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Saboteurs - what can you do about them?
Dr Liz CalderLead Business Analyst
Blue Raccoon
Introduction
People and Projects What does a saboteur look like? What effect do they have? Why do they do it? Different types of saboteur What can you do about it?
What is a Saboteur?
Someone who wants to do this your project.
Make it FAIL
Change the Direction
Blow it up
Undermine it
What is a project supposed to be?
Common Goals Business Change Bright New Future
But it's a bit more complicated when people get involved...
Denial
ResistanceExploration
Commitment
And it's not even that simple...
ActivePassive
Committed
Uncommitted
Players
SaboteursVictims
Spectators
How you can tell a Saboteur?
By what they say
It’s never going to work
Yes, I know it’s out of scope, but the business REALLY wants it!
Do we have the authority to decide this? It’s better if we
just have a little chat – no need to write things down
The head of Department X will be furious if we do this!
How you can tell a Saboteur?
By what they do
Avoid Documentation
Ignore the things they are supposed to do
Spend hours working on ‘fringe’ issues
Focus on other people’s shortcomings
Haggle over precise wordings of minutes etc.
Why do they do it?
Because they care about something – just not the same things as you.
It could be Their job Their career Their position in their group Their expertise Their visibility and profile
Sabotage is not the same as disagreement
Open and honest discussion, including raising difficult issues, is good in a team
Deliberately throwing spanners in the works, is not…
Are saboteurs effective?
Yes, if you let them be – They care• Persistency & consistency win over the majority
over time
Can you ignore them?• Sometimes yes, on the whole – I really wouldn't
advise it.
Effect of Saboteurs
When is it good? When it highlights something you hadn't thought of When it makes you clarify the message about the
need for change When is it bad?
When it makes you angry When it has you fighting fires you never knew
existed When it prevents other people hearing about a
change they need to know about
How do they affect you, as a BA?
You think you have identified all your stakeholders – you haven't
You think you have all your requirements – you haven't
You think you know when you hit your ROI – you don't
You think you can start testing – not quite yet....
Where is your Saboteur in the organisation?
Inside TeamOutside Team
Seniority
IMPACT
Saboteurs I have known
People fall into patterns of behaviour
Type 1Type 2Type 3Type 4Type 5Type n
Judge
Controller
Stickler
Avoider
Restless
Hyper Vigilant
Hyper Achiever
Positiveintelligence.com
Insecure Person
Lazy Worker
Personal Enemy
Evil Sceptic
Enlightened Sceptic
Techie Enthusiast
Coding.able.nu
Smaug
Sitting on top of its pile of treasure…
Image from http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/dec/09/brief-history-dragons-smaug-hobbit-tolkien
The Wicked Witch of the West
With the flying monkeys doing their bidding“Fly my pretties, fly”
Image from http://www.animationconnection.com/view/CP-1467-my-pretties
The Shoemaker’s Elf
You come in, in the morning, and everything has changed…
Image from http://filipinobook.com/the-elves-and-the-shoemaker/
What can you do ?
First and, most importantly, put yourself in their shoes
Most people aren’t deliberately making trouble.
I feel like I am being left behind
We’ve always done it this way, it could be dangerous to change
The people I am satisfying have more impact on my career than the customers of the project
Then you can devise a strategy!
Approach Suitable ForIgnore them.
• The easy, low effort solution!
Only really suitable for people with low levels of influence, who are not part of your project team.
‘Love Bomb’ them and turn them.
• It is easy to avoid dealing with people you view as being difficult.
• Regular interactions help keep people on board
People inside or outside the project team, who are feeling overlooked or out of the loop.
Some may require more effort
Approach Suitable ForClosely monitor them. People not doing the tasks assigned
to them and not delivering against their commitments
Turn them
• Help them focus on how to manage the change rather than how to avoid it.
• Highlight where their skills and experience add value to the work of the team
People, inside or outside the project, who are challenged by, or feeling fearful of the change.
Others require significant effort
Approach Suitable ForThwart them
• Don’t rely on people doing things agreed in conversation.
• Document all agreed actions and any decisions reached.
• Use and refer to these records regularly
People who ‘mis-remember’ or forget discussions.Technical enthusiasts who are more interested in the toys they can play with than the delivery to the customer
Get rid of them
• They aren’t happy, you aren’t happy. It would be better if they were on a project they could get behind.
• Can require delicate and/or difficult conversations
Senior or very influential people inside the team.
Conclusion
From time-to-time you will come across saboteurs
Don't ignore them and hope they'll go away Don’t get angry Try and work out why they are behaving like
they are Address the issue
