You are that person, the Type A, get out of my way winner who always gets everything done. Except for that one thing. Always, it’s that One Thing. It sits there, mocking you. It imposes its will on you and you feel helpless. You dread dealing with your One Thing.

Alas, your team member, also a Type A, has her One Thing. And it annoys the heck out of you. Why? Because it is not the same as yours. Hers is a piece of cake for you. Why doesn’t she just get it out of the way, get it done, and move on?

Pot, meet kettle.

But wait, there’s more!

Your company does great in several areas, but it also has its One Thing. Surely, it has Many Things, but that is another topic for another day. Likewise, your spouse, each of your kids, your neighbors, and the organization where you volunteer all have them, albeit they are likely not the same as yours.

Frustrating in others. Demoralizing in yourself. At any rate, your One Thing has likely crossed your mind several times, and you wish I would stop mentioning it, even though I have not called yours by name.

It is almost like all those other things you get done, you want to do them. However, this One Thing, more often than not, is a “need to”. Likely, it is the most important of “need to”s. And the longer it lingers, the more debilitating it becomes.

Everyone succumbs to something, at some time. It seems to crop up at the worst times – when you are dealing with financial uncertainty, needing to make a major life decision, or being at THAT POINT in your project. The team depends on you for this, but it is your ONE THING. How did this happen? Can you get past it?

What to do

How do you, as a Project Manager, help your teammates get past it?

First: For yourself, get help. That doesn’t mean therapy. Is there someone you trust that you can confide in to help you remain accountable for completing your One Thing? Maybe they cannot help you do it because they are not in that position. But having that person to talk to, to encourage you, to help you start that train of thought or that activity NOW so that you cannot avoid it any longer would be a significant assist. The answer will be different for everybody, but we work better when we are not alone – either isolated by the group or put in a self “time out”.

Second: For others, remember that you also have your One Thing. Remember how difficult it is for you to move forward. Offer that shoulder, have empathy, help with the talk-through, and help them pick up that pen or keyboard and start that activity. Assist them in bite-sized chunks. (And by the way, if they have trouble performing their One Thing and you do it for them, you just made it an even greater burden the next time.)

What if it is a project team or a group of stakeholders that collectively have a One Thing? You know:

“Why do we need a meeting about this, an email would suffice.”
“Why are WE being asked to test?”
“Yes, it is important! Why do we need to present a business case?”

A Project Manager might be tempted to say that these things just need to be done, and a seasoned Project Manager might even try to explain the “why”. However, this is the One Thing. They have probably justified for themselves a thousand times why the One Thing should…must…get done. It is not a question of logic or rationale. It is inertia, dread, lack of motivation. Cheerleaders need not apply!

How to do it

This is tough for any Project Manager – for any leader, frankly. There are things you can do to help your team get past its One Thing:

1. Move forward as a team – get everyone on the same page. You know no one wants to do the One Thing but, in reality, everyone knows that it needs to get done. Get the team together to tackle it. A two-hour session sounds great, doesn’t it? Nope, maybe start with a half hour to lay the groundwork.
2. Work together as a team – don’t make assignments and have everyone get back to you by a certain day. You have just enabled everyone’s darkest thoughts about completing the One Thing. Don’t expect massive productivity. Instead, work together during scheduled sessions. Is it less efficient? Yes. Will it be more effective? Likely. And the team progresses as a unit.
3. Establish a cadence – this is not a one and done scenario, nor is it something to schedule ad hoc. You have deliverables to meet; use that fact to your advantage. Maybe it is every day for a half hour or hour until the team finishes. Maybe it is every other day. Can this lead to dread? Possibly. But it can also encourage the team to continue with a little progress each day, or every other day, until the task is collectively complete.
4. Congratulate the team – “Aren’t you happy that’s over?” is not the win you think it is. “Awesome job everybody!” is better. Celebrate the victory at an appropriate level. Maybe brief the team on what comes next and how exciting those tasks are in comparison to what they just finished.

There is no certain way to address it. Maybe your One Thing is addressing the One Thing. The best you can do is be empathetic and help your team progress in bite size chunks until the task is done. Then everyone can breathe a sigh of relief and move on.

And you will have helped a team conquer this version of the One Thing.