Project Opponents?
Have you been involved in projects where it felt like you are under a constant barrage? As a Project Manager you may have felt a spectrum of communication challenges from extended silence to constant chatter, details expressed in single words to pages upon pages, feedback from multiple people with dissenting opinions, and/or assumption filled confidence to roadblocking panic. The moments where these challenges hit you might leave you feeling under attack from members of your team. The reality; however, is that there is no attack, and more importantly no attacker.
As a long time practitioner of the martial art, Aikido, I have heard my instructor recite the following quotation from the founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba countless times.
“Opponents confront us continually, but actually there is no opponent there.” — Morihei Ueshiba
This quotation in the context of a martial art, may seem a complete paradox. Even within Aikido, often described as a “defensive” martial art, there is the person whom strikes or grabs you with notable intent. Isn’t this person, an opponent of some such? A team member, whether internal, client, or external whose actions are not to your liking at that moment may also feel like an opponent of sorts.
The challenge with communications management when the mood seems to go sour, is to find a way to blend with it and in most cases redirect it. There is no easy recipe to follow as to how to blend with every situation. An expression of anger may require an apology, an explanation, or a line of conversation that focuses on a solution to the perceived source of ill feeling. Contradictory communications may require clear and direct response to highlight the points that are at odds with each other and to lead the conversation towards a productive next step. A barrage of feature requests two days before a website release may require a direct and pointed conversation about scope and potential risk of quality that might arise.
Blending, leading, and guiding situations where communications seem to be a fight does not mean we do what the other person wants. It does not mean we lose or sacrifice anyone’s professionalism and knowledge on either side of the perceived divide. It means we work to change the dynamic. We change our perception that a situation has opponents and to some extent we change our focus from the individual and the perceived “confrontation” they are creating, to simply recognizing the energy of their expression.
The energy put forth is what needs to be dealt with. It is comprised of passionate and loaded ideas, feelings, and stresses. Acknowledge these and practice ways to bring them to a peaceful and productive next step. This may require being stern, transparently acknowledging a particular challenge directly, or may require being very soft and pliable like water navigating the rocks in rapids. An effective response is something that takes the expressed energy in consideration with compassion. Finding and delivering an effective responses; however, requires much practice.
As project managers, when we find ourselves feeling like we have opponents, we need to adjust our perception and creatively deal with the energy at hand. We all want to achieve a successful project. So we keep that in mind as we navigate the occasional rapids.
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Jikishinkan: Kensington | https://kensington.directmind.com
