The anxiety spiral: what to do when one project problem feels like the end of the world

Your cheeks are hotter than Ibiza during peak season. Your heart is beating so loud you’re sure the person sitting next to you can hear it. You can feel teeny tiny beads of sweat forming on your forehead.

No, you’re not about to try and nab Glasto tickets.

You’ve just encountered a huge issue with one of your projects – and you’re responsible for fixing it.

Do not react immediately

Take a deep breath and grab your beverage of choice, because making rash decisions when you’re stressed is never a good idea.

We want to be responsive, not reactive here. As project managers, we also need to project calm in order to protect our teams from stress in order to get the best results.

So take a beat, and let’s get this mess sorted out.

What is the crisis?

It sounds silly, but writing out the issue can really help calm you down and approach the situation and possible solutions more rationally.

Think about:

• What the problem itself is and why it’s a problem
• The knock-on effects it may have
• Who is involved in the problem
• Who will be needed to resolve it
• Who you need to inform about the problem (that doesn’t already know) and when

Explore potential solutions

Okay, so now you’ve got the full picture, it’s time to strategise.

Here’s why you’re not running to your manager or the closest senior person nearby first – you want to build a reputation as someone who is resourceful and shows up with solutions, not problems. That’s the type of grace-under-pressure behaviour that positions you as a leader.

And listen, the reality is that it doesn’t matter if your solution isn’t used (chances are you’ll come up with an even better one in the next step), because your ideas will contribute to resolving the issue.

Think about:

• How your idea could impact the delivery of the project (think deliverables, deadlines, dependencies)
• The pros and cons of each potential solution
• Who would need to be involved and how it would impact their work

All hands on deck

Well, kind of. All relevant hands on deck just doesn’t sound as good though, does it?

Now, this may depend on the way your company runs and how much authority you’re expected to take, but in this situation, once I’ve come up with some viable strategies to resolve the issue, I’ll get the people involved on a call or in a meeting room (also referred to as a war room) to strategise on our action plan.

Be mindful of peoples’ time and whether you really need everyone in there, as you don’t want to disrupt ongoing work unless necessary.

Present the potential solutions you’ve curated and open up the floor to everyone else for their input and ideas. Together, you’ll devise an action plan to resolve the issue.

Ideally, you should leave this meeting knowing:

• Each person’s actions going forward and when they will be completed
• The impact of the issue on the project/deliverable
• Any external teams who need to be kept informed (for example, if an emergency deployment is required, or you need support from a supplier)
• Comms to be shared with stakeholders, if any

What if it can’t be fixed?

Sometimes, problems pop up and they can’t be resolved in the ideal way – maybe it means going over a deadline, or not being able to deliver something.

As project managers, it’s our job to communicate this information, and, fairly often, take some heat for the failure. It’s what we do – I mean, what we aim to do is prevent this kind of thing from happening, but sometimes things just happen, no matter how much meticulous planning, forecasting and risk assessment you carry out.

When it’s a major issue, my personal belief is when it comes to informing stakeholders, speaking in person or on the phone is preferable to an email. Yes, it feels more nerve-wracking, but you have room to explain the situation, answer questions and let the other person share their opinion.

It’s natural to feel defensive and want to talk about how it’s not your fault, but David didn’t do his part on time and Alice was off sick which threw everything off, but resist the urge. Share the facts and keep your composure.

Situations like this are never fun, but always remember: we are not saving lives.

It’s not the end of the world.