What’s the biggest challenge you face on projects?

Our reader poll today asks: What’s the biggest challenge you face on projects?

– Our teams or leaders are disengaged: 20%
– Scope creep: 33%
– Internal politics: 33%
– Loss of resources mid-project: 8%
– What we build simply doesn’t work: 1%
– Other: 5%

Politics, Scope, and Disengagement. The big three killers of projects are all controllable factors. Reducing political issues on a project is a function of aligning goals and building consensus on project goals and resources. Managing scope creep requires rigorous chartering and change management processes. Preventing disengagement comes down to showing team members how their contributions matter and putting the right incentives in place. Don’t let your project fail because of things you can control. By taking a rigorous approach to managing these issues, you can prevent your project from becoming the next corporate dumpster fire.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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These results were originally a SmartPulse poll in SmartBrief on Leadership which tracks feedback from more than 210,000 business leaders. Get smarter on leadership and sign up for the SmartBrief on Leadership e-newsletter.