One Red Hot Country Mama!

Many managers want to just have eyes, brains and a mouth – they want to examine the problem, recommend a solution and magically transform their vision into reality with no work. Then they want to talk about how successful their project was to anyone who will listen. Maybe we all want that, but the best managers know better. They have hands, ears and a heart. They jump in and work along-side everyone else when necessary, they listen to those around them, and they have passion for the projects that they are working on. I am not saying this theoretically, I am saying this as a practitioner – I have been a project manager for 6 years and managed dozens of creative and technical initiatives for companies large and small.

Hands – Pitch in when Necessary

The worst project managers sit on the sidelines and call only when they need something… last minute. They think that managing is not actually doing, but instead it is only sitting in the stands, watching and critiquing. When things go wrong, they look for someone to blame instead of taking action to solve the problem. I had an American manager like this – he needed to control me but did not really understand what I was doing. As a result, every time we met he made dramatic decisions so none of my traffic acquisition strategies had time to work. Each time they were getting off the ground – he wanted to try something else.  Managers like this tend to make sweeping decisions that cause a lot of work for the people below them since they are unfamiliar with the project or they don’t really care.

Project Management is never hands-free. There is the work of setting up schedules, of adjusting them when necessary and of making sure that you have the right people working on the right things. There is the responsibility of meeting with people regularly (not necessarily round-table or formal, but having the conversation) to make sure everything is on track and nothing unexpected has come up.

Ears – Listen to Those Around You

A good manager listens to the people around them, no matter what level they may be. I worked with a manager who was not very sure of herself when it came to the technical side of her projects. As a result, she saw any question as a challenge to her abilities and stubbornly resisted input. As a result, her projects turned out to be much more rudimentary than if she simply listened to her technical team.

Listening is valuable because it helps you avoid mistakes and get creative input. It is not being ordered around. Let’s face it – the people working on the project have a vested interest in making their own lives as easy as possible so their suggestions could come only from self-interest. Instead of taking orders, it is sitting back like a judge and taking in all of the points of view as a way to gather evidence – then reaching your own conclusion based on a certain criteria.

Heart – Passion for What You Are Doing

First of all, if you have someone who is talented on your team – tell them that they are great at every opportunity. This is especially good for creatives (such as writers or designers) because giving them credit makes them more comfortable to take more creative risks. Don’t fake it when they are not since you don’t want an untalented person to take risks. If you are stuck with them be polite. If you have the freedom to find someone else, do that.

Being genuinely passionate about your projects is a huge motivating force. It makes it more fun for people to work with you and they won’t avoid your calls as much. I have always been a manager with a lot of passion – both with enthusiasm and frustration… until now. Lately I have been less inspired. I have less strategic and creative input into my projects and a lot of the work is simply making local copies of something someone else already implemented. Also I am managed rather closely by my direct report. These are all things that take the heart out of a manager – so if you are working with a project manager temporarily without passion – don’t blame them! Maybe it isn’t their fault. Passion is something difficult to maintain and it has to come from a genuine place. To resolve it, I am focusing my energy on the one project that is exciting, and potentially impactful – and maybe success there will allow me to do the more fulfilling projects that I am interested in.

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