Glossing Over Consequences

Almost every project has periods when it is not going well. It can be difficult to deliver bad news; we may want to avoid giving the news or represent problems as less important than they are. Would you ever "gloss over" problems on a project? Why or why not?

Wiktionary defines Gloss Over as "To cover up a mistake or a crime; to hush up or whitewash". In other words, to lie and to be dis-honest!

This brings another perspective into play; "TRUST"

Whether you are a project manager, a team member, a client, or any other project stakeholder, there is always a written -or many times not- code of conduct that binds us all to work under, and that conduct is totally based on all members are having and exercising mutual trust.

Just the idea of not being able to trust the team member(s) or the project manager you are working with shatters the whole project management process down to its very core! This is even intensely magnified if that is the case between the client/project sponsor and the project manager.

To further illustrate the magnitude of trust -or the lack of it in this case- I have quoted here below part of a PMI paper titled "The role of TRUST in project management" by Hartman, Francis T. that is speaking specifically to this point;

Trust as Part of the Project Management Delivery Process

Trust (not specifically defined) has emerged as an ingredient in project success and business success research in various arenas. If we consider a few random elements of project management it is relatively easy to see the impact of trust on the effectiveness of the process. First, let's consider intuitive connections.

• Effective communication is easier and more likely to be complete between people who trust each other.
• Contract relationships, and as a result, contract administration, is easier if we can trust the contractor and the contractor can trust its client.
• Discovering and implementing cost-saving ideas will occur more readily if the participants can expect fair compensation and can be sure that their interests are being taken care of in the process.
• Teams work better together if the people in them can trust each other.
• Identifying client needs (the REAL ones) is easier if we have open communication, which is dependent on a high level of trust between client and supplier.
• Schedules and estimates are more likely to be accurate if the contributors feel that their honest opinion will be considered and valued (trusted).
• Progress reporting is more honest in a trust-based environment.
• We are more likely to be successful project managers if our team trusts us, as well as do our clients and suppliers.
• We are more likely to be accepted as manager of a project (and have the resulting authority and influence on stakeholders) if others can trust us to do our jobs well.

These random examples are intended to illustrate the insidious nature of the trust phenomenon."

You can see that I have bolded the points where I could find a direct link between Trust and the project health, schedules, and reporting.

In my opinion, it is not glossing over -avoiding to deliver bad news, or representing problems as less important than they are- that is the main issue. The real problem is the consequences of it, and that is simply the "Breaking of Trust". Building/acquiring trust takes time, it is so hard to gain and so easy to lose. Trust is so hard to define, so I found this definition by Decker, Ellen is her PMI paper "Trust: the foundation for building cohesive teams" to be very inclusive, quoted here below;

It is not glossing over that is the main issue. The real one is the consequences of it.

"What is trust?

Trust is not easy to describe, and there are certainly no shortages in the attempts to define the concept. Merriam-Webster defines it as “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something” and lists words such as “confidence, credence, and faith,” as synonyms. Hakanen and Soudunsaari (2012) write about additional definitions of trust such as having confidence in others’ goodwill and agreeing to cooperate prior to knowing how others will act. Despite the specific definition used, it is fair to say that trust is a concept or psychological state that is intangible in nature, yet an individual inherently knows when he does or does not trust another. It is personal, it is palpable, and it matters. The ability to create and sustain trust is an interpersonal skill that can be developed over time through the creation and development of relationships with others. While it usually takes a long time to develop, trust can be eroded and even destroyed in short order."

The percussions of losing trust in-between project stakeholders are almost inevitable, in my opinion, and could lead to all sorts of project issues, up to a complete project failure.

I have witnessed the severe consequences of a project manager not being honest -aka lying- first hand through one of my early career infrastructure construction projects, and have seen how the erosion of trust between him and the project sponsor slowly, but surely, managed to destroy his reputation, delayed the project significantly, and cost both the client and the company millions of dollars.

Honesty: reliability and truthfulness go a long way in establishing a trustworthy relationship.

Lastly, the author says that "You must demonstrate that you are reliable. Now most probably managers I know don’t walk around being dishonest, but what does happen is that they made over promise. They may say, “Yes I’ll get the minutes out by this time tomorrow or yes we will try to deliver this by middle of June.” But if you over-promise, what happens is that you may not deliver on your promises and that comes across as dishonesty and that will severely impact your trust."

Our client, back then, was a governmental body, and the project was of particular strategic importance to them, so they wanted to make sure that the project comes out in the perfect way and is executed well on time and within budget.

At first, the client had its full trust in the management and the project team, but as the project starts to get delayed, the project manager started to give one promise after the other during his monthly meetings with the client that the project will be brought back on track, without bothering to check back with the team that his "promises" are backed up by reliable schedule forecasts and proper mitigation plans. All the team members knew that the project is not going according to plan and will never finish on time, but the project manager chose to ignore all of that and opting to keep over-promising the client that he will be able to mitigate all the delays!

It was no surprise that the trust was totally eroded between both sides, and in the end, the client formally asked for the project manager to be removed from the site and ordered the contractor to assign a new project manager of their choice.

This is a clear real-life example of where the "glossing over" could get the fate of a project up to. It is ALWAYS better to be the honest, reliable, and trust-worthy project manager that delivers the bad news, and along-side it, the recovery plans that will be implemented to bring the project back on track, rather than trying to cover up and show that your project is the perfect green meadows while you know there is a boiling volcano underneath about to irrupt and destroy everything in its way!

References:

- Hartman, F. T. (2000). The role of TRUST in project management. Paper presented at PMI? Research Conference 2000: Project Management Research at the Turn of the Millennium, Paris, France. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute. https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/role-trust-project-management-1095

- Decker, E. (2015). Trust: the foundation for building cohesive teams. Paper presented at PMI? Global Congress 2015—EMEA, London, England. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute. https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/trust-helps-build-successful-team-9899

- How to Build Trust with Your Team (2015) by Susanne Madsen. https://www.projectmanager.com/training/how-to-build-trust-on-teams