Project Managers Unite …We Can Do Better!

“Common Sense” Project Management (Part 2)

(Strong project leadership and enlightened “people” management.)

I almost consider the term “project manager” a misnomer. Successful projects are “led”, not “managed”. Projects are too dynamic to lend themselves to just being managed. What are the hallmarks of a good project leader? I believe that a strong leader possesses a strong sense of purpose that instills confidence to the project team. A strong leader thoroughly understands the goals of a project, and the requirements to achieve those goals. They are also very decisive when faced with difficult decisions. A project team needs clear direction and quick conflict resolution. Lack of timely decisions or unresolved conflicts often lead to project objectives not being met on schedule, and can also lead to morale issues on the team.

An IT project should not be run as a democracy, but rather as a benevolent dictatorship. While it is good to obtain consensus when making major decisions, it should not be a requirement for the project leader to come to a timely decision. A project awash in indecision is ripe for failure. Also, once a decision is made, it should stay “made”, unless new compelling information comes to light that was not factored into the original decision. I have seen projects where the de facto project motto seemed to be that any good decision was worth making several times. This leads to confusion and wasted effort.

Part of being a strong leader is conveying a very concise message regarding the project goals and how those goals are going to be met. Just as important is a good understanding of the non-goals of the project (i.e. specific goals that the project will NOT address).  If you don’t paint a clear target, don’t be surprised if no one hits it. A strong leader creates this clear project focus by imparting an unambiguous understanding of the following to the project team:

1. The project goals – the team needs a crystal clear understanding of the project goals. These goals need to be simply stated and non-ambiguous. If you don’t know where you are going, how do you ever expect to get there. The team should also clearly understand what the non-goals are (i.e. the functions/ features/capabilities that are specifically NOT being provided by design). The level to which these goals are understood will directly impact the effectiveness and “correctness” of every major decision made in the project.
2. Each team member’s role in meeting the project goals – just as important to understanding the overall project goals is every team member’s understanding of their own individual roles in meeting these goals. Knowing where your tasks fit into the overall scheme of things provides the context necessary to disambiguate and prioritize the minor issues that always arise in the execution of individual tasks. In other words, it helps everyone in the boat to row in the same direction and not work against each other.
3. A conflict resolution process – the project team needs to know how conflicts will be resolved. A conflict can be a difference of opinion on some aspect of the project design, or any obstacle preventing someone from accomplishing their tasks. A strong leader resolves conflicts as quickly as possible to minimize their impact on the project (i.e. conflicts DO NOT improve with age).

Another hallmark of an effective leader is a good understanding of human nature. A project leader sets the tone of the project primarily through how they treat the project team. Team members need to be treated as individual people, each with their own personal aspirations, and NOT as project resource units. Everyone needs some level of affirmation for a sense of accomplishment. The project leader needs to know his or her team members well enough to provide the right level of affirmation to each person. Treating them with respect creates the type of atmosphere that successfully sustains the project team through the difficult times that often occur during the course of a project. Teams that are led through fear and intimidation often fail because this type of leadership divests team members from project ownership and discourages them from going that “extra mile” often required to get through the difficult times.

Finally, a strong leader NEVER takes credit for accomplishments rightfully belonging to individual team members or the project team as a whole.  A project leader’s success (or lack thereof) should just be a reflection of the project team’s success, and not measured by their own individual efforts.