The impact of poor project performance conversations on project success and on people webinar, 20 April 2026

The impact of poor project
performance conversations on
project success and on people
webinar
Monday 20 April 2026

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space)
The impact of poor project performance
conversations on project success and on
people
Paul Fisher
Managing Consultant, Costain

© 2024 Association for Project Management 3
Introduction
• Paul Fisher – 33 years working in Project Management and Controls roles
across Defence, Rail and Aviation Sector
What are we going to talk about?
• What is the impact on the Project and Individuals if we are unable to have
‘Good Project Performance Conversations’?
• What influences our ability to conduct ‘Good Performance Conversations’?

A Formula for Success?
‘Good Baseline + Good Data + Competent People + Good Performance
Conversations + Good decisions
= Greater chance of Project success’

What Does a ‘Good Project Performance Conversation’
Sound Like?
Chat
• Please add the kind of words and phrases you would expect to hear in a Good
Conversation

• Open Questions
• Be Specific & Factual: Use concrete examples (Situation, Behaviour, Impact) rather than generalisations.
• Two-Way Street: Encourage self-reflection and feedback from the team member; it's a dialogue, not a monologue.
• Balance: Acknowledge strengths and successes alongside areas for improvement.
• Future-Focused: Shift from past issues to future development and goal setting.
• Regular & Timely: Don't wait for formal reviews; provide ongoing feedback.
6
“Thank you”
May I just test my understanding…”
“Is there a common root cause…”
“Based on this when do you predict we
will finish?”
“This is unacceptable, go away
and come up with a different
answer”
“I’ll choose the most optimistic view….”
“This data is useless – I’m not looking at it”
Sound Like?

Sound Like?

What Influences Good Performance Conversations?
• Leadership – set the tone and the environment
• Baseline - is it robust and achievable?
• Data – can we believe and trust our project performance data?
• Competence – do we train and coach people to have ‘make sense’ of data and
have good conversations?

What is the Impact of Poor Project Conversations?
On the Project? – what is the impact on the Project?
On People / Project Teams? – what is the impact on People?
On the Organisation and its Culture and Reputation? – what is the impact on the
Organisation?

An Example – Nimrod MRA 4
One of many complex reasons the Project failed related to poor leadership
behaviours in Project Reviews

And What About the People?

What is Burnout?
• “an ongoing state of feeling overwhelmed, fatigued, and emotionally
drained due to consistent stress in your work, family, or social life”.

APM Research Fund Series Paper
“The wellbeing of project professionals”
• Project-based work has long been characterised as
frenetic, fast-paced and dynamic.
• Project professionals typically encounter high
expectations and severe pressure to deliver
projects on time and within budget,
• To reconcile changing expectations of scope due
to dynamic factors, such as new initiatives from the
project sponsor.
• It is not surprising that project professionals
work in a stressful environment.

What Can We Do???

But… How Do We Fix the Environment and Culture?
Discussion……..

Summary
• Be the change you want to see
• Set the appropriate environment and culture
• Allow open discussion and listen
• Determine root causes and take action and make decisions
• Support and coach individuals in how to ‘make sense’ of data and tell the story

The impact of poor project performance conversations on project success and on people webinar, 20 April 2026