The Drift of Projects: Overcoming Friction and Building Momentum

Every project begins with high aspirations—bold ideas that aim to change the world or a simple desire to make things better. Yet, as time passes, even the most promising ventures can drift. This drift isn’t inevitable, but it’s common and happens because of one critical force: friction.

Friction comes in many forms—distractions, unmet expectations, shifting priorities, or a mismatch between how we work and a situation's complexity. It’s not enough to hope things will get back on track when friction sets in. As leaders, we must take deliberate action to redirect the course.

Drift is Natural

No one sets out to fail. We launch projects with ambitious goals backed by plans full of potential. But as any leader knows, no plan survives first contact with reality. There’s always a point when the initial excitement wears off, and the hard work of execution begins. This transition—from concept to delivery—can be challenging.

Even the best teams feel this shift. At first, you might sense a subtle change in energy. People seem less engaged. Meeting attendance starts to slip, decisions are delayed, and momentum falters. Everything may still look fine on the surface, and the status is still ‘green’, but something is off.

This is the beginning of the drift.

Friction Fuels the Drift

At around the three-month mark, many projects face a crossroads. The novelty has worn off, and friction begins to set in. The root causes can vary:

• Ambiguity: When uncertainty increases, especially for operational teams, people retreat to familiar tasks, getting distracted by day-to-day responsibilities.

• New Realities: As Kurt Lewin famously said, "You never really understand a system until you try to change it." Surprises arise as you progress, and the initial plan may no longer fit the evolving landscape.

• Overload: Taking on too much without a clear sense of priorities can bog down even the most well-intentioned teams.

• Misalignment: The team's approach may not align with the challenges at hand, creating friction between how people operate and what’s required to succeed.

Just like a spacecraft encountering Earth’s atmosphere, these factors slow your project down—at first imperceptibly, but eventually, it becomes impossible to ignore. If unattended, this friction will cause your project to spiral out of control, de-orbiting it from its intended path.

You Have a Choice

As your project begins to drift, you’re faced with three potential paths (see the diagram below):

A. Recover: Reclaim focus and get back on track.

B. Reset: Adjust expectations to align with a revised end state.

C. Ignore: Allow the project to drift toward an inevitable end.

No one consciously chooses option C. Yet many projects end up there, quietly fading away until, regardless of what has been delivered, someone declares victory so we can move on. Without deliberate intervention, that’s where your project could be heading.

Leading Through Drift

Fighting drift requires injecting energy and reducing friction. Unfortunately, a common mistake is to add more governance, introducing more layers of bureaucracy, which can stifle progress rather than encourage it. Instead, leaders must focus on alignment and creating momentum.

Here’s how you can counteract drift and reinvigorate your team:

1. Bring Energy and Focus: As the leader, your enthusiasm and drive are critical. Recentre the team on the original intent and revitalise their passion for the mission.

2. Clarify Accountability: Make sure every team member knows their role and has the context they need to deliver results.

3. Align Resources with Complexity: Ensure the ways of working and the team’s capabilities match the complexity of the problem you’re solving.

4. Create Space to Reflect: Regularly take time to step back, think, and align the team. Reflection can help clarify the path forward and surface hidden issues before they escalate.

Keep the Momentum

Drift is a natural part of any project but is not an excuse for failure. Without deliberate energy and focus, drift becomes a vicious cycle, leading to underperformance. In many ways, underperformance can be more damaging than outright failure, draining valuable resources that could be better applied elsewhere.

Your role as a leader is to counteract this drift. By staying alert, energised, and taking intentional steps to reduce friction, you can steer your project back on course and ensure it reaches its full potential.