The Unpopular Project Manager
- Michele LePage
- Oct 11, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 14, 2022
Many organizations have had a bad experience with a project manager in the past. It is now a common misconception that a project manager's role is just to assign work and set deadlines. There are ways that we can rise above this first impression and show the value of strong project management.
Whether we like it or not “management” is a part of project management and a lot of project managers that I have worked with in the past have taken this too literally.
Project management is not just scheduling resources, updating project plans, and nagging the team to get their work done. Project management means leading the team in the right direction, listening, understanding, and acting on what needs to get done for the project to be successful.
“The 'P' in PM is as much about 'people management' as it is about 'project management'." - Cornelius Fichtner
Here are some common mistakes that I have experienced from other project managers in my career:
Nagging your team to work harder to meet a deadline or suffer consequences. It is the project manager's responsibility to monitor the project schedule and resource utilization, and you as a PM should be able to mitigate this earlier in the project. This type of strategy lowers team moral and its just poor project management.
Blaming others. Projects are a team effort, there is nothing worse than working with a PM who broadcasts who made a mistake or pushes blame on to others. You will not gain the respect of your team behaving in this manner and its a very powerful way of destroying a resource.
Delegating actions to others and not acting on their own action items. This is extremely common. This gives the impression that you are just there to bark orders. I find that taking a hands on approach and becoming a doer will help you get support from the team and improve comradery.
Being the Nice Guy Your team may like working with you, but don't let yourself get pushed around by the sponsor. You need to be able to voice project concerns to higher management and have your team's back.
Changing Your Approach
Develop a clear scope for the project
Developing a clear project scope document and project charter will ensure that your team and organization has a clear understanding of the project objectives and success criteria. Without this, there is no clear direction on what defines successful completion of the project. At any point in the project, everyone should understand their role, tasks, and how to execute the project plan.
Finalize roles and responsibilities
As the lead on the project, it is your responsibility to work with your team to assign resources and responsibilities. The best method is to create a project RACI no matter how simple the project to assign roles to the team and ensure everyone knows what they are supposed to do. Make sure you work with the project team to build your RACI, as all roles and responsibilities should be agreed upon by everyone involved. Making this an open discussion with the project team will ensure that tasks are assigned to qualified individuals and that there are no roadblocks with resource availability. This is one of the key misses that can lead to project failure.
Review sponsor/client goals
Identifying clear sponsor/client objectives will lead to a successful project. Its important for a project manager to share these objectives with the project team and receive iterative feedback throughout the duration of the project. In the end, the product your are producing must meet your sponsor/client's standards, and not be influenced by the personal opinions on the team.
Break it down
Once the roles and responsibilities are assigned, its time to review your workplan. A project manager is responsible for the workplans that break the bigger project into smaller phases, with tasks for each stage, and defines how these tasks must be carried out. Understanding when a resource must complete a task will not only help manage resource availability, but will ensure they are not overloaded with overlapping project work. Lack of a clear workplan creates utter chaos, which can cause schedule delays and waste resource time.
Manage communications
It is the role of a project manager to share regular project status updates with sponsors or client's so that they are informed on the project’s progress. Consistent communication will ensure that you are on top of any changing demands or project scope throughout the duration of the project. We want our project sponsor to be satisfied with the work that has been completed.
“Of all the things I've done, the most vital is coordinating the talents of those who work for us and pointing them towards a certain goal” - Walt Disney
Be agile
It is inevitable that project scope can change. A client's expectations or objectives may be influenced by larger organizational change. If this occurs, you as a project manager must take responsibility to manage any change to the project plan, scope, and responsibilities. Without your leadership, the project team will be scrambling with everchanging demands.
Have your teams back
There is a lot more a project manager can do for the project team than just managing a project, this is how you can set yourself apart. When you are on the front line of a project, you should value the effort your team is putting in the project and make sure there are no distractions that can affect their motivation and productivity.
If you are coming in to a project team for the first time, this will help them see the value of having a project manager around. Perhaps in the past they not only had to get their tasks completed and delivered, but also had to create their own schedules, manage their tasks and communications, etc. You can win the trust of the team by making sure that team members don’t have to worry about anything beyond their work roles. Give them kudos for the job they are doing and let them know you are there to help and bring value.
Good project managers should be respected by the team as a whole, and by the organization in general. This is not only because they deliver results, but because they facilitate communications between all areas of the organization such as stakeholders and the project team.
The best project managers aren't just bureaucrats. They improve teamwork and cooperation, are champions for any process change within the organization, and remove roadblocks that negatively impact those associated with a project.
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