The Clients you work for as a Project Manager are like chocolates in a box – some of them suck. Such is life! We don’t always get to work for Clients that are nice, reasonable or even people we like on an individual basis. This is made ten times worse when we consider that Clients control most of the cards on the table – including payment! On projects like these, we need to work even harder as Project Managers to manage not only the work, but the Client too. In this article, we’re talking about working for difficult Clients as a Project Manager, along with 5 things to avoid at all costs.
Working For Difficult Clients As A Project Manager: Avoid These 5 Things
Difficult Clients can make a project a living nightmare. It can feel like the project will be impossible to complete when progress halts and tensions rise. In these times, it’s essential that Project Managers take proper steps to maintain a working relationship with their Clients while minimizing their own risk exposure. Here are 5 things to avoid when working for difficult clients:
- Avoid Legal Action Whenever Possible
- Don’t Do Any Work You Aren’t Getting Paid For
- Minimize Arguing, Yelling & Conflict – Be Solution-Oriented
- Don’t Get Bullied Or Walked All Over
- Never Lie Or Make Promise That Can’t Be Kept
We go into the details of each of these topics below!
1. Avoid Legal Action Whenever Possible
When it comes to lawsuits, the only people that actually make money are the lawyers. Everyone else is never quite made whole in a lawsuit scenario – even the ‘winner’ of the suit had to pay out of pocket for legal fees, attorneys, etc. It’ll be a long time before they ever receive any money.
As Project Managers, a big part of what we deal with is the legal aspect of a project – the contract, terms, regulations, etc. Assuming the contract was thoroughly vetted by legal counsel on your end prior to it being executed, you can rely on what the contract states to prove your point.
Conversely, you also must respect a Client demand that’s technically part of the contract – regardless of how difficult the Client is!
In the majority of cases, disputes are best solved through negotiation between Clients and the firms they’ve hired with little outside intervention. Both parties will be better off in the long run of the outcome of the project and in terms of finances. Stick to the contract and what it says instead!
Read Next: Putting A Project On Hold: When Project Managers Should Hit Pause
2. Don’t Do Any Work You Aren’t Getting Paid For
One of the golden rules of Project Management is to NEVER do any work you aren’t getting paid for. Taking this a step further, never do any additional work without a signed change order in-hand. This goes for construction or any other industry.
A huge part of why so many companies lose money on projects is because they’ve done work they’re not being paid for. Difficult Clients may hem and haw that they’re not getting all of the work done they expected, but so long as there’s a clearly defined scope of work on the project, they can’t demand that you perform work beyond it (for free, anyways).
One solution is to try and work with the Client on finding efficient, cost-effective solutions for performing the ‘extra’ work. There’s always a way to find a reasonable solution – if the Client is being extremely difficult, kindly refer them to item no. 1!
Read Next: Importance Of Finance In Project Management: Key Terms & Processes
3. Minimize Arguing, Yelling & Conflict – Be Solution-Oriented
If problems on a project are fires, then yelling and fighting about the problems is like gasoline on that fire.
Difficult Clients, by definition, are tougher to deal with in some way than most other Clients. Either they expect things to happen too soon, are always barking demands or are just unreasonable at every turn. As Project Managers, it can be incredibly tempting to argue with and yell at these Clients in response. Don’t do it! Why? The difficult Client will most likely respond in kind, acting worse than ever.
It’s best to respond to difficult Clients in a solution-oriented manner. This includes using positive vocabulary, such as “we CAN do this/that”, “the best option is to…”, or “we can improve x,y,z by…”. This will hopefully keep the Client on somewhat reasonable ground, but if not…at least you tried!
For the record, we aren’t saying you should be stepped on either. As far as that goes…
Read Next: Different Personalities: Work With These Five Types
4. Don’t Get Bullied Or Walked All Over
One marker of an extremely difficult Client is to try and bully or walk all over the Project Manager working for them. This can take many forms, such as:
- Yelling, Arguing & Confrontational Body Language
- Trying To Push Your Buttons
- Being Difficult On Purpose
- Not Listening To What You’re Saying
- Trying To Get Away With As Much As Possible
- Demeaning You On A Personal Level, Including Interfering With Your Personal Time
The list goes on, but in any case – it’s time to put your foot down.
This doesn’t need to be aggressive or mean either (remember item no. 3!). Standing your ground as a Project Manager can really just come down to a few things:
- Say NO To Unreasonable Requests & Demands
- Refer Back To The Contract / Scope Of Work Whenever Possible
- Don’t Forsake Project Management Best Practices To Appease A Difficult Client, Such As Doing Work Without A Signed Change Order
Ultimately, only you know when you must stand up for yourself, your company or the project – in any case, it’s in your best interest to so!
Read Next: How To Stop Being Too Nice At Work: 12 Simple, Quick Techniques
5. Never Lie Or Make Promise That Can’t Be Kept
Last but not least on our list – never lie or make a promise that can’t be kept to your Client! This goes for Clients on any type of project, but counts double when it comes to difficult Clients.
When difficult Clients are doing any of the above – yelling, making unreasonable demands, etc. – it can be tempting to start agreeing to things just to escape the conversation. I’ve been there. While it may make the Client retreat for a short while, they’ll be back in full force and more when a plan doesn’t pan out.
The worst part? The Client has every right to be upset when a promise isn’t kept. Even if they pressured you into a promise or commitment, that won’t matter after the fact.
It’s best practice for Project Managers to keep all conversations above board with their Clients, regardless of how difficult these conversation need to be.
Read Next: Inexperienced Project Manager? The Do’s & Don’ts For Young P.M.s
Working For Difficult Clients As A Project Manager: In Summary
Difficult Clients are a pain in the neck to deal with – no two ways about it. When working for difficult Clients as a Project Manager, we must make sure that we simultaneously keep our guard up while also seeking out solutions, rather than letting the frustration get the best of us. At the end of the day, it’s not even the Client or your company that benefits most – the project does! I hope this article has been helpful, thanks a lot for reading.
