Project Manager Doesn’t Mean Status Monkey

Back for a return engagement we have Andy Hohman, one of our thoughtLEADERS instructors, for today's post on project management (and no, that's not his headshot... Click his name above or scroll to the bottom to see what he really looks like). Here we go...

Being a Project Manager is a little more involved than creating a project plan and asking for status. You have to understand your project and all its working pieces. I see a lot of project managers whose eyes glaze over when one of their team members explains their issues.

Stop daydreaming about getting back in your MS Project plan and updating your tasks and LISTEN!

In a conversation, when you are not talking, you should be listening. You shouldn’t be thinking about the next thing to say or going to your happy place. You have two ears and one mouth for a reason.

If the only time you talk to your team is when you’re asking for status, they will treat you like you treated your younger brother in high school. They will talk to you enough to shut you up and that is all. They won’t talk about how things are going, what’s keeping them up at night, or risks that may rear their head in six months.

Oh yeah, and you might want to talk to them about something other than the project once in a while. Yes, I’m advising you to genuinely be interested in the people working on your project. Don’t fake this - they will know. I feel like I shouldn’t even be writing this, and you probably feel like you shouldn’t be reading it, but it needs to be said. Why? Because I see a lot of people who only communicate to their team when they absolutely have to. When is the last time you simply spoke to your team about something other than the project? If the answer makes you feel bad, get out of your cube and go speak with them.

Talk to your team. Not text, not email, not chat. Over the phone is ok… in person is better. Unless you’re Steven Hawking, you shouldn’t type everything you feel like saying. I feel like people have lost the ability to speak face to face.

Trust me, you will learn way more about the status of your team by reading their body language than by texting them like a junior high student. If you play poker, you know what I mean. You will be prompted to ask the underlying questions when you see their nervous ticks and glancing looks as you say “How’s it going?”.

Being a project manager doesn’t mean you should be able to perform every task on the plan, but you need to know enough to properly manage. If you don’t know what’s worrying your team members or what their largest concerns are, you are missing the boat. You are “Status Monkey” and that is exactly how your team will treat you. When you creep around the cube wall, they will scatter. They will view you as the guy that cares nothing about what needs to be done or the challenges and only focuses on dates.

What it comes down to is project management is still management. Good management principles still apply, so don’t throw away your Management 101 books just because nobody reports to you. Actually because nobody reports to you, getting them to work hard on your project takes additional management skills. Get out and spend time with your team. The odds of your project succeeding will go up exponentially.

What have your experiences been on your project teams? Is your project manager spending time with you or are they holed up in their cube? If you’re the PM, are you spending time with your team? Share your experiences please!

About Andy: Andy lives and breathes project management reality. He’s delivered on huge and complex projects in a variety of roles. He holds a PMP certification (and more importantly, delivers IMPACT because we know the PMP designation without results is meaningless). He brings substantial practical knowledge and experience to the classroom as a Senior Associate here at thoughtLEADERS.