Missed deadlines, lost opportunities, damaged professional relationships and wasted resources can all be caused by poor project management. But why does project management go wrong? And what can be done about it? Discover the seven pitfalls to avoid and how to transform your project management skills to ensure success. 

1. Failing to set clear objectives: Are you guilty of diving into a project without first setting clearly defined objectives? This is one of the most common mistakes that project managers make and a frequent cause of failure. If you’re not clear what the objectives are and your team don’t really know what they’re aiming to achieve it will be impossible to measure progress or success. Ambiguity and confusion will scupper your project. 

The solution: Ensure that your project has clear goals from the start and that everyone on the project team understands what they are and how their work will contribute to achieving them. Create specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timebound (‘SMART’) goals to ensure clarity and transparency. 

2. Micromanaging: Your project team will not welcome being micromanaged. Micromanaging stifles creativity, wastes time, implies you don’t trust your team to do their jobs, and lowers morale and motivation. 

The solution: Avoid overseeing every detail and carrying out frequent check-ins. Delegate responsibilities, provide clear expectations, and trust your team to deliver. Allow them to solve problems and meet deadlines in the knowledge that you are there to provide guidance and support only when needed. Find out more about micromanaging: why we do it, why we shouldn’t – and how to stop. 

3. Assuming everything will turn out OK: Do you assume that everything will go according to plan and ignore potential risks? If so, unexpected issues, challenges and problems can knock your project completely off course causing it to spiral out of control.  

The solution: It’s vital to identify potential risks at the start of the project and have contingency plans in place. Carry out regular risk assessments as you move through each stage of the project. Taking a proactive approach to risk will help you deal with challenges as they arise and make it easier for your team to adapt to changes as they occur. 

4. Making things too complicated: Overplanning and creating complex, multi-layered project plans is another major pitfall. Your project team will probably feel overwhelmed and confused and get bogged down in too many details without actually achieving anything. 

The solution: Ensure your project plan is uncomplicated and focused. Project management tools such as Gantt charts will help you visualise your progress and provide a timetable that is easy for your project team to follow. Make sure key milestones such as deadlines are highlighted and always leave room for flexibility. 

5. Poor communication: This a major cause of project failure and can take a number of forms, including not enough or unclear communications, or information not shared across the whole project team or with stakeholders. 

The solution: Include a clear communication plan and stick to it for the duration of your project. Set regular meetings and make sure that all project team members are aware of updates and changes as they occur. Promote and encourage communications between project team members and stakeholders and ensure transparency. 

6. Not managing stakeholder expectations: A mismatch between stakeholder expectations and your understanding of the project’s scope, timeline or goals is a recipe for failure – even if you and your team are working hard to deliver. 

The solution: Engage with your project stakeholders from the start and maintain an ongoing dialogue with them. Encourage regular communications and be open and transparent about what is realistic and achievable. Provide regular updates and be honest about unexpected challenges and issues. Always involve stakeholders in critical decisions as they arise. 

7. Failing to celebrate… and failing to learn: Immediately moving onto the next task at the end of a project is a huge missed opportunity as you won’t be taking the time to acknowledge your team’s successes or reflect on what went well and where improvements can be made. This will lower team morale as they will feel undervalued and may be less likely to wholeheartedly commit to the next project. 

The solution: Always acknowledge and celebrate the team’s successes, both small ‘wins’ along the way as well as the overall completion of the project. In addition, hold a post-project review to collaborate with your project team in identifying both good practice to build on and areas for improvement. 

Find out about our Introduction to Project Management course and discover the essential principles of successful project management. The course includes an exploration of Gantt charts, risk management and how to effectively plan out a project, including activities and timescales. 

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