Balancing Optimism and Realism
The pessimism of Eeyore, the gloomy donkey from Winnie-the-Pooh, would be an uninspiring project manager. But unchecked optimism comes off as unrealistic. The key is to be realistically optimistic! Here are ways to find that balance:
- Use risk management as your basis for optimism. It’s being realistic to acknowledge that projects involve risk. So, foster a risk management culture within your project. You can build a sense of optimism by identifying project risks and developing effective response strategies for them. Promote optimism within your team by emphasizing that they can respond to risks. Encourage discussions about risk. Good risk management plans also give stakeholders reason for optimism. Best of all, this optimism increases confidence in the project.
- Back up your optimism with history. Use past successes to validate your optimism. Successes from your current organization are the most powerful. If the history of success comes from outside your organization, explain what your project has in common with your example.
- Treat pessimism as a chance to improve your project plan. Pessimism typically comes from actual experiences. Pessimism can be draining, but you can learn a lot from it to help you deliver a successful project. Don’t dismiss the pessimists as problem stakeholders to manage. Instead, collect pessimistic comments and study them. That way, you can address the underlying issues to enhance or reinforce your project plan.
- Be authentic. Reflect on yourself. Do you tend to be pessimistic, optimistic, realistic, or, most likely, a combination of all three. Be mindful of how your outlook affects others. The tips in this article not only help identify and advocate realistic reasons for optimism, but also leverage pessimism to increase project success.
Most important: Never fake optimism! People see through this, and it will do more harm than good.
What do you do to achieve the nirvana of realistic optimism? Share with us in the comments section.
Coming Up
Join Tiffany Uman and me on Wednesday, Oct 25, 2023 1:00pm MDT for our live broadcast “How to Provide Project Updates to Executives “.
Your leadership team is not out to get you. That said, communicating with them effectively is essential, especially when providing pertinent project updates to drive the business forward. In this live Office Hours, Tiffany Uman and I will dive into the key DOs and DON’Ts for presenting updates to your leadership team with confidence and getting the buy-in you need. I’m excited to hear her advice about communicating project information to executives. Post your questions in the event comments or bring them to the live event!
Tiffany is a career coach, workplace expert, and fellow LinkedIn Learning instructor. Check out her course, Nano Tips for Answering Common Interview Questions with Tiffany Uman.
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