Raise Your Hand: Tackle the Tough Project

Here’s your challenge for the month: Take on the difficult project that nobody else wants to do.

Or volunteer to handle the assignment that has been kicked back-and-forth between team members and do it with gusto.

Whoa … what?!

That’s right. Next time someone makes a request that nobody else wants to take on, make eye contact with the person and say, “yes.” Become the go-to person who solves problems and has an enthusiastic attitude.

Here’s how you can be the hero when facing a tough project:

1. Stop and pause. Start by taking a deep breath. When you get a new assignment, it’s tempting to move ahead at full speed. This time, pause before diving into the details. Follow some advice from business trainer Cy Wakeman and reflect on this question: if this is my reality, how can I be great? From your perspective, what would success look like? From leadership’s perspective, what expectations must be met?
   
   
2. Determine what you know. Grab a notebook or your laptop and draft two lists: What do you know? What do you need to know? Now identify who has the information you need and connect with them to get it.
   
   
3. Ask the tough questions. If a project has been passed between multiple people, something isn’t right. Maybe the scope or the outcome of the project isn’t clear. Maybe the project isn’t critical to the team or organization at the time. Take time and ask questions. Without blaming or pointing fingers, try to understand why the project hasn’t moved forward. Gather enough information so that you can draft a project charter.
   
   
4. Identify the first three steps. To start a project you have to, well, start. Even if you don’t have the entire project plan in place, start by identifying the early steps. What’s the first thing you need to do? The second? The third? Once those steps are completed, identify the next group of three. Before you know it, progress will be made.
   
   
5. Request help. Sometimes there’s a good reason nobody wants to volunteer for a project. Maybe the time frame is too tight to do what is expected. Maybe you don’t have the in-house skills or talent to accomplish what needs to be done. In this case, being the hero may mean bringing on a new partner – like Reach Partners – to assist. It’s okay. Being the hero means solving the problem, even if it means delegating.
   
   

Next time there’s a tough project circulating through your team, raise your hand confidently.