In this go-go digital age, it seems anxiety about all kinds of things - time, delivery, involvement - is rampant. There are times in projects when a little anxiety can be helpful, but there are also times when it can be harmful. Get some tips for knowing when to leverage it to motivate others and recognizing when it’s counterproductive.

1. When Anxiety is a Good Thing on
Projects
Using anxiety as a motivator to get things done
Your presenter is:
Alison Sigmon, M.Ed., LPC, PMP
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2. What’s on tap for our time together today…
 Cost of failure of projects (revisited)
 Anxiety – Positive, negative, & the hooks that
guide and influence us
 What (or who) creates it
 Anxiety as a motivator
 Mind the line
 Tips, best practices toleverage anxiety so it doesn’t
leverage you
 Wrap it up!
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3. Cost of failure of projects
Tons of time, training, and money have been invested in ensuring
project management processes are in place and people know how to
use them. And yet projects still fail.
• A study reviewed 10,640 projects from
200 companies in 30 countriesfound
only2.5% of the companies
successfully completed 100% of their
projects.
• A separate study analyzed 1,471 IT
projects and found the average overrun
was 27%, but 1:6 projects had a
costoverrun of 200% and a schedule
overrun of 70%.
Source: http://gmj.gallup.com/content/152429/cost-bad-project-management.aspx
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4. There are a variety of reasons this happens on the functional
side and behavioral side of project management.
Today we’ll focus on the behavioral side because if we
address that then most of the time the functional side will fall
into place.
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5. Something to worry about
Project management is all
about
deadlines, deliverables, cost,
and happy customers.
But with numbers like these it
might seem impossible to
get ahead.
To avoid being the stressed
out, anxiety-ridden project
manager, it’s important to know
how to use anxiety instead of it
using you.
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6. Anxiety…
Smooth survivor or
sneaky saboteur
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7. Upside and downside of anxiety…
Two types of anxiety…Positive Anxiety
and Negative Anxiety
Positive anxiety is experienced when real
danger is imminent & response is needed.
Negative anxietyresponds to fears that live
in our imagination.
The first one is good because it’s a
motivator that helps us get away from
danger. The second blocks and
preventsus from being effective and
productive.
Negative anxiety is rooted in past
experience, orientation, and unclear
requirements.
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8. Making associations…
Hooks guide our behavior
When something is important to us, our
limbic brain produces an emotional
responselong before our rational brain
kicks in.
Whatever the situation, good or bad, the
brain repeats the same response to the
same stimulus. A scent, a sound, a
touch, an action made by someone can
be triggers for anxiety.
You can literally live the past all over
again because those events get
"hooked" to memories that activate every
time something makes you remember.
Before you know it, you can sound like an
former boss or even a parent!
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9. Anxiety as a powerful motivator
Enjoy riding the ragged edge of
discomfort
•Create new “hooks” with positive
experiences
•Focus the team
• Coach and encourage throughout
• Tap energy reserves
• Generate passion & connection
• More willing to challenge to get the best
solution
• Courage to speak up
• Push through things that create fear
• Imagine (and act on) possibilities
• Determination to overcome past failures
• Manage the frequency you use “push”
techniques
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10. When it’s not a motivator – becoming undone…
If we don’t manage or overcome the fear-based negative anxiety, we risk
being unable to live in the present and work effectively with others. We’re
either constantly anticipating and projecting into the future or reliving the
pastguilt, regret, resentment, etc.
Teams can experience this too. What causes it?
• Leadership style
• Unrelenting pressure
• Unrealistic expectations
• Never getting a “win”
• Poorly defined scope
• Underdeveloped skills
• Unclear objectives
• Lack of understanding of how the project supports the organization
• Poor or unrealistic time and productivity expectations
• Organizational culture
• Wishful thinking
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11. Wishful thinking? Yep, even in business
In several studies, researchers
found that tasks always take longer
thanexpected.
We basically tend to underestimate
in response to a kind of “wishful
thinking” approach.
When overloaded with work, people
tend to feel guilty so they push
themselves.
This can be positive, but there is a
tipping point.
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12. Benefits of anxiety
Studies have established that anxiety can be beneficial not only for
survival but also in business.
“Those with anxiety are dependable; they worry enough to
accomplish assigned tasks.”
There is a clear advantage to having anxiety on projects. Anxiety can create an
edge and urgency needed to generate innovation and effective
change.Complacency can cause lack of growth or business decline. When used
well, project managers need to have just enough anxiety to make good
decisions and seek out opportunity. But there’s a catch…

13. For it to be leveraged, you got to know a few things first
Manage yourself to
successfully manage others
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14. Things to watch…
Productive anxiety
• Get clear on project priorities
• Connect project to business priorities
• Understand sponsor needs
• Get a handle of skill strengths and weakness
• Use “push” behaviors but watch the frequency
But here comes the biggie…
Style!!!
(And you might just have to go a little deep…)
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15. Style matters especially when leveraging anxiety
Trickle down effect…
Emotions leak: Project managers must be
self-aware to prevent projecting
counterproductive thoughts and actions on
the group. Untended emotions can
spillover to the team &impact performance.
Sources of conflict: Need for and support
of
significance/contribution, authority, attractio
n, intimacy, dependence, autonomy, chang
e, power, control, loss. Needs not met
create negative anxiety. You have to define
what and how.
Blind spots revealed: Being aware of
your shortcomings can keep you (and the
team) safe from rogue waves.
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16. Bottom line…Watch what you’re putting out there
because you’re likely to get it back
Studies have shown
that your own
anxiety is often
placed on those you
manage which can
quickly turn positive
anxiety into
negative anxiety.
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17. Short term gain, long term loss
An unaware leadership style that uses
coercion, intimidation, oppression, bullying, threats, and playground
tactics can have short term gains but will experience long term
loss.
Lack of understanding, alignment, clarity, realistic expectations on
projects will create a near constant high state of tension among
team members.
Eventually this kind of environment will generate
confusion, uncertainty, fear, and sense of helplessness that can
cripple team performance and productivity.
Such conditions provoke defense mechanisms such as
intellectualization, denial, finger pointing, passive
aggressiveness, or withdrawal.
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18. When anxiety is pushed too far
Avoid being the Boy Who Cried
Wolf, Chicken Little, or Eeyore
False starts
Need everything RIGHT NOW!
Doom and gloom
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19. The hair on fire PM trap
What I call “push behaviors” can motivate
through positive anxiety. If overused they
become ineffective and create negative
anxiety. Consider frequency to manage the
tipping point.
When overused it becomes…
• Everything is urgent and has to be done
right, right now
• Demand status reports before they are due
• Yells when the team hasn’t begun the next
phase when they are on time with the current
phase
• Constantly complains that if the project
doesn’t flow better the project will fail
• Threaten to fire teams or individuals without
reason.
• Pits team members against each other in an
effort to squeeze more productivity out of them
even when they are already constrained
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20. Short term gain, long term loss
How can a
PM turn this
around?
Got to learn how to walk
before you can run.
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21. Hot tips, best practice
Focusing anxiety
while minding the line
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22. Okay, we get it soNOW what
What are you feeling?
Pick the right tool for the
right job…
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23. Feel lost? Try some risk management
Feel all is lost for your project? Take a look at your risk
management process. Help yourself and your team by
appointing a risk management monitors to
deliver, prioritize, and report on the current state at
regular intervals.
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24. Feel tense? Keep them busy doing the right work at the
right time
Stakeholders feel they are doing
meaningful work
Don’t just let them passively
review work complete
Keep the stakeholders focused
and actively involved throughout
the project
Leverage anxiety by reminding
them of priorities & don’t let the
sand shift so much
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25. Feeling unsure? Get SMART
Get clear on your goal
posts for the project
Measure for project
performance not
operational benefit
Use structure
Example of an Objective…
To create a database that captures and tracks to 99.9 percent accuracy
all issues and actions taken on behalf of our customers. It will be
accessible to anyone with customer contact and will be operational on
30 July 20XX.
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26. Feel unclear? Give them something to talk about
Talk early and often before you
“step in it”
• Be open
• Be clear –
roles, responsibilities, expectations,
communication method & frequency
• Give templates
• Set expectations
• Talk regularly
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27. Not feeling confident? Talk to yourself & to someone you
trust
Keep a journal
Use a coach
Connect with peers
Take some training
Take some time for
yourself
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28. Wrapping it up
 Projects fail for a variety of reasons but behavioral
interventions can help
 Anxiety can make or break a project
 Your style heavily influences productivity and performance
 Scale “push behaviors” to not overuse
 It starts with you. Manage yourself to effectively manage
others
 Tools and skills are there but you gotta use them
Questions???
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29. Thank you!
Alison Sigmon, M.Ed, LPC, PMP
asigmon@systemation.com
Twitter @alisonsigmon
www.slideshare.net/ahsigmon
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