At the beginning of many training sessions we ask “What color is project management?” While this kicks things off with a colorful array of responses, ultimately our favorite answer is “gray.” There are precious few things in project management that are black-and-white.

Things rarely go exactly to plan, which makes project managers constantly operate in a world of uncertainty. This is why negotiation skills are such a critical part of the project management skillset. Even a successful project constantly staves off some risk of failure.

That’s why the ideal project manager isn’t afraid to be a lone dissenter–and it can be a lonely business. No one likes bad news and the project manager must be its harbinger. It can be tempting to downplay or avoid delivering bad news. The fact that people need to be told “Don’t shoot the messenger” tells you everything you need to know about how this news is often received.

Everyone would rather spread good news, and the project manager is usually the first to know when it looks like the news will not be good. It takes courage to deliver the facts as they are. It also takes time to investigate alternatives and present options for mitigating the unpleasant effects of bad news.

Many organizations have a winning culture that drives an attitude that says failure is not an option. A winning culture is an important attribute of a profitable company, but not all projects can be winners. Project managers can‘t be afraid to point where things may go wrong and should expect that they will feel pretty lonely while going through this exercise.

For much greater detail on how project leaders establish control of their projects in the face of organizational resistance, check out 4 Defining Moments in Project Management That Determine Success.

To get project leadership talent with the good interpersonal skills (GIPS) and gall to drive your projects to success, contact our resource management team.