In this two part blog series, Eric and I are contrasting two experiences; one that worked beautifully and another that failed miserably. By providing you insights into both ends of this collaborative spectrum, hopefully we’ll illuminate some of the do’s and don’ts of this invaluable process.
Here’s Part 1 of Collabor-NEAH / Collabor-YEAH; A slap in the face vs. a pat on the back--hypothetically speaking of course!
The project that went awry was a proposal to develop global project management (GPM) capability for an international team with project managers in Sweden, Germany, Canada, the US, Korea, and China. I was brought in by a consultant and colleague to work with the leadership team. Because I had worked with the international team several times and had coached many of the executive team, I had gained a a strong working relationship with the executives and a basic understanding of what was needed.
Problem # 1. Communication with my consulting colleague was fraught with challenges. He kept telling me, “I want you to lead this project,” while insisting that all communications with the client funnel through him. This limited free flowing communications and collaboration. While developing the proposal, I was unable to talk or communicate directly with the director of the international team to clarify his needs and expectations. Often it would take 2-3 weeks to get a response to emails and revisions to the proposal. It would also take weeks to schedule a conversation and often schedules were not honored.
I partnered with a project management expert in the US to create a proposal that met the client’s needs to the best of our understanding. That expert had a long-term relationship with a project management training and consulting group, (I’ll call them PMPlus), and they had the ability to provide tools, templates, training materials, and consultation around the globe, so we brought them into the equation.
Problem # 2. Unfortunately, PMPlus did not share our values of openness or have a similar commitment to collaboration. Ideas from the expert project manager were not welcomed. The project management expert and I worked hard to break through PMPlus’ roadblocks with our own close collaboration and tag-team insistence on what we felt would be best for the global team. We pushed in concert. PMPlus finally listened and reshaped their proposal.
Problem # 3. The proposal I submitted with PMPlus was seen as too expensive, which was a valid concern. Unfortunately, rather than working together to reshape it, my colleague leveraged my background analysis and framework to create an alternate proposal without my knowledge. He made changes in finances, scope, and resources directly with PMPlus, brought in a project management group in China, and in essence reshaped the project.
When I finally had the chance to review the revised proposal with new players, scope, and financial benefits for my colleague, I was dumbfounded. I was concerned that this new direction would create great expense for the client without developing the company’s ability to manage a global project in real time. The focus of this new proposal provided classroom training for primarily one region, China, and I was afraid that this would exacerbate cross-cultural difficulties the team was already experiencing, undermining their critical need to work as a unified global project management team.
After additional misunderstandings, missed communications, and lack of collaboration, I walked away from the project.
What went wrong?
- Autocratic leadership; decision making structures that were not open to shared leadership
- Unclear goals and outcomes based on the client’s perspective and inability to clarify them
- Restricted access and limited communication with key stakeholders
- Delays and gaps in communications. Slow responses to critical communications.
- Lack of openness to ideas and feedback. Often ideas or feedback were received with resistance or rejection
- Lack of demonstrated respect for the value individuals brought to the project
- No use of collaborative tools, practices, or processes. In fact, collaboration was not a shared value or practice
While a long read, this post has some critical lessons about ineffective collaboration. Stay tuned for next installment, when Eric and I share a much more positive example of the power of collaboration.
