A Client’s Thank You Note Taught Me a Lesson

A thank you note after a really rough project feels unreal. I actually have this. Not only did I get a note the client manager who gave it to me also had it made into a paperweight.

Many years ago I was working on a tough project for a client. The project was very visible and had a number of leaders providing oversight. I didn’t know whether I would be able to meet the stakeholder needs in the short time that we had for the project. I didn’t have a lot of resources to work on the project – most of us were also working on other projects.

We had rough days. We had to work with the selected vendor under a tight deadline to get code fixed and redeployed again. It was not a smooth process.

Then came the day when we were done with the implementation. It was time to close out the project and transition out. For me it also meant the end of my engagement with the client.

I fondly remember the moment when he handed me the paperweight. He said “Thanks for your hard work”. I had fully expected a diatribe on how we sucked and how badly this had gone for them.

I look back at the leadership lessons I learned from that client.

Be thankful to those who help and support you.

Be glad even if they failed you – a bit or a lot. They still helped you. How you handled them when they failed defines you.

I hope I am able to carry some of that learning to my project teams. I hope I am sensitive when we fail and continue to show appreciation for my teams.

I still have that paperweight.

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I am a senior program/project manager and an agile coach. I love consulting and have managed, coached waterfall and scrum teams in various industries. I volunteer time to coach students at MBA/Masters level programs. I also mentor a scrum community. Connect with me if you have program/project management or agile coaching needs. I welcome connection requests that identify what you are looking for.

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