5 Blaming

Blaming is holding responsible, finding fault with, or censuring. In project management, blaming is definitively and often acrimoniously assigning blame for project failure.

The Sin

The reflexive, speed-of-light aspect of blaming others is part of our human nature: We are rational and we want answers. We assign blame, the issue is decided, and we can move on to the other 50 action items we need to accomplish … before noon. But blaming is never that simple.

Manifestations of blaming in project management include:

Project leaders not taking accountability for a business domain. Who is a potential blame victim? Consultants! They can recommend best-practice options regarding what leadership should plan and measure, but senior management is responsible for defining the organization’s strategic direction.

Project leaders not taking accountability for business benefits. Who is a potential blame victim? Subject matter experts! They can provide elaboration of the business case for a chosen strategic plan, but senior management is responsible for defining the business drivers that will get the organization there.

Project leaders not taking accountability for business case metrics. Who is a potential blame victim? The project management office! The PMO can provide dashboards on project execution success, but funding needs to be allocated to review whether the project is attaining the projected benefits promised in the business case.

A Case of Blaming

I was consulted on how to get some business analysts into shape. Reportedly their use-case template was a mess and their cycle-time was abysmal. In three days, I talked to 16 project stakeholders from all levels of the organization. I asked about the project mission, benefits, organizational challenges, and potential solutions. How much of the problem was discovered to be the use-case template? Almost none.

This industry gave great deference to the credentials of the product managers. The organization did not have a steering committee that arbitrated cost, time, and scope priorities. Two large, competing feature priorities were unacknowledged. Exacerbating this scope deadlock was the unbridled ego of the product managers. They had no intention of deferring to a business analyst and were free to articulate negative and dismissive attitudes about the business analysts.

Early in the project when there was one direction, the cycle-time for completing a use case was two days. With two conflicting priorities, it became difficult to define what the use-case process was. So the project office asked the outsource vendor to provide direction to the business analysts. This downstream development group threw the entire design and all the development deliverables into the requirements document. They burdened and slowed down the process to two weeks, and the business analysts were perceived to be at fault.

Danger Signs

Blaming instantly lowers project morale and increases employee turnover. Project challenges are significant enough without someone questioning your professional reputation and personal worth.

Blaming is an internal process. When it turns into external behavior, project success is at risk.

Solutions

Many project management sins are organizational or cultural issues. This one is personal. The solution is to control your emotions. If you don’t control your emotions, when you feel under attack, you will reflexively become defensive and find someone to blame.

When we join a project, we typically are excited about being on the team and creating the product deliverables. When we see the challenges, we tend to worry. This is when the character of the project stakeholders is tested. Will those challenges be met with problem-solving behavior or with blaming?

All projects have challenges. So it is critical for the project manager to establish trust among all stakeholders when resources are brought onto the team. If trust and rapport aren’t developed between team members, the moment the project encounters a problem, the blame game will begin.

Positive project behaviors that reduce blaming can be implemented by:

Identifying all stakeholders

Incorporating their requirements into planning sessions

Implementing accountability through executive steering councils.

A basic marriage counseling principle is to change yourself before you ask your partner to change. Self-awareness and self-assessment can go a long way toward eliminating the sin of blaming from your project.

Tips for Eliminating Blaming

Recognize when you blame. Project teams don’t need a weekend off-site retreat to do this. It is a quick process of self-evaluation. Especially when your emotions are engaged, check yourself for feelings of judgment and criticism. Stop and picture the situation from the other person’s perspective or over a longer timeframe.

Recognize when you are at fault. Great project managers are authentic and genuine. Have a sense of humor and humility if you have publicly expressed an erroneous or uninformed decision. Model humility and fess up to the thought process that got you here.

Recognize a team opportunity for improvement. If you model open and honest communication, you will be in a strong position to ask your team to do the same. Payback in loyalty is immense.