Comments on: No-one likes Project Managers

By: Martin G

Martin G — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:59:46 +0000

The project manager is often the project messenger for communicating budget, schedule, and scope. Resources sometimes perceive the “messenger” as the bearer of bad news for communicating change requests and out of scope items. The “don’t shoot the messenger” phrase applies in this case and can also contribute to the perception of project managers.

By: Srinivas

Srinivas — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 06:57:51 +0000

I agree with most of the reasons mentioned in the previous comments.

In my experience, one very important reason for the push back from team members is because they simply cannot see what this guy is there for anyway. In a classic software team scenario, every developer and architect feels he/she knows more about the project and should not need to listen to someone with zero technical knowledge.

The only solution is for the PM to educate such team members as to the need for a project manager. We need to correct the expectations. Once they realize that project manager needs to be good in other things to make sure the project succeeds rather than be a technical guru, some of the resistance will disappear.

lethargicintellect.blogspot.com

By: Paul Schmied

Paul Schmied — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:08:59 +0000

If PMs are seen as villians, its because they aren’t doing all of their jobs. They may be wearing their a police caps and accountants’ visors, but some of the other hats they should be wearing have been forgotten.

Ultimately every successful project requires the willing cooperation of people, their understanding of what needs to be done, their acquiescence and their effort.

Managing people and communication (which includes listening and actually _addressing_ their concerns) is equally important as managing any other other aspect of a project.

If these are done properly, a PM won’t be seen as any worse than the executives and manager to whom everyone reports, and might be more trusted and better respected.

Ignore these at your peril, because very few project managers work in a project structure, most are in a matrix management environment. The people with whom you have to work can be forced to take the blue pill, but if they gag on it, it will come back and soil you.

By: Chandan Deb

Chandan Deb — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 03:24:51 +0000

It is absolutely true that Project Management is mostly seen as a Villain both by the team members as they feel project management is stretching them too much also by the Customer as the Customer thinks the Project Management is holding the information / deliverables.Thus it is the resposibilty of the Project Management to strike the balance.

By: PM2PM

PM2PM — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:35:29 +0000

I appreciate your efforts on this site. And am responding because, there is a lot of truth in your title - although “no one” is a bit of an overstatement.

I think hit at one of the core issues when you mention issues of how methodology is being applied and the need for explanation/understanding.

In my experience, especially in interactive agencies, PM-explanations won’t always drive change. Executive support is an important component too.

Keep fighting the good fight.

For laughs, take a look at what I and Dustin Hoffman have to say: http://pm2pm.blogspot.com/2008/12/project-management-there-is-no-evidence.html

By: John

John — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:45:33 +0000

We love our project manager, but he can be tough. The team has to be willing to default to his better judgement because, afterall, he is the man with the master plan. Doing this has never failed us. And though we may have grumbled our way through a few projects, our PM always pulls it off in the end. Open communication certainly helps the best, especially in a neutral environment.

By: Pawel Brodzinski

Pawel Brodzinski — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 08:31:51 +0000

I think every seasoned PM met this kind of people. And to be honest I agree that most of the time it’s PM’s fault to have a team which doesn’t get it.

One of reasons of the situation looks like that is that PM has some kind of superpower: he can always tell the team “the customer wants it that way” and that’s something one can’t really deny.

My advice is to avoid this techniqe. Your solution, to talk with team members, to listen to them, is a way better. And if you don’t find reasonable people who are willing to discuss why something is important you can still use the superpower as a fallback plan.

By: No-one likes Project Managers | Project Management Guide

No-one likes Project Managers | Project Management Guide — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:03:35 +0000

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