🚩 Tactical Memo 017: Become the Project Leader People Want to Work With

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Read time: 6 minutes

Welcome to Tactical Memo, my newsletter where I share frameworks, strategies, and hard-earned lessons for leaders navigating complex environments.

If you’re looking for my cheat sheets and deep-dive guides, the vault is linked at the bottom of this email.

The Briefing: Today’s Focus

• Why Most Project Leaders Struggle to Win Real Buy-In

• The Rule: People Follow Trust, Not Gantt Charts

• A Tactical Playbook: How to Lead Projects Without Burning Out Your Team

• What’s Happening: General Updates

• A Reader’s Question: How to Rebuild Credibility After Losing Your Team’s Confidence

🙇 On October 6th, the next AI-Powered Project Management cohort begins.

Just 1 week left to register.
📌 Payment deadline: October 5th
⚡️ Final cohort of 2025 at this price

And here’s what Kathryn, from Alchemy Communications, had to say about her experience:

Why Most Project Leaders Struggle to Win Real Buy-In

If you have ever led a project and felt like you were dragging people behind you, you know the problem. You had the authority, you had the plan, but you did not have the pull.

Here is the truth: people do not follow project plans. They follow project leaders.

If your style feels like control, people resist. If your style feels like clarity, people rally. The difference is not in the template you use but in how you show up.

The Rule: People Follow Trust, Not Gantt Charts

It does not matter how perfect your tracker or tool is. If people do not trust you, they will stall, hedge, or work around you. If they do trust you, they will move fast even when things are messy.

Your job is to become the kind of project leader people choose to follow, not the one they are forced to tolerate.

A Tactical Playbook: How to Lead Projects Without Burning Out Your Team

Step 1. Anchor on Outcomes, Not Activities

Most project leaders micromanage tasks. That drains energy and creates resistance. Instead, reframe everything around outcomes.

How to do this right now:

1. Open your project plan or task list.

2. Rewrite every major deliverable as an outcome statement:

   • Instead of “Draft the report” → “Report finalized so the director can approve by Monday.”

   • Instead of “Hold stakeholder meeting” → “Stakeholders aligned on funding decision.”

3. In every request, add the “so that…” clause.
   This instantly makes the work feel purposeful and makes people want to contribute.

Step 2. Make the First 10 Days Count

The way you start determines whether people trust you.

How to do this right now:

1. Schedule 15–minute one-on-ones with every key contributor.

2. Ask three questions:

   • “What usually makes projects fail here?”

   • “What’s one thing you want me to protect you from?”

   • “If this project succeeds, what will it look like to you?”

3. Take notes. Play back the patterns at the kickoff meeting. Example:

   • “Here’s what I heard from you: scope creep kills us, meetings drag too long, and executive changes blindside us. We’ll protect against those from day one.”
     This shows you listen, and you’ve already built credibility before the project even ramps.

Step 3. Protect Your Team From Noise

Your value as a project leader is not just pushing tasks. It is shielding your team from the chaos.

How to do this right now:

1. Identify the top three sources of noise (example: executives dropping random requests, unclear approvals, or conflicting instructions).

2. Create a script for each. Example for executives:

   • “Thanks for the idea. I’ll log it and bring it up at our scope check-in Friday.”

3. Keep these requests out of your team’s view until you filter them.
   Your team will trust you because you defend their focus.

Step 4. Run Alignment Like a Pro

Most project meetings waste time. Yours should make people want to show up.

How to do this right now:

1. Replace “status updates” with a 3–question huddle:

   • What’s stuck?

   • What’s next?

   • Who owns it?

2. End every meeting with a one-slide or one–paragraph recap of:

   • Decisions made

   • Who owns them

   • What’s next

3. Send that recap within 24 hours.
   This makes every meeting feel short, clear, and decisive. People leave thinking, “That was useful.”

Step 5. Close With Recognition and Storytelling

Most leaders sprint to the next project and miss the most important moment: closing strong.

How to do this right now:

1. Book a 30–minute wrap-up session.

2. Prepare three slides:

   • What we set out to achieve

   • What we delivered

   • Who made it possible

3. In the meeting, tell the story of the project from start to finish, naming individuals who stepped up.

4. Share a short version of that story with your sponsor or senior leader. Example:

   • “We delivered X ahead of schedule because [person] solved Y problem and [person] kept Z on track.”
     This makes your team look good publicly and ensures people want to work with you again.

Before We Get To The Next Reader’s Question, Let’s Talk About What’s Happening – General Updates

🙇 Join the AI-Powered Project Management cohort. This course shows leaders how to combine project execution with AI, and equips you with the exact playbooks you need to stay indispensable. It’s ranked the #1 Project Management course on Maven Learning and carries a 4.9/5 student rating.

⚡The Biggest Project Mistake Leaders Make
Thu, Oct 9 • 11:00 AM EDT (30 min)
Stop assuming clarity will “arrive later.” We’ll lock roles, outcomes, and expectations before chaos starts. Sign up for free

⚡Become the Project Manager Everyone Wants to Work With
Thu, Oct 30• 11:00 AM EDT (30 min)
Five moves to earn trust fast: clean kickoff, quick win, tough talk early, and momentum with proof. Sign up for free

The Briefing: Reader’s Question

Q: “I led a project last quarter and it fell apart. Deadlines slipped, people stopped showing up to meetings, and my sponsor started bypassing me. I know my team doesn’t see me as credible anymore. How do I recover and make sure this doesn’t happen again?”

A: Losing a team’s confidence is tough, but it is not permanent. Credibility can be rebuilt faster than you think if you attack it head-on.

Here is how I would reset:

1. Own It Publicly. In your next kickoff, acknowledge what happened: “Last time, I let scope get away from us. This time I’m tightening alignment.” People respect candor.

2. Shrink the Circle. Instead of trying to manage everyone, identify the 3–4 stakeholders who control momentum. Align deeply with them. The rest will follow.

3. Deliver One Early Win. Pick a milestone you can guarantee in the first 30 days. Hit it. Broadcast it. Nothing restores credibility like proof of delivery.

4. Over-Communicate Decisions. After every meeting, send a 5-line recap: “Here’s what we agreed today, here’s who owns it.” This kills confusion and signals you are in command.

5. Recognize Out Loud. Each time someone delivers, spotlight it. When people feel seen, they lean back in.

Within one or two cycles, you will notice the energy shift. Teams follow the leader who creates clarity and momentum. Become that leader, and credibility returns.

Cheat Sheet Vault

p.s… As promised, click below for my free cheat sheet and infographic vault. I’ve added 7 new ones this week.

👉 Access the Vault Here

Until next time,
Justin

✍️ From the Desk of Justin Bateh, PhD
Real-world tactics. No fluff. Just what works.