I can almost hear her shouting to the photographer as she holds her hands over her face, “Please! This is my private life!”
My first reflection about this “news” story (was there really no other news to report?!) was a direct hit on our profession as project managers. We have been taught from our youth to always “put your best foot forward” as we represent ourselves and report our work to others. However, in our professional practice of project management, honesty and accuracy of project performance reporting is one of the utmost “foundations” (ok, a make-up pun here). Whether in actual practice or choosing the best answer for a question on the PMP® Exam, we should be as accurate as possible when reporting project status. There should not be a “spin” on the truth, making the project look better than it really is. We shouldn’t place a “happy filter” in front of the eyes that have project oversight. I don’t have to discuss the concept of “putting lipstick on a pig” here, do I? Thanks, I really didn’t want to go down that road…
I hope that all of our project performance reports are glowing and convey success due to realities of our profession. Let the beauty of a well-planned and well-executed project make us dizzy rather than the “spin” applied otherwise.
As we observe PMI®’s Code of Conduct as well as the tenets of Project Communications Management, let’s lose the make-up kit that may tempt you to paint a prettier picture of your project. When the paparazzi publish the true snapshots of your project, your pretty performance reports may look more like a cover-up than a cover-girl!