Archive for the ‘People Management’ Category
The means, not the end
One of my continual complaints about the way project management is taught and practised is that the focus is on process rather than success. I’ve alluded to this in an earlier post, in which I drew an analogy between the fixation on process and being blinded by a light. Thus transfixed by process, the project manager loses sight of the real objective of the project- which, presumably, is to create high quality deliverables. Preoccupation with process has other negative side-effects too. In a recent post, Scott Berkun points out that it is the reason that project managers [generally] get no respect from those who do “real work” on the project. Project managers are often seen as obsessed with artefacts such as schedules, plans etc., which team members do not see as being critical to project success.
The reality is, project managers are sometimes caught between two conflicting imperatives:
- To get the job done – which requires them to focus on helping the team.
- To satisfy the requirements of project management standards mandated by their organisations or PMOs.
Many project managers focus on the latter, completely ignoring the former. Now, I’m not advocating the wholesale dumping of standards. These should be followed wherever appropriate, but only insofar as they contribute to the project. A lot of process-related stuff is simply administrative stuff that the team will see as irrelevant – stuff that a project manager has to do, but doesn’t contribute to project success. On the other hand, there are several things – not mandated by methodologies – that a project managers can do to really help the team focus on outcomes. Here are some of them:
- Minimise distractions and irritants: This amounts to keeping bureaucratic overhead inflicted on the team to a bare minimum. The project manager should be taking care of all administrative work, involving team members only when absolutely necessary. A distraction (or should I say, irritant) familiar to most is the unnecessary meeting. Forget regular status meetings, if possible. If you absolutely must have it, restrict it to a 10 minute stand-up affair.
- No surprises: A project manager needs to anticipate potential problems or risks. In my opinion one of the main functions of a project manager is to foresee and avoid nasty surprises, or project banana skins as I’ve called them in an earlier piece.
- Empower the team: Those who do the work are best placed to make decisions regarding the work. Sure, the project manager needs to ensure that decisions made are consistent with project goals and don’t create any conflict, but the decision itself is best left to the experts who are doing the work. This brings me to the last point which is to
- Get out of the way: The project team knows what they have to do. Leave them to it. Many project managers (particularly those with a strong technical background) feel the compulsive need to get involved in details. Team members will view such behaviour as interference at best, or micromanagement at worst. Don’t do it.
Processes and methodologies sometimes get in the way of project work because of the undue importance accorded to these by project (and programme) managers who really should know better. Despite the requirements of PMOs, the real aim of a project isn’t the creation of project management artefacts. Project managers are far better served by focusing on the objectives of the project, and helping their teams do the same. Methodologies and processes should be tailored to help one do so – even on a per-project basis, if necessary. Remember, they are only the means, not the end.
A cliche-ridden corporate crisis in five limericks
In times of crisis, some managers tend to lapse into cliche-speak. So it’s no surprise that things go from bad to verse…
Market churn has set us adrift.
What we need is a paradigm shift.
Get our ducks in a row,
push the envelope,
to keep us from going o’er the cliff.
The boss says, “Let’s touch base.
Make game-plans for the next phase.
We’ll have meetings and talks.
Think outside the box,
to ensure we’re still in the race.”
But the elephant in the room
refuses to sing to our tune,
or dance to our beat,
sing from the same sheet
– even once in a blue moon.
Chin up! We’re still in the ring.
The fat lady hasn’t started to sing.
It ain’t over, they say,
’til it’s over, so hey,
let’s see what the new day will bring.
In the end, we stake our claim
to fifteen seconds of fame.
All said and done,
we’ve hit a home run
in the dying minutes of the game.
Incidentally, portions of this piece have been reproduced as an epigram in Chapter 1 of my book, The Heretic’s Guide to Best Practices. Quite appropriately, that chapter is entitled, Platitudes: empty words that make a lot of noise…
The Jekyll and Hyde manager
Marty was in the server room, working with the consultant from Guaranteed Uptime, when Rob burst in. “Marty, I want you to go over to Jan’s desk right away,” he said. “She’s having trouble with the CMS again.”
“OK Rob, just as soon as I finish here.”
“No! You’ll need to go right away. If she doesn’t get looked after she’ll complain direct to Max. Then he’ll raise a stink about how inefficient IT is.” Rob’s tone was such that even the consultant looked up in askance.
Marty had been through this before. “Yeah Rob, give me five minutes. We’re almost done here.”
“You’d better get down there soon,” he said. Then , turning abruptly, he stomped off slamming the door on his way out.
The consultant looked at Marty, eyebrows raised.
“Don’t ask”, said Marty, and continued with his work.
Less than five minutes later…
“Uh oh,” said Marty sotto voce, as he heard Rob crash in again.
“I thought I told you to go over to Jan. Drop what you’re doing and go…NOW!”
Marty shook his head, and turning to the consultant he said, “I’ll be back in five.” He brushed past Rob and walked out.
—
The next day, word of Rob’s tantrum got around within the team. Regardless of the urgency of Jan’s problem, the consensus was that Rob’s behaviour was not acceptable. Yet, everyone knew that nothing would change. Rob had joined the company just under a year ago, and had been anxious to make a mark from day one. Obviously he’d succeeded, because although his team didn’t think much of him, senior management seemed to have a different view…
—
“Hi Max. Everything OK? Anything we can do for you?” asked Rob in a tone of faux sincerity. He’d spied Max entering the IT area and had rushed out to greet him.
“No. It’s all good. You’ve been looking after us very well. Jan mentioned that you sorted out some problems for her double quick yesterday.” He took Rob aside. “Look,” he said, “you’ve been doing a fine job since you took over. It’s been noticed, and even talked about at the recent board meeting. Well done, and keep it going.”
Max’s words sounded like an endorsement to Rob. “After all,” he thought, “if management likes what I’m doing, I must be doing a good job.”
—
Jekyll and Hyde and managers such as Rob are a fact of corporate life. They are easily recognised by the two faces they present at work – Jekyll to those who they report to and Hyde to those who report to them. Such behaviour enables them to get ahead in the short run but, because they ruin their work relationships in the process, they often lose out in the longer term.
There is another way, of course. That is to get ahead by doing things right. The two are not mutually exclusive, regardless of what Jekyll and Hyde managers may think. It is possible to advance and treat everyone, regardless of their position, with respect and consideration. If done this way, one will advance and also retain the loyalty of those who one may depend on in the future.
Eight to Late 