The project management profession is facing a serious contradiction.
On one hand, demand is high. In Australia alone, the project management workforce is expected to grow by 6.3% over the next two years, according to the Australian Institute of Project Management (https://www.aipm.com.au/).

On the other hand, instability is growing.
Insolvencies in the construction sector are at a ten-year high. Industry reports show that one in five major projects now either significantly overruns budgets or fails to meet original objectives (https://www.pwc.com.au/important-problems/capital-projects-infrastructure/capital-projects-market-outlook-2025.html).

That instability often filters down to the project level — creating environments that can be chaotic, political, or downright toxic.

If you're a project manager considering a move, it's no longer enough to ask, “Is this the right title or salary?”
You also need to ask, “Am I stepping into a dysfunctional environment that could damage my career?”

Here's how you can spot the signs before you say yes.

1. Leadership Turnover: Who's Actually Steering the Ship?

When leadership changes frequently, projects suffer.
Continuity disappears. Direction shifts. Priorities change midstream.

Recent research by the UK’s Association for Project Management found that projects with two or more leadership changes during delivery were 50% more likely to miss deadlines or budgets (https://www.apm.org.uk/resources/find-a-resource/leadership-and-change-management/).

When you interview, consider asking:

• How long have the key leaders been in place?
  
  
• What were the circumstances around previous leadership changes?
  
  

Example:
A client-side PM joined a government infrastructure project midstream. Within 12 months, he had worked under three different project directors.
Each arrival shifted priorities, forcing costly rework. Morale collapsed. He left within a year.

▶ Leadership churn at the top often signals deeper instability at the project level.

2. Lack of Clarity: Is the Project Scope a Moving Target?

Ambiguous scopes and shifting business cases are classic dysfunction signals.
Without clear parameters, you're left chasing moving goals — and absorbing blame when expectations aren't met.

Data from McKinsey’s 2024 Construction Productivity report shows that 30% of project failures can be directly traced back to poor scope definition at the outset (https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/capital-projects-and-infrastructure/our-insights/the-next-normal-in-construction).

You could ask during discussions:

• How was the project scope defined?
  
  
• When was the business case last reviewed and updated?
  
  
• How often are priorities re-evaluated?
  
  

Example:
A senior PM joined a large commercial project where "value engineering" was being redefined monthly.
By the end of Q1, the original scope had changed so much the budget forecasts were meaningless.
She spent most of her time reworking deliverables instead of progressing construction.

▶ If no one can explain the project scope simply and clearly, beware.

3. Warning Signs in Team Dynamics: Is This a Blame Culture?

Project managers rely on collaboration across disciplines.
When teams don’t trust each other, every decision becomes harder — and risk rises sharply.

Gallup’s 2024 workplace report found that low trust environments increase project failure rates by 33% (https://www.gallup.com/workplace/537368/five-things-leaders-need-to-know-in-2024.aspx).

You could watch for signs like:

• Interviewers deflecting responsibility ("That's not really my department...").
  
  
• Lack of enthusiasm or genuine pride when talking about current projects.
  
  
• Inconsistent answers from different stakeholders about key challenges.
  
  

Example:
A PM on a residential development noticed early during interviews that each stakeholder group blamed another for delays.
Once on board, he found that cross-team meetings were more about covering tracks than solving problems.

▶ Dysfunctional teams don't fail because they lack talent. They fail because they lack trust.

4. Unrealistic Timeframes: Are You Being Set Up to Fail?

Unachievable deadlines are one of the most common traps for project managers.
The Construction Playbook 2025 update in the UK stressed that “optimism bias” continues to skew project planning, leading to under-budgeting and under-scheduling (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-construction-playbook).

In interviews, you could ask:

• What assumptions were made when setting the timeline?
  
  
• Were risks independently assessed or reviewed by external consultants?
  
  
• Have major milestones already been missed?
  
  

Example:
A PM recruited into a hospital upgrade project discovered the completion date was set by political announcements — not by feasibility studies.
Despite raising concerns, deadlines were non-negotiable, setting the entire team up for public failure.

▶ If success depends on everything going perfectly, it’s already too fragile.

5. Lack of Investment in Systems and Processes

Efficient delivery depends on strong project controls — scheduling, budgeting, reporting.
If these systems are absent, manual workarounds become the norm, and governance breaks down.

According to PwC’s Capital Projects Market Outlook 2025, projects with integrated digital project management tools achieve 15–20% higher efficiency (https://www.pwc.com.au/important-problems/capital-projects-infrastructure/capital-projects-market-outlook-2025.html).

Questions you might want to ask:

• What project controls are currently in place?
  
  
• How is project reporting managed and tracked?
  
  
• What software or systems are standard across projects?
  
  

Example:
A PM joined an industrial project only to find schedules managed on Excel, risk registers on paper, and financial tracking months behind.
He spent more time firefighting data errors than leading the team.

▶ Poor systems create chaos faster than poor leadership.

6. Reputation in the Market: What Are People Saying?

You don’t have to rely solely on what interviewers tell you.
You can research external reputations through:

• Glassdoor reviews.
  
  
• Industry forums and LinkedIn discussions.
  
  
• Conversations with ex-employees or subcontractors.
  
  

Patterns are what matter.
One bad review is noise. Ten similar comments are a warning.

Example:
A project manager considering a role at a growing consultancy found several ex-staffers mentioning aggressive billing targets and unsupported project leads.
Digging deeper, he found that turnover rates were high — and commercial pressures often led to under-resourced projects.

▶ Reputations are built slowly and lost quickly. Pay attention to the smoke before you see the fire.

Final Reflection

You can't eliminate all risk when joining a new project or employer.
But you can ask sharper questions. You can read between the lines. You can research harder.

As a project manager, your career depends not just on your own skills — but on the environment you operate in.

Ask yourself:

• Am I stepping into a structure that will set me up to succeed — or one that will leave me shielding failure?
  
  
• If I raised a risk, would this culture support me — or silence me?
  
  
• If everything went wrong, would I be fighting for the project — or fighting for survival?
  
  

The answers aren't always on the job description.
But they are often there if you know where — and how — to look.