I’m afraid of heights. In my early twenties, two longtime friends invited me to join them jumping out of a plane, and I politely declined.
More recently, my daredevil grandfather, while he was in his early 90s, skydived with my brother alongside him. I clearly didn’t inherit the gene that drove my relatives to jump from great heights, trusting their parachute to open on time.
So it’s strange that I’m skilled at parachuting in a way that fortunately doesn’t involve heights.
Parachute Project Management
There’s a term for leaders who bring in project managers last minute to rescue a chaotic project. It’s called “Parachute Project Management”. I know this term exists, because I made it up.
Parachute project management occurs when leaders either believe they can manage a project on their own or fail to recognize they even have a project. Eventually, they realize they desperately need a project manager to take the project off their plate. In desperation, they bring one in, hoping for a timely solution before everything falls apart, and they and their team plummet to the ground. The project manager provides the parachute.
Always, when you need parachute project management, it’s critically important to bring in a team with experience.
Common Reasons to Need a Parachute
Here are some of the more common reasons when parachute project management is needed:
- Leaders believing they can handle it themselves, often not recognizing it’s a project or overestimating their internal resources.
- Delaying a request for project help, either by not consulting with internal departments with relevant experience or not reaching out to outside experts.
- Leaders and staff prioritizing other tasks, causing a delayed start on the project.
- A visionary taking over the project and adding more to the project, which can complicate matters.
- Miscommunication regarding the project’s actual existence.
- Staffing issues due to abrupt departures or illnesses.
- Needing to demonstrate project progress for a funder or investor based on pre-approved deadlines.
When do you need a parachute?
While parachute project management isn’t ideal, it’s sometimes necessary. There are times when you can’t avoid needing a parachute, such as when you inherit a messy project or you have major staffing changes.
A more effective approach is to plan ahead before the project begins, reducing the need for last-minute interventions. But even with the most astute leaders and staff, sometimes it happens. And that’s okay.
Need a parachute? We’re here for you.
With 20+ years project management experience, Barbara Kephart has led projects across industries like medical software, clinical trials, and cybersecurity. With experience teaching technical project management and stakeholder engagement, Barbara is dedicated to helping companies pivot, prioritize, and complete projects with Chief Project Officer-level expertise, project professionals, practical training, and hands-on management—without the executive-level price tag.