Dealing with Ass-Covering Project Management

I’ve written recently about ass-covering project management. That’s all about getting a proof something actually was agreed. This isn’t always very easy. How to act when you end up in that situation?

1. Follow-up. In that kind of environment you won’t get much information on paper or in emails. Most of communication will be done by phone. Why? No proof. No stress. After important (from your point of view) phone call just take a while to write a follow-up email: “As we agreed during our phone call...” You will act as you just want to confirm or particularize agreed details.

2. Calm down. You’ll get messages which will make you angry. Unfair. Untrue. You’ll rush to answer them angrily. Wait. Calm down. When you’re angry you’ll probably write something you’ll regret. My trick here is to write the response instantly, but instead of sending the message I read it and then cancel it. Then I write once more. In extreme situations I use a third iteration.

3. Call a bluff. In the atmosphere of trying to find a hook for other side you’ll often face the situation when someone implies you things you haven’t said or done. Call a bluff then. Don’t treat it as a normal situation but state the situation never happened or it’s just untrue. As far as the right is on your side you’ll rarely hear accusations once more.

4. Be active. Treat this as a game. You not only have to defend you actions but you can also attack opponent. Think for a while if the other side owes you something. If yes, just write a nice email: “As you haven’t completed your task we can’t continue the project in that area, which invites a delay...” You’d be surprised how that can improve other side’s engagement in completing their job.

5. Escalate. Use wisely organization structure of both companies (yours and client’s). Depending on the issue sometimes letting higher ranks know can help much. Especially when things are going too far for you. There’s no glory for bringing conflicts to the project when you overreact. Here I won’t give you an easy tip when to escalate, as there isn’t any. You have to try to judge the situation and go for what you feel. Just remember that overuse of escalation can result in adding you to decision-makers’ ignore list.

A little disclaimer: I do not recommend pushing your project into ass-covering mode. Unfortunately that’s rarely your decision and rarely can you change it. Just remember you’re not defenseless.