External factors are jeopardizing your project deadline. How will you navigate this leadership challenge?

Start by carefully assessing the risks posed by the external factors. Identify the specific threats they pose to the project's timeline and outcomes. →𝑼𝒔𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝑶𝑺𝑶 𝑬𝑹𝑴 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒚, 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌𝒔.

During a major supply chain disruption, Chief Operating Officer of Cisco, Maria Martinez, effectively navigated external factors by conducting a thorough risk assessment. Martinez identified potential threats by analyzing both current and future conditions that could impact project outcomes. She developed contingency plans to address these risks, prioritizing them based on their impact and likelihood. This proactive approach allowed her to focus resources on the most critical issues. Martinez’s ongoing risk assessment and regular updates to reflect changes in the external environment ensured Cisco could adapt quickly, maintaining project deadlines and minimizing disruptions.

To navigate this, first assess the situation comprehensively, identifying specific external risks and their potential impacts. Then communicate transparently with the team and stakeholders, setting realistic expectations while exploring mitigation strategies. By reallocating resources, adjusting timelines, and seeking external support if necessary, aim to steer the project back on track. Continuous monitoring and agile adjustments will be crucial to managing these challenges effectively and ensuring project success.

Navigating external factors that jeopardize project deadlines requires strategic leadership. Let’s explore some approaches to address these challenges: 1. Understand Team Workload: Assess your team’s tasks and capacity. 2. Prioritize Tasks: Create a to-do list and focus on urgent and important items. 3. Delegate Fairly: Distribute work equitably among team members. 4. Regular Check-Ins: Schedule meetings to discuss progress and adjust priorities. 5.Be a Mentor: Offer guidance and support for professional growth. Remember, balance and communication are key!

Identify the external factors causing delays, such as supply chain issues, regulatory changes, or stakeholder decisions. Communicate these factors and their impact on the deadline clearly to the project team. Update stakeholders and clients about potential delays and the steps being taken to mitigate them, fostering trust and collaborative problem-solving. Prioritize critical path tasks and reallocate resources to ensure high-priority activities receive necessary support. Encourage the team to be agile and innovative in addressing these challenges. Provide regular status updates to stakeholders, highlighting progress and any new risks or issues that arise.

✅ Understand the impact of the external risks not just on your project but also on the overall business. It is oftentimes easier to find a solution when you know the impact on the business. ✅ Communicate the risk to the stakeholders with possible solutions. ✅ Be open to new solutions that stakeholders might propose once you communicate the delay. ✅ Get stakeholder buy-in before moving forward with any of the proposed solutions

Making sure to have clear communication with the team is important and share detailed information about the delays and their causes. Also, be open to the team's feedbacks and clearly outline any updates or changes to the plan, timeline, and so on. This ensures transparency among the team and keeps the team engaged despite the challenges.

Transparent and frequent communication is key. Clearly communicate the nature of the external factors to your team, stakeholders, and any other relevant parties. →𝑼𝒔𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑾𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒂𝒍𝒍.

In the management of any type of project, but especially in technological projects, it is very common to have to coordinate different types of tasks with third parties, with whom there may not be very fluid communication. The client's involvement could greatly help and prevent conflicts in project management or in meeting milestones and objectives. However, we often do not receive much support from the client. In these cases, the leaders of the involved teams should approach the other teams as if they were their own company teams, being transparent, honest, and direct, to achieve the trust and commitment of the counterpart as needed, and together, meet the commitments made to the client.

Communication is key when it comes to deadlines that may be missed. Being open and transparent (maintaining any confidentiality that is required) not only develops trust, but may be helpful in overcoming the external barriers. Others may volunteer to help out or step in to take some tasks off your hands as well. Great leaders will have people who are willing to work with them and not use the "that's not my job" statement. Communication also comes into effect if you need to move a due date. Be sure to involve all parties if the external barriers will not permit a deadline to be missed...and the sooner you communicate, the better the response will be. Don't wait until the day it is due.

The more you talk about it, the more it's on other people's radar. Ensure you do not keep it for yourself (hoping it will resolve). Do not even be afraid to involve different stakeholders into the situation resolution. Keeping them informed may bring different perspectives into the discussion.

Algo de lo que se menciona mucho pero se ve poco en acción es la importancia de dejar constancia por escrito de todo lo que se conversa con las personas involucradas en el proyecto, sobre todo aquellas cosas que son susceptibles de modificar el rumbo del proyecto. Con la velocidad a la que se mueve el negocio, con la cantidad de partes involucradas, con el desafío de la comunicación y el servicio al cliente, es posible abrumarse y tender a olvidar o subestimar la importancia de la constancia escrita. Un consejo es fomentar este hábito, usar más el dictado del teclado que las notas de voz y enviar notas o minutas de reuniones y llamadas.

Embrace flexibility and be prepared to adapt plans in response to external factors. →𝑼𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝑫𝑲𝑨𝑹 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒅𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒓𝒖𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕'𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔.

When external factors jeopardize your project deadline, adaptability is key. Start by revisiting your project plan and making strategic adjustments—whether it's reallocating resources, revising timelines, or redefining deliverables. The aim is to ensure the project still meets its core objectives while being resilient to external pressures. By demonstrating flexibility, you not only keep the project on track but also set a positive example for your team.

When an external agency revised the project deadline, the organisation had to react and update the project plan. This required a revision of the project plan. The leadership team reviewed deliverables and their impact on deadlines. Strategic decisions were made to review any additional financial resources that might be required. The deadlines were adjusted, which had a knock-on effect on milestones. The leadership team assigned extra financial resources to cover hiring short-term staff to meet the new deadlines. The project was aligned with one of the organisation's key objectives. Clear leadership demonstrated to the team how difficult decisions are made under pressure when required.

Para nosotros es vital la adaptación ya que el mercado es muy competitivo, nosotros ofrecemos una gran variedad de servicios y hay muchos clientes que quieren cosas muy diferentes, es necesario para nuestro modelo de negocios ser capaces de adaptar nuestra capacidad de gestión a diferentes situaciones, personas, dinámicas y mercados.

Seek support from relevant stakeholders, experts, or other teams that can offer assistance in navigating the challenges posed by external factors. → 𝑼𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓/𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑮𝒓𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒌𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚.

When external factors threatened a major project at Intel, CTO Mike Mayberry engaged support from both within and outside the organization. He reached out to industry peers and professional networks for advice and alternative perspectives, gaining valuable insights that helped navigate the challenge. Inside Intel, Mayberry rallied support from senior management, securing additional resources and assistance in negotiating revised deadlines with clients. His proactive approach to seeking and mobilizing support demonstrated strong leadership, ultimately enabling the project to stay on track. By engaging support, you can leverage additional expertise and resources to overcome external challenges effectively.

When external factors are affecting your project deadline, what should you do as a leader? You must establish a strong rappoire with leadership. Keep them involved. Keep them informed. But do not blame or point fingers on the external factors. As a leader, you must take responsibility of the project. And let everyone know. Also build trust with the external support. A powerful effective way is the following: 1) give a deadline when a specific task must be done 2) follow up exactly when it needs to be done. By doing so you're training them and holding them accountable. If you do not give them mini deadlines, then you're giving them too much slack. And they will eventually take advantage of you. No one to blame but the leader.

More often than not, external factors beyond your control will impact your business. During tough times, it's crucial to have a laser-focused strategy and excel in execution. Additionally, be open to adapting your strategy and execution to effectively address these external challenges.

It's good to understand which challenges are the ones you have an impact on and which not. This helps to adjust your reaction and possible effort spent. Make also sure to explain the situation and options to the team, asking for their inputs to make sure you meet the goals.

How do you maintain team morale is the question? One of my leadership principles is know yourself and seek self improvement. If this is not your strength (It's not mine); then delegate this to someone from your team who is very good at this. I had a woman who was such an incredible, lovable person. She had this grandmotherly instict that brought the whole team together. Everyone loved her and she loved doing it. I ask her if she can help me keeping the morale high by doing what she does best bringing people together and she was excited. The results, the department broke records. Morale and commaderie exploded. And she received the Excellent Spotlight award. Given to only 10 of 1000 people in the company.

Engaging in a reflection post-project completion provides an immediate opportunity to learn what could have been done differently. To begin, was the SMART technique applied toward achieving the project's goal? For example, was there a project timeline detailing what must be completed at specific times and alternative plans if the initial plan faced challenges? Did you deviate from the project timelines? What external factors did you not anticipate, was it funding? Did we identify multiple sources of funding, or did we focus on one entity? Do we have alternative experts if one person fails to deliver? What are we using to measure the project's progress toward completion before the deadline? Did we meet weekly to assess challenges? & others

Post-resolution, follow these reflective steps for enhanced project management and leadership: Analyze the situation: Revisit the challenge to understand its origin and factors that contributed to its escalation. Assess response: Evaluate the handling of the situation, including the efficacy of decisions taken and any room for improvement. Extract lessons: Identify key takeaways to inform and enhance your future project management strategies. Implement changes: Integrate these lessons into your leadership approaches, refining your problem-solving and project execution. By embracing reflection and learning from challenges, you'll bolster your leadership capabilities and be better equipped for future hurdles

in this situation supporting communication and validity communication helps Support communication involves active listening,intent full listening, listen first to understand, asking #clarifyquestion, #understand other people point of view, being non judgemental ,by being descriptive, being specific, being problem oriented not personal oriented, use right kind of empathy, avoid criticism, effective use of scare resources own the communication, use of words, #authority #accountability autonomy #altruism #reciprocity Validity communication involves #affirmating #conjunctive #accepting and clarifying

Remember inspect what you expect. This is the secret to training your team without micromanaging them. This is part of leadership. And when you do this with integrity and character and persistence, then you train their behavior that is aligned with your expectation. This is a great way to raise the bar. No one can't say you are micromanaging them. There's a time to tell your team exactly what to do because out of experience you know what works. Most of the team your team will figure it out. But you must inspect what you expect to train them to be proficient, efficient, and effective with their results. Remember results is the name of the game. And it's our responsiblity as leaders to get results.