When uncertainty strikes within an undefined project, it is the project manager (PM) within me that wants to stand up and take charge. Maybe I don’t know the right thing to do, don’t know how it should all end, but I know in my gut that I need to organize, need to communicate, need to define, and the solution will start to show itself. Or so it has (mostly) always worked.
For the past few weeks I have been having a different experience. I have not been holding back, but I have also not fully stepped up to answer the call of my internal PM. I have let others have the opportunity to take charge, to define what they think needs to be done, and to see how things unfold. The outcome hasn’t been disastrous, but it has also not been all that great. What it has been, though, is a great learning experience for me. So here are several major observations, while I try to process the remainder of the event and impact:
1. Absence of the PM is immediately reflected in individuals performing their job and self-assigned tasks, without a unified product or outcome. This is more emphasized when there is a belief of a common goal at the outset of the effort, or an expectation that a PM will be actively involved.
2. The lack of a PM to coordinate and communicate is the best example of a “connect the dots exercise” gone awry. The dependencies are unknown or not shared by the team, resulting in unintended outcomes and a significant amount of overwork.
3. There is no central owner for status reporting or coordination, leaving management or clients in the dark when it comes to status, utilization/staffing, or any other project health metric. The tendency to look to the perceived “in-the-loop” individual (or run around from person to person trying to determine status) is associated with this phenomenon.
4. For those inherently predisposed to project management, it is increasingly challenging to mind their own business in this scenario, and usually requires self-discipline coupled with a sore throat, to keep one from opening the mouth and taking on the quasi-role.
5. A group of über-consultants can be convened to work together, but unless there is a project manager to corral them into a unified direction, it will be a still result in a über mess.
I am taking this opportunity to review my own personality bend within this context, but am also going to be looking to other individuals’ experiences. Have you been on a successful project that has not had a project manager? The definition of a project can be your own (I am subscribing to the tried and tested “with a start and an end”…) but let me know if you have some tips and thoughts… wonders or otherwise.