Beyond the Program Maze: Risks, Dependencies, and Project Managers

Undoubtedly, most of us can concur that even the most experienced among us are stumped and fumble for words whenever we’re asked what we do for a living. It’s never easy. This problem is compounded if you are a project manager having to explain (even to oneself) what exactly it is that you do at work.

This is a profession where there are no tangibles to find solace in your productivity or successes. A developer can feel good about the lines of code produced, a quality assurance engineer about the defects raised, a product manager about the requirements, and so on for others. What about a project manager? What do we take home to feel accomplished?

So, What Does a Project Manager Do Exactly?

Not a simple answer by any means. From initiating, planning, executing, and closing projects, and anywhere between running meetings, conducting retrospectives, and reporting on a project’s status, to managing risks, budgets, and scope, it takes a combination of a multitude of hard and soft skills to become a project manager.

On a sunny day, everyone loves to project manage. However, as if the wide spectrum of required skills and project challenges is not adequate, a project manager has to deal with the additional challenge of everyone encroaching and wanting to take over the project — all abuzz with the drama and excitement of new ideas. But the moment the project is at risk, everyone flees the scene, dropping deadly stares at the project manager. They ask things like, “Didn’t you track this risk?”, “Don’t we have a backup plan?”, and “Did you know about this dependency at all?”

According to project management expert Jim Highsmith, in his book Agile Project Management, “most projects are over-managed and under-led.”[1]

It doesn’t take long for a project team to break into silos with conflicts and friction over who to blame. It is on such rainy days that a true project manager emerges, calm despite all the chaos and conflicts, and focused on steering the project back on track. Clad in neutrality with an unbiased perspective, the project manager remains steadfastly focused on the project goals. Between mediating disagreements and resolving conflicts, the project manager plods through uncertain situations in a state of Zen.

Despite possessing a plethora of skills and the potential to add significant value to the project, a project manager’s role can, unfortunately, be under-utilized and relegated to mere tasks such as scheduling meetings, taking down notes, and tracking action items. And they’re expected to keep busy with risk registers and dependency lists or tracking some metrics that are as difficult to comprehend as stakeholders’ expectations! Just knowing all the rules in the book, methodologies, and frameworks does not guarantee the success of a project.

The skills of a project manager can seem generic enough for anyone to think they can make a good project manager. It’s also one of those roles that people tend to think is not critical enough for a project. Given these constraints, how does a project manager earn a place at the table? Especially without having a single tangible deliverable to his credit? Under such tough situations and with the market flooded with so many plush skills, the need today is for a seasoned project leader — let’s call him the Zen PM.

What Separates a Zen PM From the Flock?

• Directing teams’ efforts toward achieving the product roadmap: Each individual comes to work wanting to give their best. Each project is well-staffed with the best-skilled resources. But if these are not directed to achieve the right outcomes at the right time, the business value is never realized. A Zen PM focuses on streamlining the development process, stressing value-adding activities that help deliver incremental value.
• Leading the teams from a problem mindset to a solution mindset: It is not enough if you add a new risk to the board and dust your hands off, assuming the job is done. It is important to look beyond the problem for ways to move forward. Most team members already have a solution at hand but are unwilling and hesitant to take ownership and jump right in. It is at times like this when a Zen PM knows how to unlock the potential of individuals and the value of the solutions.
• The key is in collaboration: No single team can achieve goals alone. But infighting within project teams is not new. There are many holy and not-so-holy nexuses that are always at work in a project setting. The Zen PM is one who knows how to utilize them for the benefit of the project and knows how to do this without having to be involved in any such nexus.
• Zoom in and zoom out: Cross-functional teams are always working hard on the project, dealing with a lot of details. The Zen PM is smart enough to realize that it’s important to be a few steps behind to retain the big-picture view and maintain a neutral perspective — two things that are critical to manage the project effectively. But the Zen PM also needs to be willing and smart enough to jump into the details and get their hands dirty when required. The seasoned ones know when to take their foot off the pedal and when to press it harder, ensuring smooth cruise control — sometimes on autopilot, sometimes manually plodding through every detail and discussion — to just keep the project moving.
• Not focused on short-term success: The Zen PM knows that just one release delivery or one successful project is not enough. Short-term successes can disappear as fast as they come. All it takes is one botched-up job to blow that away. That’s why a Zen PM is focused on building a foundation for continued success.

Like every other skill, these skills need to be practiced until they become muscle memory. Most times, it’s not anyone or anything stopping the evolution of a Zen PM but the individual himself. Each project manager needs to feel empowered and important enough to lead like a Zen PM. From feeling relegated to just taking meeting notes to having the team say, “Aye aye, Captain,” it takes a leap of faith. And the sooner one takes that leap, the faster the project reaps the benefits.

So, I get my solace when I am pulled into meetings ad hoc, with the request, “Hey, we are stuck and unable to conclude. Can you help?”. These don’t happen often, but when they do, who needs tangible deliverables to feel accomplished?

[1] “Agile Project Management”, Second Edition, Jim Highsmith, Addison-Wesley, 392 pages