The Only Constant in Project Management (and Life) is Change
By: Aru Deshmukh
Project Manager may be an interesting job title but it’s certainly not a well defined role. Project Managers (PM) should take a minute to consider which personal and professional skills are required to successfully manage a project.
As far as terminology and definitions go, what managing projects actually involves is dealing with ambiguity and providing influence-leadership. PMs who mentally prepare to live with the understanding that the only constant in project management is change is a healthy prerequisite to avoid burning out too quickly. That summarizes project management. But what does the ‘Manager’ part really mean?
Another name for Project Manager is Leader.
I’ve learned time and again that quality leadership is the key to quality project management. Want to be a good PM? Learn to lead well. All of the important qualities of a good leader are required of a good Project Manager. Here are the four qualities that I believe make up the critical few:
Listening to Connect the Dots
Do the Tedious Work
Be Flexible
Have Fun
These four qualities were hammered out over the years, project by project, while I worked in various roles at several large chemical, speciality material corporations. Management skills like these take time to develop, but what made the process easier was working on some really cool projects with amazing colleagues and teammates, some of whom have happily become lifelong friends along the way. People tend to bond while working hard together and coming out of the other end of a tough project. We learn a lot about each other when the stress is high and the outcomes matter.
Now I’m working at CompassRed, a data science and analytics start-up. It’s a smaller, more nimble organization, so my job role is ever expanding, which is to say that my colleagues and I focus everyday on the simple but exhausting goal of “getting it done.”
But guess what, these leadership habits and qualities apply at small and large firms alike.
Listening to Connect the Dots: Find the White Space Between
To be crystal clear, listening to connect the dots does not allow for multi-tasking. Listening to understand is a full time commitment. Neither is connecting the dots about becoming an expert in every area. Indeed, when a PM tries to do that, the result is disempowerment and loss of accountability within the team and the project always suffers. A simple rule is that a PM must listen and learn to the appropriate level of detail for the issue at hand. Go deeper? Tread lighter? Communicate differently, communicate more? Change the cadence? Yes, sure; all of these, sometimes. It depends on the issue, the team’s needs, the team’s knowledge, the complexity, the risks, the scope...and it all starts with listening to connect the dots.
Connecting the dots means: figuring out the issues and asking, "What are we missing?" You as the PM are not asking questions to hear yourself speak. Pull answers out of your team. At times it's excruciatingly slow and painful. The same material will get re-hashed. But the broader the scope, the more complicated the objective, the greater the number of roles and functions - the absolutely more critical task it is to keep asking. Ask. At. Every. Step. Of. The Way. It never stops.
Remember, your ego has no place here. The best PMs -- the best leaders -- listen and enable the team to solve problems. This is how you find the dots that need to be connected. The project is one big problem statement. Listening to connect the dots enables the team to become the best problem solvers. And I would offer that you can change the world with that kind of team.
What’s even better, your team will appreciate it. Cohesion, understanding, communication, accountability...all that good stuff comes together when there is a shared understanding of:
What needs to be done
Who needs to do it
Why it needs to be done.
The ‘how’ happens and improves because the process of listening and asking questions creates problem solvers.
Look for White Spaces
Several projects ago, I led a big meeting in Shanghai, China with my supply chain, technical services, and quality team members sitting in a conference room along with two other organizations’ teams. All of us were working out the project’s kinks in two languages. I know, it sounds like so much fun.
This meeting occurred after weeks and weeks of global calls, emails, and video meetings. To get to the point where my team could work in real-time in Shanghai, in a customer facing environment, my role as PM required some heavy lifting to get prepared and focus the team. It started during frequent team meetings back in the States with my listening for the areas that were being skimmed over or skirted around or avoided entirely…the white spaces that were being missed. Why were the white spaces being missed? What were we avoiding? I asked question after question so that my team could discuss these issues so that we could better understand what we needed to do next. It’s tough work, for sure.
Project leaders remember: you won’t be the one with the answers. Your team members will have the answers, or will get you the answers. You ask and listen. And ask again. And again. And then summarize (this is the ’connecting the dots part’) so that the next round of questions can be more focused and will further define the project’s requirements. Making the white spaces between the dots smaller and smaller is the goal.
Even after weeks of team preparation, my PM listening practice continued during the Shanghai meeting. That day in the crowded conference room I listened closely for 9+ hours - real-time studying and orchestrating responses to what the issues really were between the teams and helping my team to deliver our best. I left simultaneously exhausted and exhilarated. And one common outcome for teams that work together in these experiences -- we grew closer, had stronger alignment, and were ready to take on the next milestones.
Stay tuned for my next article about ‘Doing the Tedious Work’.
CompassRed is a full-service data agency that specializes in providing data strategy for clients across multiple industries.