Project Managers’ Role is the One Constant for Different Profiles of Project Uncertainty
November 17th, 2002 by HalEach month I take out two days for training others in leading lean projects. Among other topics this past week, we discussed the paper Managing Project Uncertainty: From Variability to Chaos. The participants appreciated the novelty of modifying the project management style to the various degrees of project uncertainty. The usual approach we see and they experience is a one size fits all approach that is often prescribed by company policy and investment in project management tools. The authors make a further claim. They say the project manager's role must also change for different uncertainty profiles. I beg to differ.
The role of a project manager is to always have the project in a condition for the team members to do what they set out to do. Further, the project manager's role is to keep the team in a condition that they can perform tending to their concerns, their mood, and their learning. Far too little attention today is given to the mood of the team members. So little, I am not surprised that the authors suggest other issues need the project manager's attention. We don't have the experience to conclude attending to the mood of the team makes a difference.
As project uncertainty increases so does the need for project manager care. Team members can become anxious, doubtful, and may distrust one another and the leader. So what does the project manager do? Listen. Anticipate. Attend. Care. Provide.
The project manager role is the one constant at all levels of uncertainty…servant to the team.
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November 19th, 2002 at 5:18 am
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