When your favorite project gets shelved: 5 lessons I learned to move forward
If we are fortunate, we take great pride in what we do and enjoy our work. Sometimes, we get really excited about what we are working on. We are committed to the vision and anticipated outcomes, we think we are doing the right thing or the work simply appeals to us and we are excited to strut our stuff.
Whatever the reason, it is always an amazing experience to be engaged in something we love and believe in. I hope we all have had an experience like this where we find something just so cool, so leading edge or so innovative, we can’t wait to work on it.
What happens when our favorite project is stopped? Have you ever had this happen? It can be devastating. It can seem like a total waste of time, money and sweat. If we are really caught up in the project, it can feel like a total failure. We can start to think less about our abilities and let the experience chip away at our confidence.
I used to work with someone who got so invested in what they did, that if funding or priorities ever changed, they took it so hard. Their world ended. They would go into a corner to lick their wounds and not come out for a while. I thought how dramatic that behavior was but I see people take these decisions so hard sometimes even now.
The reality is that priorities change, leaders change, companies get re-organized, and funding can disappear or get re-allocated. These things happen all the time and, therefore, work can get disrupted or even stopped.
Early in my career, I worked on a sales training program that was video-based with real scenarios, colorful job aids, product support materials and guides for facilitators and participants. I was very proud of this program. It took 6 months to build and it was steeped in sales best practices at that time.
The problem was the whole philosophy reflected a direction the company was moving away from. The other factor was the VP of Sales I aligned with retired shortly after and a new VP took over. In a blink of an eye, my program was rendered irrelevant and communicated the wrong message. Six months worth of fun and engaging work put on a shelf…forever it turns out.
I felt terrible about the time spent, the product and even myself. The product was really good; it just didn’t fit the new direction. I actually think years of being a writer and having editors rip my words to shreds with their red pens prepared me to have thicker skin for this kind of moment. I felt bad but not for long. I shrugged it off and went to talk to the new VP of Sales about how to support the new philosophy.
How do you bounce back from this? How do you make adjustments? When your major work gets shelved, paused or re-distributed, how do you respond? Do you sink and stew or do you shrug, maybe sigh and move on?
Here are 5 lessons I have learned to help move on if your work is taken away for whatever reason:
Don’t get so personally wrapped up in the first place.
Yeah. Easier said than done. But, seriously. You spend so much time working that it should be a joy, require your best effort and maybe even be part of your identity. It is hard not to look to your job for some of your purpose and meaning in life. However, it can’t be the only thing. I find people who get so wrapped up in their work make that the center of their life. Don’t fall into that trap. There are so many opportunities to fill your cup with many, many things than just your job or career. Go find them. Family, friends, movies, theater, volunteering, speaking, writing, counseling, giving to charity, church, book clubs, exercise, hiking, gardening, traveling, having a dog. These are just a few things. There are so many, I can’t possibly list them all. If your work is not at the center of your universe, you won’t be so personally invested in everything you do. You are more likely to roll with changes and figure out how to channel your energy into something else.
Identify root cause.
If your project does get pulled, figure out why. If the reason is funding, that is not a reason unto itself. Projects that matter get funded. Find out why the funding was canceled. There is a reason the project is no longer a priority for the organization. Understanding the why behind this will help you figure out where to put your energy going forward. Maybe the project doesn’t help the business grow, maybe it doesn’t help people become more efficient. Maybe the project doesn’t align to a new leader’s strategy. Maybe you even disagree with this decision. Go talk to that leader to find out why. The reason may be obvious but it may not be. Someone should be able to explain the why. If you vehemently disagree, you may have a chance to re-make a business case as to why the project should be funded and staffed. Sometimes, projects just get paused and not put on a shelf forever. Figure out if this is the case for your project.
Be agile and ready to pivot.
Part of my issue above was how long my work took without many check-ins. I have been a part of so many projects that take 6 to 9 to even 18 months. Sometimes, projects are large and complex and need those type of timelines. If you are changing culture or nudging toward a new philosophy, this can take time. The important thing to keep in mind is to stay constantly aligned and ready to change. So, if your project does take a year or years, stay in contact with leaders and where the business is going. Change your approach to be more agile. This is getting a lot of play and attention today because spending 6 months on a project without ever re-visiting objectives, outcomes and approach doesn’t work any more. Customers, mindsets, environments, regulations, policies, preferences change too quickly to do that. I also think breaking up a project into mini projects help ensure milestone check-ins where you can frequently assess if this project is still critical. Being more fluid to accept changes and being ready to make change is the new super skill. Embrace it. One of my favorite quips is: “When nothing goes right, go left.” To me, this is the definition of being agile.
Determine what you can carry forward.
Change can present excellent opportunities to reflect on what you can learn and carry with you to the next project or gig. So, even if you’re heartbroken, figure out why. Were you too invested that you couldn’t see alternatives? Were things changing and your blinders prevented you from seeing it? If this wasn’t predictable, was there anything you could have done to stay aligned? If the change came out of nowhere, and they can, was there anything you accomplished that can apply to a new project? Sometimes, you don’t have to throw the baby out with the bath water so to speak. Like with my training program, the approach was sound — the use of videotapes (this was the 1990’s; don’t judge!), capturing best practices, and designing real-life scenarios. The content just wasn’t quite right. Were there approaches, people, structures or ideas that can be used in a different way? Ask yourself these questions and write down what you know before moving on.
Learn to let it go.
The most important of the above is letting the project go. I have known former colleagues who were almost destroyed when their main gig was taken away. Or, colleagues who continually bring up the “disaster of 2003” or the “project that never came to be” or “system that was half implemented”. It is okay to reflect on the past but don’t let it be the only factor to think about the future. Capture the lessons worth taking with you and let the rest go. No one wants to hear someone bellyaching about something that happened 5 years ago. It only demonstrates how bitter and potentially pessimistic you are when you hold onto all the times we didn’t “go left” in the past. You will be happier to let it all go and look forwards not backwards.
Our work is important to us otherwise we wouldn’t be doing it. It is difficult to not be too personally invested in what we do but we need to keep a reasonable distance so when changes happen to us or around us, we can respond accordingly and make changes without angst. Be flexible, be your best detective to find out why, pack up your lessons for your journey forward and let it go.
Of course, these points don’t just apply to having a project shelved. These can be applied to life in general as we are experiencing change every day or nearly every day. Keep your eyes on the present, look towards the future and let the past be in the past.