#4 Preparing for the end means preparing for a new beginning

Working within a project has a powerful effect on team members. As a project draws near you come closer and closer to the defining moment when it ends. It is both a cheerful experience if the project is brought to completion, but also a time of loss. In a project we build up an identity and a role. We create a structure and purpose that is tightly connected to what we do. It is our routine and objective. The more time spent working on a project the more embedded the project tends to get in our daily lives. When it is gone there is a risk of losing one’s sense of belonging. This is often referred to as project depression or post project depression.

Just as it is important to focus on the start of a project with a kickoff or some kind of bonding experience were you get to know the team, It is also equally important for the people involved to get a clear visible end. They need to know what will happen. This way they can prepare themselves and be ready to let go of the old project so that they can start on a new one. Just as the old project was a big part of their lives, the old teammates that they shared the experience with was as well. Parting ways can be both painful and bittersweet.
What happens in either way is that the project that they have worked on and the project that they will move on to will be compared. Both from a structure and team standpoint. When team members start comparing what was before to the new rules and team members there is often negative reactions involved if there was no clear end to the last project. It becomes difficult to accept that this is something new and not the same comfortable routine that you are comfortable with. There is a risk of power struggle were the old ways are proclaimed superior to whatever new structure that is presented. This conflict is far from the beneficiary situation where you bring with you knowledge and experience to a new work place. Instead it is a defense mechanism because of fear of losing one’s place. Creating a clear end to the earlier project can mitigate this. In a sense it works like a day of mourning. Not that it has to be a painful experience. It can be a happy party. The important thing is that it clearly communicate the end of something and a beginning of something new. This understanding, even if unconscious, will help many adapt to new projects, rules, structures and teammates. In a sense it is a good bye.

Our projects are nearing their end. It is time to take what we have done and reflect upon it. At this point people are starting to prepare and form new teams. This leaves some left behind and some moving on to new teams. This will affect their work. They might try to get a grip of what will happen and lose focus or they might think that whatever they do doesn’t count anymore. It is important to make things crystal clear and plan on what’s going to happen. Are you staying as a team? Are you parting ways? Are there still things unresolved that is in need of being taken care of? And how are you going to end the project? With this knowledge in mind you prepare the team so that they know and are prepared when the project ends. It is easy to lose pace at the end if you don’t give the team a clear sense of momentum and direction. These are the last miles before you reach the finish line, that doesn’t mean that the race is over. The time to leave the project mindset is not until you cross that clear, well communicated and visible finish line.

Preparing for the end means preparing for a new beginning
Be prepared when you cross out in to the unknown

Good luck & Gods speed

About Kim Ohlsson

2016 Project Management

View all posts by Kim Ohlsson →