19 April, 2022

Agony Angels: How to Give Bad News – with Hélio Costa


This project seems to be constant bad news. And I’ve been saving it up. How is it best to communicate bad news to my Project Board?

Welcome to my guest, Hélio Costa.

At the start of the session, we’ll pick a random number. That will point us to a question from my community about Project Management. We’ll discuss it, and try to end up with some practical suggestions. 

The full question is: 

‘This project seems to be bad news yesterday, bad news today, and bad news tomorrow. And I’ve been saving it up. How is it best to communicate bad news to my Project Board?’

This video is safe for viewing in the workplace.

This is learning, so, sit back and enjoy

About Hélio Costa

Hélio Costa is a project and program manager and the founder of the open-source Fleks Hybrid Model of project management. I have done a full interview with Hélio about what Fleks can offer you. We also have a feature article about Fleks, written by Hélio: Hybrid Project Management: Get Better Results with the Free FLEKS Hybrid Model.

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Our Conversation about Communicating Bad News

  • 00:00 – Hélio Costa, founder of the Fleks Model, joins me for Agony Angels
  • 01:07 – The challenge is how to give bad news
  • 01:44 – Hélio’s first tip: Honesty
  • 02:11 – Hélio’s second tip: have a solution
  • 02:37 – Mike’s first tip
  • 03:06 – Hélio’s three-step process for bad news
  • 03:41 – Bad news and blame
  • 04:22 – Do you understand the situation well-enough
  • 05:49 – Bad news and your team
  • 07:27 – ‘Collaborative Wisdom’
  • 08:47 – Triggers and Thresholds
  • 09:51 – KRIs – Key Risk Indicators
  • 10:03 – KRIs and KPIs
  • 11:01 – Mike’s summing-up m- three key points
  • 12:11 – How to get in touch with Hélio Costa

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What Kit does a Project Manager Need?

I asked Project Managers in a couple of forums what material things you need to have, to do your job as a Project Manager. They responded magnificently. I compiled their answers into a Kit list. I added my own. 

Check out the Kit a Project Manager needs

Note that the links are affiliated.

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For more of our videos in themed collections, join our Free Academy of Project Management

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Mike Clayton

About the Author...

Dr Mike Clayton is one of the most successful and in-demand project management trainers in the UK. He is author of 14 best-selling books, including four about project management. He is also a prolific blogger and contributor to ProjectManager.com and Project, the journal of the Association for Project Management. Between 1990 and 2002, Mike was a successful project manager, leading large project teams and delivering complex projects. In 2016, Mike launched OnlinePMCourses.
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