Project Management Tip #25: Beware the Yes Men
June 4, 2015
If you hear “yes” a good deal—beware! You might be surrounded by the notorious “yes men.” It is hard for some project managers to ask resources for help, and then when they do they are relieved to hear those resources say “yes” they can complete tasks for a project. The problem arises if these resources are saying yes to all the other unrelated tasks that are also being offered to them throughout the day. When resources say yes too often, they become a risk for putting the project in jeopardy. “Yes men” often agree to things, in hopes of being people pleasers. They are not doing it to cause headaches, and they might not realize they are doing it at the time. When these “yes men” resources take on too much, there are a limited number of outcomes that could occur, and none of them are good:
- The resource could drop the ball for the tasks they agreed to on the project
- The resource could drop the ball for the tasks they agreed to on other projects
- The resource could fail to complete the tasks in a timely manner
- The resource could fail to complete the tasks with quality
- The resource could run out of time and choose to complete some tasks after hours, straining themselves and throwing off their work/life balance
Each of these outcomes has the very real potential of causing a domino effect.
For big projects that require many tasks make sure that, as the project manager, you are vetting the “yes” you receive with proof that your resources can truly handle their workload. This might require courageous conversations and, sometimes, a shift in the credit union’s culture.