Every Project Needs a Donkey

People always ask me the same thing when I start to lead an international project: What do you need for the project to succeed? The answer is simple: I need a donkey.

Project management has several stages: preparing and raising awareness within the organization, defining objectives and planning phases, implementing and executing with continuous monitoring to make adjustments, maintaining constant alignment, and finally, consolidation and sustainability over time. In all these phases, what must never be missing is a donkey. I dare to say that if there isn’t a donkey, the project will fail sooner or later.

In many Latin countries, the term “donkey” is loaded with negative stereotypes: it’s associated with stubbornness or ignorance. But why, then, do I suggest that more donkeys are needed in project teams?

The reality is very different from popular belief. Donkeys, as work companions, possess qualities that every leader and project manager should admire and emulate:

💡INTELLIGENT: They have good memory, sound judgment, and —I love this— an outstanding capacity for learning.

💡CAUTIOUS AND CAREFUL: Before facing a new situation, they assess risks. If a donkey refuses to move forward, it’s because it senses something isn’t right.

💡RESILIENT AND STRONG: They are adapted to endure hard work and adverse climates. They can carry heavy loads efficiently and easily.

💡VOCAL: Their characteristic and powerful bray is used to communicate over short, medium, and very long distances... whenever necessary.

💡SOCIABLE: They are very social animals that enjoy the company of other donkeys and, if treated well, of humans too (that memory counts!). And they are truly endearing!

In recent years, I went from being a donkey apprentice, to becoming an excellent donkey, and finally, teaching others to be even more of a donkey than me. As I said to my last boss: “If there isn’t a donkey, I’ll be the one!”

Being a donkey is not synonymous with ignorance, but rather with wanting to learn, knowing how to assess risks, adapting with optimism, communicating in good times and bad, and, above all, being a joy to work with as a team.

So, what now? Don’t you think a donkey is essential in any project?