Triple Constraints

As the year 2009 comes to an end, many people are getting ready to make New Year’s Resolutions. Many of these are the ones we hear year in and year out:

• Lose weight
• Quit smoking
• Stop drinking
• Get out of debt

These are all noble goals and I wish those people making these resolutions the best of luck in trying to keep them. I too will be making some resolutions this year, but mine are focusing on how I conduct myself as a project manager. Here they are:

#1 Listen more than I speak
One of the key responsibilities of a project manager is to know what is happening with their project. This involves working with all team members and stakeholders to learn the current state of the project. This may seem like it requires extensive speech by the project manager, but experience project managers know that it takes just a little prompting to get your stakeholders and team to open up and provide you with the project’s temperature.

#2 Focus on my team, and not my computer
Project management software is everywhere we turn. It promises to make us better project managers and to make our projects run smoother. Project management software is a useful tool in the project manager’s arsenal, but it is not a predictor of project success. I will admit that in the past I have become enamored with PM software, but I learned that to make my projects truly succeed I needed to focus on my team. The team is what accomplishes tasks. The team allows me to meet deadlines. The team is responsible for delivering a quality project.

#3 Answer questions before they are asked
While it seems to run contradictory to #1, this resolution does not. This year I am going to do my best to proactively address team and stakeholder questions. Project managers often know what the stakeholders/customers need to know, but we often wait for the question to be asked because we hope it will give us more time to remedy any bad situations or increase the positives we can report on.

#4 Accept responsibility for more blame
Project managers are people. As such, we attempt avoid negatives in our lives. One such negative is blame. Many people do anything they can to avoid blame. This may temporarily make them feel better, but in the long run it can only hurt more. By accepting blame during the course of a project, project managers help their team build a sense of camaraderie because they feel that they are working together instead of just being led by the PM. Also, accepting blame professionally can actually help your career because it shows your boss that you understand the importance of accountability. Now don’t get me wrong…I am not saying that you should accept the blame for all things that go wrong on your project. Instead, take responsibility for those things that you could have impacted.

I believe that these resolutions will help me be a better project manager in the coming year and for years to come. I hope that you think about how you manage your projects and come up with resolutions for yourself. Please feel free to share your resolutions with your fellow readers below so that we can all improve ourselves in 2010.

Related posts:

1. The Role of Trust in Project Management