Freeing Yourself from That Nagging Pain

Carl's Corner
by Carl Pritchard, PMP (August 4, 2010)

That Nagging Pain Carl Pritchard

by Carl Pritchard, PMP, PMI-RMP

Ever have a low-grade, nagging, obnoxious pain? It could be your lower back. It could be a team member. It could be some out-of-date equipment. It's amazing what we'll put up with. For most of us, we pop a couple of aspirin and pray that it will eventually go away. But for most of these types of ailments, they're symptomatic of a larger problem, and they represent something that will have to be dealt with eventually.

While this article was spurred by personal experience (and a host of trips to the chiropractor), it was driven home by a student who only caught part of a conversation.

Me: It is driving me crazy. If this doesn’t resolve itself over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to need professional help.

Student (coming in late on the conversation): I have one of those! Her name’s Marcia. I swear I don’t know why we hire some of these people.

I laughed at the non sequitur at first, and then realized it wasn't a non sequitur at all. The analogy wasn't just close, it was flawless.

I spoke at length with my student about his problem. Here was a small nagging pain that had been vexing him for months. He had tried to ignore her at first, hoping she would straighten out. Then, he tried gentle, simple techniques that others suggested for improvement. He had even gone so far as to suggest she transfer to another division. None of those worked.

Time for professional help.

How do you know when it's time to seek out professional help in virtually any situation? The questions are relatively constant:

1)    Does the problem interfere with day-to-day operations?
2)    Has the problem persisted for more than a couple of weeks?
3)    Have you tried conventional, simple approaches to mitigate the problem without result?
4)    Have you exhausted all of the available “home remedies”
5)    Have you consulted peers about recommended courses of action?

If the answers to all of those questions are "yes," and the answers after taking those actions remains "yes," then it's time to seek out professional help.

Note that the questions apply whether your problem is a computer glitch, a bad back, or a recalcitrant team member (like Marcia). The problem is that many of us, rather than seeking out the insight of professionals, will cycle back through the list time and time again, hoping for a change in the result.

We hold to the optimistic perspective that maybe, just maybe, the situation will improve on its own.

That's fine on one level. Sometimes situations like this do resolve themselves. But on another level, we’re only adding to our own frustrations. We’re compounding the situation by simply putting ourselves in the position of reliving the worst elements of our pain without clear hope for a positive outcome.

No one likes to admit that they aren't the master of their own destiny in situations like this, but we also don't like to put ourselves in the position where we're spinning our wheels. Thus, let me suggest that the best hope is to know precisely when we’re going to seek the help of others without hesitation.

Next time you find yourself in a frustrating position, start asking the five questions above. And after you hit question #5 without result, seek out a professional who has dealt with the problem before. I’m meeting with my professional next Wednesday. And if it works out with my back, I'm introducing him to Marcia.

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(c) 2010, Pritchard Management Associates. Rights for personal and corporate use without reproduction for resale is granted freely to members of the Silver Spring Chapter of PMI. All other rights are reserved.