Management Appears To Lose Interest In The Project Due To Other Commitments
Many projects are
started, but few finish. This is true of project management in general. It is
even more true with international projects. Management at headquarters is
subject to many demands on their time. If the project seems to running along
without problems, it may be left alone. People may forget about the project due
to other priorities and pressing issues.
Impact
If management loses interest, the project manager may begin
to lose interest as well. This is more frequent when the project leader lacks
experience in previous large projects. The project leader may begin to search
for another job. The project team may begin to drift away from the project.
Prevention
How a project is to be managed and coordinated over an
extended period of time must be defined at the start of the project. It should
be assumed that management will lose interest. This is not a bad thing; it is a
fact of life. The project support should come from the people who will benefit
from the project results. That is, in the end, what keeps the project going. To
maintain management interest, a useful approach is to keep feeding status and
issues to managers.
Action
To rekindle management interest, the project leader can
undertake to showcase some of the recent milestones of the project. This will
create interest. This can be followed up by surfacing issues.