Is a lack of support for your project causing problems?
Hello fellow clarity builder
This week is about the Simple Rule ‘Make Friends and Keep Them Friendly’.
“Why are people not supporting our project?” is a question that keeps many senior directors and project leads awake at night.
Finding yourself midway through a project and realising your peers and those affected are not on the bus does not feel good.
This week is about a question:
Have those who can make or break the project been identified, with a plan to secure their support?
Do One Thing
Take 20 seconds and rate your project
Have those who can make or break the project been identified, with a plan to secure their support?
- Green: The project has identified the people who matter most and how to engage them.
- Amber: We know some of the people involved, but we are not fully clear on support, concern, or influence.
- Red: We mostly have a list of names, roles, or meeting invites. We do not yet know how people really feel.
If you are amber or red, plan to build support before resistance hardens.
Start by finding your champions, the early supporters who will back the change.
Further Reading
Why engaging operations teams early can make or break the project
Operations teams often see the practical issues before anyone else does.
They know where the pressure will land. They know which process steps are fragile. They know what customers, users, or frontline teams are likely to struggle with.
If they are brought in too late, the project can look good on paper but fail in use.
Read this if: your project affects how people work day to day.
When leaders say yes but do not engage
I was once asked to set up a PMO. On paper, the senior leadership team had agreed. In practice, many of them did not engage.
That made the work difficult. The real job was influence, not just process.
The better move is often to find champions who can help the idea travel.
Read this if: formal agreement is in place, but the work is not moving with energy.
See you next time
Greg
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