Here's how you can navigate stakeholder communication post-project failure in consulting.

Acknowledge the project failure honestly without sugarcoating or placing blame, setting the tone for open communication to rebuild trust. Recognize stakeholders' emotions, provide clear reasons for the failure, propose actionable steps, and invite feedback. Additionally, ensure regular updates on the progress of corrective actions to keep stakeholders informed and engaged. Finally, celebrate small wins during the recovery process to maintain morale and demonstrate progress.

As the Projects execution leader, the absolute accountability for success is your ‘teams’ but in case of failure it’s yours (pun intended). That being said, the sole ownership is that of the leader. One of the first step is to accept, no matter the intensity of failure and have a transparent communication with the stakeholders. Next is to navigate through your execution plan to gain important insights on the critical sites where the outcome changed its course. Gathering perspective, listening and acknowledging your team/stakeholders also come under this initial analysis.

Exhaustive analysis approach in capturing project failure causes should cover at least three aspects: 1. People: All causes related to incompetence from the project team, subcontractor, or even the project manager's performance in managing the project itself. 2. Process: Did we estimate the project lifecycle with its calculations precisely and reflected it in the workbench? Or are there any other causes that might emerge due to bad planning and missed requirements? 3. Communication: This can be correlated to unclear communication & misalignment of expectations, causing a lot of change requests and potentially becoming roadblocks for overall project progress.

It's important to use project setbacks as opportunities for progress. We recently had difficulties with a project, but we were able to identify important lessons by carefully analyzing the situation and working as a team. Our ability to identify the root cause has been important in improving our project plans going forward. This proactive strategy highlights our dedication to achieving sustainable outcomes and continual development, while also showing transparency with stakeholders.

Navigating stakeholder communication after a project failure in consulting requires transparency, accountability, and a proactive approach. Communicate openly about what went wrong, acknowledging responsibility where necessary, and outline steps taken to rectify the situation and prevent future issues. Listen actively to stakeholder concerns and demonstrate a commitment to learning from the experience. Rebuild trust by focusing on solutions and emphasizing the lessons learned, emphasizing how future projects will benefit from this experience. This can help maintain credibility and strengthen relationships despite setbacks.

Chances of failure reduce when: - Regular stakeholder check-ins happen - Status updates with action points are shared across the board - Depending on the framework used, retrospective happens at regular intervals - Percentage vs actual completion rate compared in the plan - Risks and mitigation plans is updated regularly