Health of Project vs Health of Team

As project and programme managers we are always concerned with the health of our projects - are we on schedule, how is the budget, will there be any scope changes? In today’s world, we have more and more tools and techniques at our fingertips to help us with this and we are often inundated with metrics, KPIs and data to diagnose issues in our projects. But are we neglecting the most important aspect of our projects – the wellbeing of our project team? Who is paying attention to the mental health of our project members and project managers?

We are living in an increasingly interconnected world, with communication across the globe being easier than ever. Technology has made the world smaller and has exponentially increased the availability of information and data. In our projects, we have software and dashboards that can tell us anything we want to know about the project with a few clicks of the mouse, whether we are resident on the project site or thousands of miles away from the project location. What all of this technology cannot tell us, and often will mask, is how the project team itself is faring. The interpersonal is being lost in the interconnectivity. 

Workplace stress and the resultant mental health issues have a huge economic and social impact on projects and organisations. In particular, in the world of project management, where we are so often working to unrealistic deadlines with limited resources, stress can exact a significant price from project managers. Indeed, the CDC defines workplace stress as occurring when “the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources or needs of the worker”. Doesn’t that sound like most projects? Project environments can create the perfect storm of factors – tight deadlines, limited resources, constant change, high responsibility with little control – that lead to elevated stress in project managers and in turn, mental health issues. These issues can manifest as anger, depression, loss of motivation, and sadly sometimes even mental breakdown and suicidal thoughts. None of this is ever measured on an elaborate dashboard.

And what of our project team? As project leaders, we need to be aware of the mental health of our entire team. Are we missing the signs of workplace stress by focusing too much on the “noise” of our project and not listening to the individual voices? With the overwhelming volume of data and statistics that we encounter each day as project managers, are we even equipped to identify the signals that could be early warning signs from a team member that they are struggling and need help? Maybe the only early warning signs we have been trained to pay attention to are those that relate to schedule and budget. Or maybe the problem is that too many of our project managers and team members feel that it is not “okay” to admit to not being “okay”. Mental health issues have been swept under the rug for so long that there is a stigma attached to admitting to them. Why is it that it’s okay to take sick time off for flu, but not for depression?

There needs to be a culture change in project environments that starts with the project manager. We need to create an atmosphere where our team members know it is okay to ask for help. We need to be open to the signs of stress and be listening to the small voices that might be a cry for help. We, personally, have to be more open and accepting of mental health issues, so that the entire project team can become more open and accepting. 

But there also has to be a culture change in the profession itself. In all of our training and certification, nowhere do we learn about the mental health issues that are so prevalent in projects, or how to effectively address them as project leaders. No Bodies of Knowledge have chapters on this topic. There is no accreditation exam that requires expertise in this. The project management profession is behind the curve on mental health and in order for this to change, it needs to be incorporated into the syllabi of accreditation organisations and project management university courses. 

If this topic caught your attention, why not join me on the 17-JUL-2018 at the PM Summit taking place at Convention Centre Dublin, Ireland where I will be discussing this very matter. If you are interested in attending, check out www.pmsummit.global. But even if you cannot attend, let us all start a global movement within the profession to drive awareness of mental health issues and demand that all educational and professional institutions place this topic firmly on their syllabus! One cry for help in the wind can be lost but many voices chanting the same message will be heard.