How to tell your boss your project will be late and it needs more money
The inevitable
If you’ve never had to tell your boss, your sponsor, your stakeholders, or a steering committee that your project, product or transformation is going to be late and it needs more money, then you have either not been in your career long enough or you’ve always had someone else who’s had the courageous conversation for you. Just like death and taxes are a certainty in life, the “it’s going to be late and we need more money” conversation is a certainty in your product and transformation career
Why is it so painful?
Because emotions are involved. For you, and for the other party (“your boss”)
Knowing when to have a conversation, when to defer a conversation, and when to repeat a conversation is critical to your ability to influence well in this situation
Fear for you
This conversation is painful for you because you fear the consequences of having this conversation. It could include:
damaging the solid reputation that you’ve worked so hard to build
missing out on the market opportunity and reducing the value of your team’s hard work to zero
knowing (or not knowing) how your boss will react, especially if they are quite an explosive character
Shock for them
This conversation is painful for your boss because they’ve been unexpectedly blindsided by the news. In all likelihood, everything you’ve told them to date and all of the information they had available to them pointed to the fact that the project was going to come in on time and on budget
What usually happens
You and your team spend an enormous amount of time working through the options so that you’re able to answer any and all questions you may get asked once you’ve delivered the news
You rehearse what you’re going to say
You book a time in to have the dreaded conversation or grab your boss when they look like they have a spare few moments at their desk
You blurt out of the news once you’re in front of your boss because you just want to get it over and done with
You may, in your next breath, dive straight into the options and proposed solution you’ve come up with
You ask your boss for a decision, endorsement or agreement on next steps
You then realise you’ve lost them, and get a horrible feeling in your gut that this conversation has not gotten off to a good start
What actually happens
Your boss goes into shock and stops listening the moment you blurt out the news they weren’t expecting to hear. They will either:
sit or stand in silence whilst you rattle off the facts, options and solutions but their mind is elsewhere, trying to process what they had just heard
become aggressive in tone and body language, interrupting you and peppering you with a bunch of questions, trying to process what they had just heard
Regardless of how they respond, they would be trying to process what they had just heard, and they would be in no position to make a quality decision on the spot
What should you do?
If you walk away from that conversation thinking you’ve given your boss everything they need to make a decision and just keep trying to chase them up for an answer without taking them through the conversation again, the conversation will become circular and combative
The more appropriate thing to do in this moment before walking away would be to recognise and acknowledge the shock, and arrange for a follow up conversation to repeat what you’d shared once the shock has worn off, and they are in a better position to listen and collaborate again
You could say something like: “I know this is not the news that you were expecting. The team and I have come up with some practical options in terms of how we can proceed. Let’s chat again in the morning to go through those options and make a decision together. What time would work for you?”
It doesn’t have to be so painful
We know giving someone bad news unexpectedly will have a negative consequence, due to heightened and unmanaged emotions in the moment. So start the conversation as early as possible - even when it feels unnecessary - and normalise the possibility that everything may not go smoothly
Get into the habit of giving warning signals throughout the project’s lifecycle. This will help de-escalate your boss’s emotional response and increase their capacity to make a quick, quality decision in your favour when it matters
Use the ongoing governance, risk and budgeting conversations to your advantage
We often see governance, risk and budgeting conversations as annoying chores; but they can be one of your biggest leverage points when it comes to influencing. An example could be the regular budget review and forecasting conversations you have
If you know there is a risk of your project coming in late and needing more money, pose the possibility early and get a contingency added to the budget as a risk mitigation technique. Once the contingency is there, you’ll be asked regularly if you’re going to need the contingency and can they release those funds to use elsewhere! This enables an ongoing, rational, conversation and when you need to use the contingency, it will not come as a surprise and it will be automatically given to you because there is no shock. They knew it was coming. They might get a little annoyed, but annoyed is a much milder emotion that everyone can move on quickly and peacefully from. If you don’t end up using the money, then you will be looked upon favourably because your boss can redivert the funds elsewhere - possibly to a place which requires emergency funds that they otherwise wouldn’t know how to find
Want to learn how you can intelligently and fearlessly have difficult or courageous conversations in the workplace?
Let’s work together on this. Here are three ways:
Influencing for Impact: This practical 2-day workshop is for you if you want to influence a decision maker, influence a change in customer or colleague behaviour, or influence someone to buy something from you
Executive and Leadership Team Coaching: Work directly with Lai-Ling to problem solve for your specific situation in a confidential setting. This is for you if you want to develop and execute on a game plan that is 100% tailored for you
Leadership Development: Invest in the product and transformation leaders in your company with leadership development that is customised for their role. This is for you if you want to learn about people and politics