When Impossible Project Timelines Become Possible

In my last article, I discussed how to deal with impossible timelines here. This is part 2, when stakeholders give you an ultimatum to finish a project before an impossible deadline. I hope you’ll never experience this. This has happened to me a few times. I’ll teach you how to deal with it and come out stronger and more valuable to your stakeholders.

Let’s talk about why stakeholders feel the need to give an ultimatum. It all comes down to what happened before you came. They have had problems in the past that have never been resolved. Maybe the tech leaders didn’t communicate as much as they should have or contractors never delivered as requested. They didn’t trust data professionals because of their previous experience. No matter what happened before, remember it’s never personal towards you.

Now you understand it’s not personal towards you, you can face them more calmly. Imagine the following conversation:

The stakeholders: “We’d like this to be done by the end of this month. We’ve been waiting for this project for over a year now.”

Resist the urge to say I can’t do that or that’s impossible. You’ll do that, but not immediately.

You: “I see. You’d like this to be done by the end of this month. Usually projects like this will take about 2–3 months with a solid team. Could you help me understand why you’d like it to be delivered in that time frame?” (Say it in a neutral and calm tone.)

The stakeholders: “Well, we started this project a year ago, and I’ve not received any updates from our data teams. If I didn’t have a deadline, I’m afraid nothing would happen.”

Usually, they'll express their frustration in full. Let them talk. If people on your team want to defend themselves, signal them to stand down.

After the stakeholders are done, you paraphrase what they said.

You: “I hear you have received no updates about the data project, and you’re frustrated and believe that this pattern will continue. That’s why you think setting a tight timeline might make things move forward faster.”

It’s important to use “You” in your paraphrase. Don’t say “the data team has not given you any updates on…” because your team is already offended and mad. Your goal is to gain trust from the stakeholders and increase morale from your team. You don’t want to throw anyone under the bus, even if your team is at fault.

Now the stakeholders should calm down a bit. Your team is still mad. What you say next is crucial to pacify both parties.

You: “Now I understand where you’re coming from. I’m fully committed to completing this project. Could we have weekly meetings for progress updates with you starting next week? I’ll walk you through what my team has accomplished during the week, what needs to be done next week and what help we need from you.”

Usually stakeholders will say yes. If they press you to commit to the tight timeline again, here is what you say: “I’d really appreciate it if we can revisit that timeline on a weekly basis during our progress meetings.”

Now you just tactfully avoid a meltdown from the stakeholders. Here are two things you MUST do to increase credibility and morale for your team.

1) You MUST hold weekly progress meetings now. 

Make it short and sweet. Give them all the information, estimated timeline to complete parts of the project, and ask questions in the meeting or during the week.

2) You MUST have a meeting with your team and communicate the following. 

“We’ll work on the project as if we were committed to the original tight timeline without killing ourselves for now. We’ll monitor our progress closely and ask questions as soon as we run into roadblocks.”

If they’re still mad at the stakeholders, let them be. In a few weeks, they’ll feel better because the stakeholders will back off.

Yes, it’s stressful. However, you’ll see your relationships with the stakeholders improve. They’ll know you’re committed to delivering and will communicate with them regularly.

In a few weeks, they’ll be able to provide a better timeline for you to complete the project because they’ll know what’s going on and how much it takes to deliver from your weekly meetings!

If you need more personalized help, I also provide consulting services here.

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