these beautiful polished rocks."

These abilities will also separate you from the rest, freeing you up as someone of substance and influence. You will thereby free up others who think the same but remain silent, and aid toward your project being less wasteful, more resourceful, and more productive.

The Key, How You can do this Well.

The lack of self-belief and skills in individuals to stand up to and engage with authority and managers is harming our industry.?Unabated top down directives unchallenged with reality and your own experience, expertise and proximity to the coal face, can mislead us, others and our projects into a world of hurt.

Avoiding conflict is also a consequence of not appreciating how valuable and essential it is for project success. Then afterward, it is down to the skills necessary to engage in constructive discord effectively.?That is what we are here for.

1.???Eliminate Doubt

Don’t go off blindly following instructions, do your research, discuss with your peers, whatever you do – do not isolate yourself, but work in order to decide for yourself whether this is the right cause of action, or not.?If you are left with any doubts they will hound you, distract you and hold you back. It may be simply that you do not understand something well enough, so continue to eliminate or at least minimise doubt.

2.???Think Critically

You can avoid mistakes and negative outcomes by listening to your inner voice and questioning decisions that do not align with your intuition. That’s just where it starts, don’t ignore this but act on it!?When you have the ability to translate your gut into rational reasoning, you are following the scientific approach. We must arrive at an understanding based on rational thinking after having assessed the consequences and benefits, and their likelihood.

3.???Challenge Others

Challenge others and don’t let them slide, even your superiors, even the slippery ones!! Question decisions that others make, especially the decisions that you are expected to follow through with. Trust your instincts and your rationale! And paradoxically, reserve an element of your conviction (or should I say more accurately, your ego) to remain open to other ways of thinking also.

4.???Be Courageous

Richard Branson put it perfectly when he said, "Believe in yourself and use everything you can — including the obstacles — to propel you along the road to success. Who knows what you might achieve?"?It takes courage to trust yourself, to be ready to question and challenge others. When you have the skills to do so, you will propel yourself, your team and your projects along the road to success.

Remember, by avoiding difficult situations and ignoring unsatisfactory responses, you miss out on valuable opportunities to capture and involve yourself and others in the situation to enhance creativity, productivity and learning – on the job.?

When you back yourself, take courage and interject your contribution into the directives, you will consequently become more productive and more effective, and ultimately deliver benefits to the project, not least of which would be better project performance and productivity.?

However, this needs the skills to initiate and flow through to positive outcomes. The issue is how to make these situations productive and prevent them from being destructive.

Here are four ways I can help you:

• Join the conversation in the comments (pros and cons are welcome equally).
• Connect with me here and we can chat via Messaging.
• Subscribe to the Newsletter for more like this.
• Email me at [email protected] with “Challenge Authority” in the subject line for the Free Guide – Tactics to Challenge Authority to become an Trusted Authority.