There is an old story called “The Sound the Hare Heard” in which a hare is lying in the grass contemplating what his fate would be if the earth were destroyed. At that moment, a piece of fruit falls to the ground from a tree behind him with a loud thump. The hare is startled into a panicked run, believing the world is indeed collapsing around him. As he runs past other animals who ask what is wrong, the hare shouts that the earth is breaking, which results in a collective stampede of beasts fearfully running for their lives. A lion, observing the scene from a distance, logically concludes that the earth cannot possibly be coming to an end and rushes to the head of the pack to stop them all from running straight into the sea. When he asks why they are fleeing, they all answer that the earth is collapsing. The lion then proceeds to ask who saw it collapsing.
“The elephants know all about it," some animals reply.
When he asks the elephants, they say, "We don't know. The tigers know."
The tigers say, "The rhinoceroses know."
The rhinoceroses say, "The wild oxen know."
The wild oxen say, "The buffaloes know."
The buffaloes say, "The elk know."
The elk say, "The boars know."
The boars say, "The deer know."
The deer say, "We don't know. The hares know."
When he asks the hares, they point the one who started it all and say, "This one told us."
The lion takes the hare back to the scene of the crime and shows him the piece of fruit that fell from the tree. He then reports back to the other animals that everything is fine and they all go back to their daily routine, unaware of the danger they put themselves in.
While I do concede this tale is a bit dramatic, I see similar behavior on projects all the time. Consultants need to maintain a balance between prematurely raising issues and providing the appropriate level of transparency. It is not an easy equilibrium to achieve and is really more of an art than a science.
The basis of any consulting/client relationship is trust. The type of alarmist behavior illustrated in our story, although not necessarily intentional, becomes the center of attention to senior management and can hurt a consultant’s credibility. Project managers and team members need to ensure issues are escalated in a proactive manner, but only when equipped with supporting information. Sounding the alarm without doing the required level of due diligence causes speculation, panic, and needless hours of damage control to get back on track. When escalating issues, your messaging needs to be clear, concise, and consumable by your audience and always be presented with a summary of the issue and potential impacts. Once the issue is understood, the group can then collectively decide the best path forward instead of being in a position where a select few must head off and redirect the hysterical herd.
Effective communication and issue escalation are critical to the success of any project, but even more importantly, they build trust and confidence with the client.
The earth is not coming to an end. Be the lion.
