The Project Leaders Do Not Have Prior Experience In International Projects
Project leaders may have
been chosen because of their knowledge of the business and of prior project
success in one country. These do little to prepare people for dealing with
multiple languages and cultures—and different locations.
Impact
Project leaders when thrust into the world of international
projects may perform well and rise to the challenge. Or they may fail. In either
case, management cannot afford to take the chance. The project leaders may
provide a false sense of security and progress about the project. They may hear
what they want to hear and then pass it along to upper management. Project
issues may worsen. Progress is much less than what is reported. The project
loses its credibility.
Prevention
Prevention begins with selecting project leaders more
carefully. You can select people with prior international project experience.
You can look for individuals who have worked in different countries and speak
other languages. In addition, attention must be given to the organization of the
project. As was stated in earlier chapters, you should consider having a project
leader in each location. Another step is to have the project leaders on the road
most of the time in different locations.
Action
One way to address the problem is to substitute project
leaders. However, this can slow the project down. Confidence in the project may
decline. Instead, you should establish a steering committee for the project and
use project leaders in multiple locations. The problem, after all, may not lie
with the project leader, but with how the project is organized.
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