Having been involved in several development projects over the years, I worked for, with and hired several project managers. This experience has shown me three common patterns with project managers across industries and organisations. First, it’s about perception.
As a project manager, you are a leader, advocate, advisor and facilitator not just for individual projects, but also for your team and organisation. However, most clients perceive project managers not as leaders but rather as utility workers. Sadly, most project managers also see themselves this way. This mindset drives the 3 deadly sins of project management.
- Documentation
Throughout PM training, we are taught that project managers are meant to take notes, capture key points in meetings and document everything.
I agree. However, when we limit documentation to note-taking alone, we are leaving so much on the table. Technology offers us better systems for capturing and sieving information. When all you do is take notes during strategy meetings, you relegate your role from leadership to administrative.
As a project manager, your value lies in your contribution; a function of your experience, planning, voice and ideas. Your value lies in being a team player and engaging in conversations that concern you, not only taking notes.
- Brandishing the Iron Triangle
When I interact with young project managers, I often realise the impact of “blanket training”. For years, we’ve been taught to see project success as a function of time, budget and scope (TBS). Thanks to various PM certifications, we have upheld these 3 pillars for decades. But today’s world doesn’t function as it were outlined in the 1990s text books.
Project success now goes beyond TBS. Clients need more! They have varied expectations we must manage. They want sustainable delivery on project outcomes and while doing that, you must never neglect your team’s morale. The uncertainties of today hardly allow for 100% delivery on time, budget and scope. But clients will appreciate you for managing their expectations well. They will appreciate you for going beyond the benchmark, anticipating their needs, communicating professionally and wowing them with your delivery. They will come back when they feel satisfied with your expertise and professionalism.
- No!
Now, I won’t ask you to be the sloppy, agreeable guy like Carl Allen from the 2008 movie Yes Man. But realise that you can say “No” without actually using the word. This is important because clients don’t like to be told “no”. I have learnt that lesson over the years.
When juggling multiple projects, some project managers tend to add more stacks on the pile thereby triggering an eventual collapse. Some clients can be so demanding that they keep pushing the project deliverables beyond the initial scope. And they won’t settle for a “No”. Rather than using the “N” word, consider using “yes, and…” This way, you give clients the option of accepting or rejecting your offer and understanding the impact if they chose the latter.
At the end, the PM title often sells us out. Maybe we should consider trading “manager” for “executive” or “advisor”. But renaming stuff hardly changes anything. Even if a name-change were enforced, it might take a generation or two to fully stick.
However, the most immediate solution is to change the way project managers perceive themselves and behave differently. We must consciously foster the right attitudes, habits, leadership qualities and manners to avoid these 3 deadly sins.
