Sometimes as a project professional you get assigned to a
project with a very difficult, demanding and high profile client. Rather than
bail as many PM’s will, view this as your opportunity to stand above the rest!
But how??
A PM with vision knows that the most difficult clients are
the most likely to become your greatest promoters / supporters IF their needs
are well managed. In fact if you inherit the client after a failure (perceived or
otherwise) the expectation ‘bar’ is low and your opportunities are high!
First thing to do is to assess and understand the client and
the reasons why they are difficult. It could be that the business that they are
in, is also high profile and pressure on them internally is significant. It
could be that they had a prior experience with your organization and it wasn’t pleasant. There could be bad blood (politics) between your
company and theirs. It may be a combination of all of these scenarios.
Regardless, the situation is that you are now in the PM
seat, which in this case often times means that you are quite possibly the ‘insurance
policy’, i.e., if the project goes bad, you end up being the sacrificial lamb
so that both parties can start anew. This is the risk that scares most project
professionals away from these opportunities.
Knowing WHY the client is unhappy and HOW to turn that
around is the critical piece of your strategy. My experience with very
challenging clients is that their primary concern is that they feel that they
have a lack of control. They want more control than they currently have. The
problem here is how do you give them more control without losing your control
over the project?
Control is a matter of perception. If you can increase their
perception of control by giving them increased control over certain aspects of the
project (the ones that make sense) you will see a significant change in the interactive
dynamic with your client.
Now how do you give them increased control?
- Over Communicate – access to information increases perceived control. In this instance you may even want to build a communication plan and share it with them. Show them where they fit into the communication plan.
- Be as Open & Honest as you can BUT be diplomatic - Do not finger point or get drawn into the blame game. This is a slippery slope and the reality of it, is that your goal is to LEAD the team beyond that. Leaders lead. Keep the focus on solving issues, NOT finding someone to blame, even if your execs are. They are execs but they are human first and susceptible to the same human emotions we all are.
- Make the client a part of your team - Involve them in the solutioning phase. The instinct to go ‘black box’ on them tends to be stronger in challenging situations. This will have the exact opposite effect as your client will immediately sense that they are being blocked out, and this will raise red flags with them. Build a RACI matrix and share it with them and your whole team including your execs. Incorporate their feedback. You need to be an advocate for the client in your organization.
- Document, Document, Document – You will need to do a little more documentation than you may be accustomed to. More than is normally needed. Leaving critical items like business requirements (BRs) or functional requirements (FRs) to verbal communication only leaves room for the blame game to start again. He said / she said never works in your favor. As the potential insurance policy, you DO NOT want to leave that to chance. Create a document with the client’s business requirements (preferably verbatim from their own documentation), align each individual business requirement with the corresponding functional requirement(s). Schedule walk-throughs, internally first, then with all parties including the client. Where possible use a screen sharing tool so that the client can SEE what changes are being made in real time and can correct you. Seek their approval / feedback throughout the session. Send a copy of the revised document to everyone immediately after the meeting. Setting the stage for the Ask and the Solution with everyone in the same room increases their sense of control, and increases accountability for those on your team who must deliver. Everyone is on the hook. You are in control.
- Keep all team members honest, regardless of their title – if the reputation of the client is that they are difficult, the tendency for your team members will be to minimize or avoid interaction altogether. Fear can even create a sense of paralysis within your team. As a leader your job is to alleviate this paralysis before it destroys your project. Joint walk throughs of the BRs and FRs not only allows you to hold your team accountable for their deliverables and the quality, it allows you to hold the client accountable to the quality of their BR’s. If they are vague, ask them to clarify what they want the end product to look like. You can’t deliver a specific solution to a vague BR. If needed, draw out a simple set of use cases or a logical flow on a white board. Another opportunity to demonstrate leadership. Know the land mines before holding these sessions, and decide on your game plan, with your internal team, to address them if any are stepped on in the joint sessions.
- Plan ahead. - Even if it is a workback schedule with key milestones. If you don’t have a clearly documented and shared plan (with the client as well) you’ll find yourself fighting a never ending uphill battle. Others will control the narrative that is your project, unless you have a plan documented and widely distributed. As the insurance policy, you MUST control the narrative in these situations. In the absence of a detailed project plan, you still need a solid general direction to move in. As the BRs and FRs become clearer, you can create a more comprehensive plan. Put the onus back on the team to provide their solutions before committing to a plan based on guesses and sheer luck. Remember a plan is not a work of art, it’s a compass. You will have to course correct throughout. If not, they wouldn't need you ;)
- Stress release – you will absorb a lot of negative energy. You will hear a lot of complaints and have to withstand a lot of venting. That is the role of a leader BUT you are human. Take up long walks, running, weight lifting, martial arts (this is my favorite ;) or whatever interests you and allows you to release all of the negativity you’ll be absorbing. It has to go somewhere so that you can keep your sanity, refocus the negative energy into productivity and weather the storming phase while you move your team through the norming and performing phases.
Most won’t understand what you are doing or why. But then
you are leading they aren’t. This is one of those soft skills that great PMs
have but most don’t realize. It’s the intangible asset.
What they will understand are the results. Stay focused and
committed to your project, your client and your internal team (in that order)
and your results will follow.
The most difficult clients can become your greatest promoters.
By complaining, they are giving you an opportunity to win them over. They want
someone who will look out for their needs. The client that has a complaint but doesn't complain to you, is your greatest risk.
Listen, learn and be flexible. Remember, the definition of
insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different
results.
Agree? Disagree? Please send your feedback to sbest@exorion.net
For more information on tools & techniques
that you can use to improve your project performance and increase the value of
your brand:
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on LinkedIn at Sean Best PMP, P.CRM
by Sean Best, PMP. Owner of exOrion LLC. His
20+ years of project management experience includes work in the banking,
payment processing, telecommunications and software development industries in
Canada and the US. He can be reached at sbest@exorion.net
