This contradicts the advice others are giving but in my experience here's what has worked for me. * Communicate early * Document the warning signals - have an email thread - this is critical in saving you later * You will be asked to hustle, have explanations for why hustling won't help reach the deadline * Have clear reasons why the delay is caused - why wasn't the skill gap known earlier?

Be ready to lose some weekends and burn additional hours - but people will appreciate your being on top of things.

People shoot the messenger - when the messenger is too late in delivering the warning when the rest of the business can't do anything to fix it. Even if management is anticipating delays - it will still look good on you that you are able to foresee problems, and your foresight will be rewarded later on.

People don't like hearing bad news - but if the bad news is delivered early and documented in such a way that it makes them responsible for not acting on warnings, they tend to work on it positively.

If you do the above and still get shot as the carrier of bad news - the work culture is toxic you are better off working elsewhere.