This article is written by Florencia Romano, undersecretary of Open Government and Accountability for the Government of the City of Buenos Aires.

Every time I get to lead a new project, the first question I ask myself is: ‘What would it take for this project to be successful?’

The sooner you find the answer to that question, the greater your chances are of a successful outcome. The question is particularly relevant when managing public resources, because even a small slip in planning can cause you huge budget and time losses, the true cost of which is invariably borne by citizens.

If you don’t deliver, they end up paying with their wellbeing, as well as their capacity to trust government.

So, what is the secret to a thriving project? In my experience, having led more than 200 public projects of different complexity, I cannot think of a single occasion where the answer to that question hasn’t been: "people".

Why? Firstly, because no-one can have impact on their own. A group of stakeholders are vital for any project, and should be at the centre of any strategy. Whenever we are focusing on objectives, money or schedules, we need to remind ourselves that people come first. This includes good leaders, motivated staff, internal allies, enthusiastic sponsors, and trustworthy vendors. And of course, the public.

Just as people are the essence of any project, so managing people is the most essential challenge for a project manager to overcome. In my experience, there are a few common hurdles that can be solved with some careful planning and essential leadership principles.

Identify all your VIPs

This should be your first step. Create a stakeholder map. Make sure you know all the players, from those who wield decision-making power, to those who will be performing the smallest tasks. Make sure you understand the interests of everyone along the chain of command. Ask yourself what benefits the project will bring to every single one of them.

What real impact do you want to make, and what justifies this?

As part of the Buenos Aires City Open Government strategy in 2020, we created Covid-19 en Datos, an open data platform developed through the joint work of several areas to gather, update and display information on the city’s handling of the pandemic.

It was a huge project on a complex subject, and was due for delivery on a tight deadline. Yet, the biggest demand came from shared leadership backing the project. Every step had to be validated by the chiefs of the many government areas that were involved. In the end, we were able to reach our goal because from day one, we knew to acknowledge every member.

Agree a common goal and a shared ‘Why’

Once you’ve identified your stakeholders, it is very important that you communicate the ‘Why’ at the heart of your project. What real impact do you want to make, and what justifies this? Storytelling can be useful here. This will inspire your stakeholders from the beginning. Great ideas come when brains and hearts are invigorated.

Feeding the ‘Why’ of your project requires you to keep stakeholders informed throughout your journey together. Clear and frequent communication is vital, so invest time in talking to your people, and most importantly, in listening to them. Discover your shared values. Know their aspirations, as well as their fears, for what you are all trying to achieve. This will create a team culture that can defend itself against cynicism and resist fatigue.

Articulate tasks and responsibilities

One of the most common problems in project management is having team members who don't know what is expected of them, or are unaware that they share overlapping tasks with others, and so lack a sense of the whole operation. A task sheet with detailed responsibilities and time frames can help piece this together for those you rely on.

During the weeks that we developed Covid-19 en Datos, we had daily meetings with team leaders precisely so as to avoid any misunderstandings about who was assigned which tasks.

Celebrate achievements

Project managers lead busy lives, and the one thing we end up forgetting to do is actually celebrate our success. As a project manager, you should gather your stakeholders, and really observe the significance of what you have achieved. If a project is large enough, you may even get your results published in the press, or in an academic publication. But even if the achievement is small, bring your people together anyway. A win is a win, and deserves its moment.

Learn lessons as a team

Obvious as it may sound, not every aspect of a project will work out as planned. That is life, and as leaders we get to choose how we want to deal with failure. Storytelling motivates us in the first hopeful stages of a project. It also helps us when we run into troughs. I used to be very hard on myself whenever I miscalculated a decision. The stories I used to tell myself did not offer much in the way of a silver lining or impetus to bounce back.

With time, I’ve discovered that every mistake can be turned into invaluable group learning.

Some years ago, my team and I had the task of renovating the cafeterias at the National Chamber of Deputies in Buenos Aires. These were old, unused spaces with which the goal was to create places where face-to-face political encounters could take place. The project was fun, and it seemed easy. Our team was familiar with coffee shops, and the way they operate. That is probably why we didn’t think that stakeholder management was important on this occasion. We worked with architects to build good-looking, modern spaces, with high tables and stools and brand new counters.

The tables and the counters were too tall. Not only were they uncomfortable, but also inaccessible for many people for whom they'd been built. We forgot to do the simplest, most obvious and most important thing of all: ask the users and waiters what they needed.

With time, I’ve discovered that every mistake can be turned into invaluable group learning.

The mistake we made at the cafeterias taught us to reach every stakeholder involved in every project, and never to assume their needs or opinions.

The number one reason for building strong relationships with stakeholders is that public projects are about people — people that work hard to make other people's lives better. That is, after all, what public service is about. – Florencia Romano

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(Picture credit: Unsplash)