Nutters1, as Malcolm Tucker will tell you, are everywhere, including your project team. Nutters are homogeneous in thinking and share common formative experiences. Project teams, like Government Departments, have their own micro-culture, language and popularist culture which can vary (wildly) from the authorised project values (respect, care for environment, empathy etc etc). If the PM team tend towards the nutter-ish then the support functions2 will be in sock puppet mode with their input not contributing to the main effort (the project’s success).
Individual frustration at not being used as a professional is a leaky bucket for project output, staff retention and innovation. In a human the effects can be: reduced feeling of self worth, filling of the stress bucket and boreout 3.
Project output diminishes because blockers are created where the Engine Room will avoid communications with a Nutter or group of Nutters. This can be done overtly (I refuse to talk to you) or covertly (phasing out/withdrawal). Blocked communication is catastrophic when important information must be shared and a collective strategy is to be formed. Imagine an aircraft engineer not telling the pilot their left engine is on fire….
Now, we are not solely blaming Nutters here. Everyone, including Nutters, have jobs to do, aspirations to succeed and the need for praise. We must get inside of the heads of Nutters (terrifying I know) and the Engine Room (potentially concerning also). This starts with being open and welcoming. The PM team must make the strategic direction of travel visible to the Engine Room team and dump out their concerns, risks and intentions onto the table. This must be mirrored by the Engine Room people which can take considerable effort. The Engine Room may see this as a threat as their tendency is to squirrel their collective thinking away in their own part of the Engine Room. If we can understand our thinking/priorities/concerns and rationalise our emotions towards a particular person or group then it is likely that communications will open and start to flow at speed.
Transparent communications between PM team and the Engine Room are important. Even if agreement is not reached then justification must be given as to why a course of action is being taken. Professional people must be respected both as PMs and Engine Room team. Doing this means we all feel like we’ve done a good days work and don’t waste energy butting heads with Nutters or ramming stuff down the throats of those obstinate bastards in the Engine Room.
Next time, “Show and Tell”. Could a share-all culture reduce conflict and creation of sub-culture Illuminati groups within your project team.
- Nutter. For clarity “Nutter” is a member of a closely affiliated (by friendship, perceived debt or trait similarity) group pulling in a certain direction with force, confusion, panic, pressure and lack of big picture thinking
- Support Functions. The engine room, the people who do the work: document controllers, project administration coordinators, engineers, accountants, quality controllers and a host of other specialisms.
- Boreout. Opposite of burnout. Stress and anxiety caused by doing next to fuck all on a daily basis when you have the capability and desire to work hard.
Human(e) Projects 