There are many conflicts that may occur during a project’s lifecycle and it’s important for project managers to be able to resolve them for the project to be successful. Conflicts can range from insufficient funds, functionality prioritization, meeting deadlines, technical feasibility, clashes between team members, and much more.
Prioritization Factors
When there are multiple issues it may not be clear which conflicts or potential risks should be prioritized, which makes it important for project managers to identify various prioritization factors or a method of risk management to minimize the chances of project failure. For example, project managers should consider the team’s technical capability to determine if they are able to even complete the requirements. Without a proper team to carry out the project, the final product will be poorly delivered to the client. This can lead to client dissatisfaction and ultimately cost the company its reputation. So, it’s important to weigh the outcome of not prioritizing certain objectives over others such as choosing to deliver a product without proper testing to meet the deadline instead of delaying the product’s delivery to complete the testing to minimize the chances of bugs that occur after deployment.
Decision Making
Interpersonal communication is an essential skill to being a successful project manager. To resolve conflicts, project managers need to keep meetings under control by listening to everyone involved and carefully considering their opinions before taking action. Project managers also need to facilitate communication between various stakeholders in order to keep meetings productive enough to be able to resolve conflicts. Without doing so, more conflicts can occur between team members if communication isn’t clear.
When a project manager wants to make a decision to resolve a conflict, it’s also their responsibility to make sure the team understands why that decision should be made. After providing an explanation to the team, some team members might still not believe that it’s the best solution to the problem. However if a project manager decides to carry out their solution, then they also need to show confidence in their solution to prevent the team from losing trust in them. If a project manager isn’t confident in their own decisions then it can possibly cause the team to fall apart with the lack of faith in their project manager’s decisions.
8 Comments
Autumn Coulton · February 16, 2021 at 1:11 am
Good post and well thought out, it is very clear that the project manager has an important job of decision making. To do this, they must learn how to prioritize different factors of a project in order to upkeep their company and reputation. This also requires confidence in their decision as you said, as well as good interpersonal communication. Team members may disagree but the project manager should be able to make the best decision by understanding multiple factors such as a team’s level, time, and budget.
Brandon Kresge · February 16, 2021 at 12:43 pm
I think this post is is well-worded. Being a project manager is tough. Prioritizing is one thing, but making sure to balance the different ideas and to just say “No” is difficult. As a project manager, keeping everyone up to date is difficult, especially while keeping yourself up to date. I think another tough part is being confident in making decisions. There are so many different ideas being thrown around and it is hard to not hurt feelings by turning some down.
Savannah Swartzel · February 16, 2021 at 1:37 pm
This was a great and well worded post. I rally liked “When a project manager wants to make a decision to resolve a conflict, it’s also their responsibility to make sure the team understands why that decision should be made.” Most people tell others what needs to be done and not why it needs to be done. This could lead to confusion and sometimes resentment from those who are working on the project. Something that a project manager does not want. Communication during a conflict is the key.
Chris Kelly · February 16, 2021 at 1:48 pm
This also relates to last week’s blog posts about communication. A PM needs to know the best way to communicate their decision when resolving conflicts and make sure everybody is on the same page, even if they don’t necessarily agree.
I wonder how much of this falls on the PM’s ability, and how much is on the team members. At what point do you just fire someone? If a person is constantly causing conflicts, how far should the PM go to resolve it?
Manogna Pillutla · February 16, 2021 at 2:52 pm
Good one Trisha! You have presented a good range of reasons which can be the cause of conflicts. The two headings are right aspects to consider making the conflicts topic small and clear. Prioritization of conflicts itself is really important. I liked the way you spoke about both the prevention & resolving of conflicts and connected at the end that a project manager should believe in his/her own decisions in the first place. There is never just one way of doing it.
Connor Ellis · February 16, 2021 at 3:55 pm
Nice! I liked your choice of words using “prioritization factors” and “client dissatisfaction” together. As someone with a little experience managing, I can say that your comment about being confident in your decision to keep trust of your employees is very true. Often times we need to make hard decisions. If you make them with confidence and respect, people will notice that. Good work.
Brandon Sutton · February 16, 2021 at 5:30 pm
Great thoughts on the post, Trish. It helped me visualize how dizzying it can be to be a project manager. There are so many factors to consider in eventually delivering a solid product to the client, and it seems like a major challenge to satisfy them all while keeping a good team chemistry. It’s definitely true a manager needs to be able to pare down all the ideas of their team to the best ones, but doing this in a way that is tactful requires a great and, as you said, confident leader.
Sean Kinneer · February 22, 2021 at 7:44 pm
You wrote this very well and brought up a lot of good points, Trisha. Project managers are responsible for risk management, conflict resolution, and ultimately making the decisions that others cannot. An effective method of risk management is something needed in every project. Like you stated above, there are many different risk factors and conflicts that may arise throughout the whole course of the project. It can be hard to foresee which factors should be prioritized over the others. Project managers should hear everyone out first before making the best decisions to resolve issues. This is another reason why communication is important. Everyone has opinions and concerns. Decisions may not always be so easy to make but it is up to the project manager to decide what is best for the project to be completed to the client’s satisfaction. Whatever the project manager decides, he/she should provide an explanation as to why. It is important for project managers to show confidence in their decision makings. Project managers should want to inspire more faith and confidence in their team members. Team members will not always agree with the project manager, but they will have more respect for a strong leader. As a project manager, you should make the decision and stick to your guns.