My vital project stakeholders cannot get along!

Dear Part Time Project Manager, Full Time Nanny

It is so stressful when projects suffer from interpersonal issues. Given how complex and technically challenging projects can be, there is quite enough to deal with without having to teach people how to discuss options and agree on the best one, without fighting about it.

Inevitably, part of the work of a Project Manager is to get the best out of people, manage conflict and broker agreements across an organisation. But there are limits if people refuse to behave as grown-ups when decision needs to be made.

The fact that you are not anyone’s boss, and cannot knock heads together can be a problem, and in this case you need to ask for help from your Project Sponsor.

A key thing that should be made clear is to what degree automation and time-saving is a priority of the project? If this is ambiguous, then this is part of the problem right there.

A second area of clarity is whether the organisation really expects to reduce headcount as part of the project. This is a delicate one but if the answer is a credible and honest ‘no’, then making that clear can reduce conflict with people who are expected to change how they work as part of the go-live with the new system.

A good way ahead maybe to have a frank meeting with you, your Project Sponsor and your two squabbling colleagues. Prepare for this meeting carefully and have a pre-meeting with your Sponsor make sure he or she can explain clearly what the Senior Management Team expects from them in the project (and also that jobs are safe, if that is truly the case).

Then, tiresome as it is, spend some time at this meeting to step through one or two example business processes with this group, with the agreed principles in mind. At best, they will find a way of agreeing but at very least your Sponsor will get a first-hand view of the problem and know it is not your fault.

Let’s face it, these two individuals appear worthy of a reminder that they are part of the project team. This is a place where adult-to-adult discussions of common aims, responsibilities and decision-making need to happen. As a final measure you may want to sit them down with their senior managers and your Sponsor to treat it as an intrapersonal matter for resolution.

If I am frank, as you are not these people’s manager, then you may eventually need to have your Senior Management Team treat this as a project risk, if they really cannot collaborate. Keep your managers informed so they know it has not prolonged itself longer than necessary as a “human” issue in your project.

Good luck with it!