Loss of trust in project management systems

I walked into a room full of frustration. The project was off track, the budget was bleeding, and trust had worn thin. As the new project manager, I had 30 days to rebuild what was broken not just the plan, but the relationships. 💡 Here’s the exact trust-building strategy I used to shift the momentum one conversation, one quick win, and one honest update at a time. ▶ Day 1–5: I started with ears, not answers. 🎧 Active Listening & Empathy Sessions I sat down with stakeholders one by one, department by department. No slides. No status updates. Just questions, empathy, and silence when needed. 💬 I didn’t try to fix anything. I just listened and documented everything they shared. Why it worked: They finally felt heard. That alone opened more doors than any roadmap ever could. ▶ Day 6–10: I called out the elephant in the room. 🔍 Honest Assessment & Transparent Communication I reviewed everything timelines, budgets, blockers, and team dynamics. By day 10, I sent out a clear, no-spin summary of the real issues we were facing. Why it worked: I didn’t sugarcoat it but I didn’t dwell in blame either. Clarity brought calm. Transparency brought trust. ▶ Day 11–15: I delivered results fast. ⚡ Quick Wins & Early Action We fixed a minor automation glitch that had frustrated a key stakeholder for months. It wasn’t massive, but it mattered. Why it worked: One small win → renewed hope → stakeholders leaning in again. ▶ Day 16–20: I gave them a rhythm. 📢 Clear Communication Channels & Cadence We set up weekly pulse updates, real-time dashboards, and clear points of contact. No more guessing who’s doing what, or when. Why it worked: Consistency replaced confusion. The team knew what to expect and when. ▶ Day 21–25: I invited them to the table. 🤝 Collaborative Problem-Solving Instead of pushing fixes, I hosted solution workshops. We mapped risks, brainstormed priorities, and made decisions together. Why it worked: Involvement turned critics into co-owners. People support what they help build. ▶ Day 26–30: I grounded us in reality. 📅 Realistic Expectations & Clear Next Steps No overpromising. I laid out a realistic path forward timelines, budgets, trade-offs, and all. I closed the month by outlining what we’d tackle next together. Why it worked: Honesty created stability. A shared plan gave them control. 💬 In 30 days, we hadn’t fixed everything but we had built something more valuable: trust. And from trust, everything else became possible. Follow Shraddha Sahu for more insights

Your project management system isn't broken—it's dead I watched a Fortune 500 company spend millions on new software. Same broken processes, prettier dashboard. Blunt reality check: Everyone defaulted back to Excel. Status updates lived in email threads. Real decisions happened in chat. Why? Because that's what people trust. Excel never crashes. Email proves you sent it. Chat gets instant answers. Blunt reality check Part 2: Your teams don't trust the data. PMs update status because they have to, not because it helps. The real work happens in Slack DMs and hallway conversations. I've watched companies chase the perfect PM tool for 20 years. Microsoft Project. Asana. Monday. Jira. ClickUp. Same story, different name. Guess what's still running most projects? 📊 Excel sheets everyone downloads and edits 📧 Endless email threads no one can find 💬 Chat messages that disappear in 3 days Why these tools fail: 1. They track status, not progress. ↳ Project statuses get logged in spreadsheets not where the work actually happens. ↳ Manual updates instead of real-time data. ↳ Reports that are outdated before they're read. 2. They're built for reports, not results. ↳ Fancy dashboards that look great in meetings. ↳ Features nobody uses. ↳ Complexity that kills adoption. 3. They ignore where work actually happens. ↳ Email threads that never make it to the system. ↳ Slack decisions that change everything. ↳ Side conversations that actually move projects forward. Here's what actually works: ✅ Build around execution. ↳ Live where the work happens. ↳ Automate the boring stuff. ↳ Make it easier to do work than track work. ✅ Connect everything. ↳ Your CRM knows things your PM system needs. ↳ Your financial tools have critical project data. ↳ Stop making people copy/paste between systems. ✅ Invest in integration. ↳ The best PM system isn't a new tool—it's someone who can make your existing tools work together. ↳ Yes, even with Excel and email. ↳ Because those aren't going anywhere. The truth is: A junior developer who can connect your systems will do more for project success than any software package. Been there. Built that. Watched it fail. Rebuilding it right. What's the biggest PM tool failure you've seen? Drop it in the comments. 👇 #ProjectManagement #Leadership #Technology #Integration #DigitalTransformation

After 25 years, I know: missing trust-not missing parts-kills projects. Every project meeting I join starts the same way. Which modules? Which inverters? Which mounting system? How can we cut CAPEX? How do we make it even cheaper? Everyone wants to talk about components. Almost nobody talks about people. Nobody asks: Who do we want on this project? Who can move it forward when things get hard? Let’s be honest: Modules do not kill projects. Cables do not kill projects. Trackers do not kill projects. Missing trust does. When teams do not talk, when nobody feels responsible, when people do not trust each other, you get chaos-fast. I have seen it on sites from Europe to Africa to Asia. You can swap out a faulty inverter. You cannot swap out a team that never learned to work together. Suppliers are everywhere. But a truly good team? Hard to find and even harder to keep. I have watched average teams fail with the best hardware money can buy. I have watched strong teams build reliable plants out of “good enough” components. Here is the reality: - Good teams fix problems before you even see them. - Good teams own their mistakes and learn from them. - Good teams build trust, not just projects. The best technology means nothing if the team is divided, silent, or afraid to take real ownership. Bottom line: Trust is not a soft skill. It is the foundation. Without it, no EPC spec, no LCOE model, and no CAPEX target will save your project. What’s your experience-when did trust (or the lack of it) decide the outcome? #AndreasBach #SolarEnergy #Renewables #EPC #BESS #Leadership #Teamwork #Trust #WorkCulture #ProjectManagement

When my daughter was younger, silence was often the most powerful signal between us. If she trusted that I was present, she didn’t need me to explain, direct, or prove anything. A look, a nod, or sometimes no words at all was enough. But if that trust was missing, if I was distracted, rushing, or over-correcting, the air filled quickly with noise. Questions, reassurances, back-and-forths that didn’t really move us forward. The volume rose, but the connection fell. Organizations work the same way. When trust is high, a system can run on a few clear signals. A handful of metrics everyone believes. A rhythm that keeps people aligned without exhausting them. But when trust is low, leaders reach for noise: more meetings, more dashboards, more rituals to prove control. It feels safer, but it drains capacity and slows execution. That’s why I built the Trust–Noise Map. Four operating states every leader should recognize: ✔️ Surveillance (low trust · high control): capacity bled into reporting. ✔️ Drift (low trust · low control): no priorities, shadow work everywhere. ✔️ Bureaucracy (high trust · high control): safe but sluggish. ✔️ Flow (Signals) (high trust · light control): the only state where execution sharpens. Shared signals, calm rhythm, real autonomy. Private equity offers a sharp example. Large-cap funds often design for control, not trust. Six people in a 70-person finance team producing endless reports for dashboards nobody trusts. It looks rational in the boardroom, but at ground level, the system is deafened by noise - something I explored in my previous newsletter. But this isn’t just PE. I’ve seen it in corporates, founder-led firms, even leadership teams of ten. Wherever trust falls, noise fills the gap. The way out is simple to say, but hard to live: 1. Shrink to a Signal Set (five metrics, no more). 2. Cadence Contract (weekly signals, monthly depth, quarterly reset). 3. Covenants of Autonomy (decisions teams can make 100% of the time without asking). Noise is the tax you pay for low trust. When trust rises, the static falls away — and in that quiet, work finally moves. As Simon Sinek often says: people don’t buy 'what' you do, they buy 'why' you do it. But just as important is 'how much you trust them to do it'. That’s the difference between noise and flow. 👉 Where does your system sit today: Surveillance, Drift, Bureaucracy, or Flow?

Process won’t save a team that’s afraid to speak up. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a process girl through and through. It’s my bread and butter. It brings rhythm, clarity, and focus. But I’ve seen teams build beautiful workflows that still fall apart. Automations. Templates. Status rituals. All clean on paper. Under the surface? People were second-guessing. Avoiding conflict. Afraid to raise risks. Because culture eats process for breakfast. No tooling can fix a team that doesn’t feel safe. No standup can replace trust. No framework can overcome fear of being blamed. If your retros are quiet, your risks are hidden. If your 1:1s are surface-level, your blockers are buried. If your team looks “on track” but nobody’s pushing back, you’ve got a silent failure in progress. So what can you do as a PM? ✅ You fix the fear. ✅ You lead the trust. Here’s how: ▶ In 1:1s, ask real questions: “What’s something you’ve been holding back?” “What do you wish we’d talk about more as a team?” ▶ In retros, model vulnerability: “I hesitated to speak up about X last sprint. I want us all to feel safe raising things earlier, even if they’re messy or unpopular.” ▶ In meetings, reward truth, not timeline: If someone raises a delay, thank them publicly. Normalize speaking up. ▶ When there’s tension, don’t smooth it over. Get curious. Silence isn’t alignment, it’s fear with a filter. Fix the fear, not just the Jira. Visibility = creating clarity where others stay silent. Leadership = creating space for others to speak freely. 👉 If you're still managing tasks and tools, but not trust, you’re not leading yet. Tag a PM who gets this. ♻️ Repost to help others lead teams with trust 🔔 Follow Elizabeth Dworkin for more like this