6 Ways To Breathe Life Into A Stalled Project

Get your Project out of that rut and back in the running.

Everyone gets excited about starting a new Project, but what happens when it start to drag on, and on, and on? You start to get frustrated and the Project begins to lose momentum as you turn a blind eye to any associated tasks in your to-do list.

This often happens due to a general loss of interest from Project members who are no longer passionate about working on the Project. Other reasons for the lack of movement can be uncertainty about the work or a lack of communication between team members. It’s important to address this quickly before it escalates and begins to impact the overall morale of your team.

Here are a few tactics you can employ to get your Project out of that rut and back in the running.

1. Figure Out Why It’s On The Go-Slow

You need to understand why your Project has stalled. Once you know why things have slowed down, you can plan your next move. Here are a few Qs to ask in your assessment:

• Have the team dynamics changed? Has there been a change in leadership
• Are there adequate resources available to complete the Project?
• Has another Project been moved up the priority list instead?
• Is there uncertainty surrounding the Project goals/objectives?
• Is the Project still relevant?
• Will it have any real impact if it doesn’t move forward?

Once you’ve answered these questions you’ll be more prepared to properly assess the future of the Project. You might address a few stand-out issues to get things moving in the right direction, or it might become apparent that the Project has run its course and should be deleted or archived.

2. Assess How The Project Aligns With Your Team Goals

Take a step back and look at how the stalled Project contributes to the goals of your team and your business.

• What greater objective does the Project support?
• Will completing it help your team to move forward? How so?

If your company ties into your overall business objectives then you can restart it by placing emphasis on those to motivate your team members.

3. Invite A New Team Member For An Objective POV

When your Project has stalled, it’s worth reaching out to a new team member and adding them to the Project. New Project members will help you to get a new perspective and bring a pair of fresh eyes to what you’re working on. Don’t forget to introduce them to the team and make them feel welcome so that they’ll be forthcoming with any ideas and insights they want to contribute, rather than standing in the background.

4. Clearly Define What The Finished Project Should Look Like

If no-one on your team is sure of what the finished Project should look like, they can get stuck and unmotivated very easily. The concept of the “done” within Project might differ amongst team members, so it’s important to ensure that there’s a common definition that all Project members can follow.

Once the Project members have agreed upon the finished state of the Project, established an end goal, and envisioned exactly what that entails, they’ll be more motivated to invest in its success again.

A good way to define what “done” looks like to everyone on the team is to predict what the Project will look like when it’s complete. What will it look like in its finished state? How will it benefit the company?

Once you clarify a few key things like this, it’ll be much easier for you and your team members to have a clear and collective vision of what the “done” Project should look like and also help you to mark it off as done when those expectations are met.

5. Get Rid Of Any Roadblocks

When your Project is stuck, it’s important to check whether there are any specific roadblocks getting in the way, such as a lack of budget or resources and/or little buy-in from your team.

Collaborate with your team to find solutions to these hurdles and you’ll move through them much faster. However, if any of the roadblocks are hard to overcome, it’s worth re-assessing the viability of the Project and whether the pay-off will be good enough in the end.

6. Finally, Communicate The Project Restart Back To Your Team

Once you’ve figured how what you need to do to get moving, make sure that everyone in the team knows what’s happening. Share your vision of what the completed Project will look like and outline the roadblocks in place and how you intend to overcome them.

The idea is to get people inspired and motivated to rally around your Project by showing them why it’s important to your company. Once you’ve improved team morale and made people feel passionate about working on the Project again, it’ll be much easier to get it moving.

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