What, No Bread? 

The waiter announced to the people dining at the table next to us that the restaurant had just run out of bread. The reaction from the woman at that table was priceless. Her mouth gaped open, she exclaimed, “What, you ran out of bread! In an Italian restaurant!! You’re kidding!  Right?”

Clearly the woman expected delicious bread when dining at an Italian restaurant. Now she was upset that she was dining there and there would be no bread.

The conflict that occurred that night happens every day on capital projects, it just doesn’t involve bread. You see, conflict is most often a result of unmet expectations.  You expect one thing to happen and when something else happens instead conflict occurs.  

• You expect the Construction team to work safely. Conflict occurs when someone gets hurt.
• You expect the Owner to make key process decisions. Conflict occurs when a decision isn’t forthcoming or is reversed.
• You expect the Supplier to deliver equipment on time. Conflict occurs when they miss the scheduled delivery date.

Capital projects rely on thousands of successful interactions, interfaces and hand-offs among project stakeholders. Clear stakeholder expectations are essential to building a cohesive team and delivering a successful project.

So, be sure each stakeholder has the opportunity to clearly communicate their expectations to the other Stakeholders they interface with. Make no assumptions that expectations "should” be or "ought” to be understood. 

I’ve facilitated hundreds of Stakeholder Expectation Exchanges and in every one of them stakeholders discovered numerous expectations that another stakeholder had of them that wasn’t even on their radar screen! They were headed for serious conflict and didn’t even know it until they discovered it during this process.

If you fail to clarify and get aligned on stakeholder expectations, then you and your team will waste valuable time and energy trying to resolve conflict, restore the team and salvage the project. 

And keep in mind, it’s rarely "WHAT" or "WHY" that results in conflict over unmet expectations, but rather "WHEN" and "HOW" that causes the conflict.

I’m certain the woman at the table next to us won’t be making any assumptions the next time she visits that restaurant. My guess is she’ll be very clear about her expectations before she is even shown to her table!

What about you? What stakeholder expectations do you need to clarify to avoid unnecessary conflict on your project?

You can tune in to The Team of a Lifetime podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and at SallyLoveInspires.com