As a project manager, you are often a storage tank for team stress. We typically manage multiple teams, functions, and our stakeholder group could easily exceed 100. Each team member reacts to stress differently, at different points in a project and even in her career. A Project Manager can be a kind of team psychologist, who needs to analyze behavior and trends to predict reactions and risks. Regardless, the Project Manager must take personal steps to maintain their own health, in order to maintain the overall health of the project.
What do you do when team members start to lack motivation and become distant? Sometimes things are beyond your solution. How do you respond to heightened emotions? There can be many drivers of someone’s reaction and emotion. Some people are better equipped to handle conflict, change, and adversity projects. The effect of these stressors can often be seen through increased chatter, procrastination, and loss of overall productivity. I find that there are some leveling areas that the project manager can follow to help defuse volatile project situations, while staying grounded.
- Strike a balance between objectivity and empathy: Employing active listening and putting yourself in the shoes of others is necessary to understand the various reactions and points of view. Using that insight to help the person see the facts in the situation can help resolve their concerns. In general, having a true understanding and appreciation for the person’s perspective will help you resolve the situation.
- Become an expert at reading a situation: Be insightful and knowledgeable to know when you can improve a situation and when the situation is beyond repair. Take whatever steps you can to remedy the situation. However, you must also realize that sometimes a situation is hopeless. Once you have exhausted and documented your efforts, feel free to enlist the help of your leadership team, a mediator, or an impartial third party to further investigate and attempt to resolve the situation. Our teams are made up of people with diverse backgrounds, personal challenges and the like. Sometimes the pressures of the project cause personal issues to come up and enter the mix.
- Take time to gain perspective and calm emotions: Walk away from the situation when you have tried #1 and #2. Time apart can help you see dynamics that weren’t clear in the heat of the discussion.
- Write down your thoughts, feelings, and observations: Writing is great therapy and helps provide perspective. Organizing your thoughts requires you to think through a situation completely, it is a useful brainstorming tool and a therapeutic method that allows you to fully process the situation.
- Enjoy the sun and get some exercise: Spending some time outside and some level of activity, whether it’s a concerted exercise routine or a social game of croquet, can do wonders for your mood and help you stay sharp.
Help Others Through Items 1-5: As leaders, our role is to help others grow, manage professional situations, and achieve business results. Building a strong system allows us to personally spread that knowledge and example to our organizations and teams.
I am a big believer in the phrase, “slow down to speed up”. Strong and effective leaders recognize the power of this quote and the need to fully assess a situation in order to help themselves and others.