Guest post by PawelBrodzinskiWhat does a project manager do? Manages projects. What is the main purpose of the role? To deliver projects on time, within budget, and within scope. To put it another way, to make the project a success.
Does this mean that only successful project managers can run successful projects? The one who is always late or over budget isn’t usually successful.
No, not really.
Do I mean to suggest that the relationship between project success, project manager success is not direct? Yes, that’s what I’m trying to say.
Chaos Report says that only a third of all projects are considered successful. Is this a sign that two thirds of project managers are rotten? Personally, I don’t think so. I have worked on enough projects where the schedule was cut in half due to?the client saying so? Or scope has changed faster than T-1000 in Terminator 2 movie to show that sometimes you don’t even have a chance of success.
This is something I’ve discussed a few times. What if you have a project that is doomed to fail? Even if you and your team do everything possible, the project will still be considered a failure. Does that mean you’ve failed? Even if you could reduce the slip from 18 to six months, does that mean you failed?
Project managers don’t have much power. Our authority is often informal. This can lead to office politics and the possibility of your project team being destroyed. You could have lost your best people, agreed to major changes in scope, or even rejected to help with parts you have delegated to teams you don’t control. All this because he had enough power and was not interested in your success with the project. Is it still a problem for you as a project manager.
It is important to consider the impact that a project manager can have on the team. It is quite common for a project team to not disband after the acceptance protocol has been signed, but continue working with each other. Projects can change, but teams stay the same. Consider that you have to choose between a highly successful PM who is a jerk and one who fails more often, but is a team player. To finish a few more projects on time, would you sacrifice team chemistry and atmosphere? Personally, I wouldn’t.
While I don’t deny that project success can be a crucial aspect of project managers? I wouldn’t consider work a superior value to all other things. I know some great PMs with a poor track record. It is far from perfect. However, it doesn’t change how I see them. It doesn’t change the fact that I would choose any of them over someone who could deliver almost any project he worked, but was hated by the project teams that worked with him.
Project management is too complex for you to only see it as a project result.
