Are Project Managers Fungible Resources?

While in a meeting with a corporate recruiter, she made a comment to the effect that project managers are as interchangeable as car batteries. This statement sat with me a bit. It prompted me to examine the PM profession a little more deeply. What do we do, how do we do it... is it really that generic that someone in a recruiting role could/should have that perception? Can any one of us switch jobs with any other PM and be just as effective?

 
And if so, is that a bad thing? Employees who are easily replaced have one less barrier when it comes time for a promotion or reassignment. By nature, PMs are more general contractors than specialists, managing all types of problems from IT to HR to business process and so on. As a generalist, one can be viewed as more flexible and open to more opportunities, potentially outside the PM world. Any job/role/person can be replaced, but are PMs "more replaceable" than most?

Many organizations make very specific requests of PMs. Manage the project, track to dates, identify and report issues, manage the PM methodology. These types of projects are typically the ones that require a great deal of specialty knowledge and subject matter expertise. Maybe there is a heavy focus on writing code, where a PM could not/should not be actively involved. Maybe it’s more of a hands-on type project like racking a server. In these cases, it's the basic, PM 101 skills that are needed. The project manager is being asked to maintain the to-dos, keep the team and management informed and keep the project on the rails. Subject matter expertise, although always helpful, is rarely a necessity for a PM in this role to make the project run. The team has a specific set of tasks and skills, and the value here is keeping things moving and removing any barriers. In these types of projects, PMs could be interchangeable.

 

However, as anyone looking for a PM job knows that project management means a lot of things to people. Some PMs have a laser focus on the basic PM skills; tracking to the plan, the budget or to that organization's PM methodology. Others place more emphasis on the solution development and problem solving. This role requires a PM who can help the team see the strategy and arrive at the right answers. These PMs need to be able to grasp what leadership is trying to accomplish, decompile it to its essence and help the team assimilate it into their daily work. These PMs not only needs to be able to see the big picture, but need to be able to communicate it effectively, recognize progress towards it, redirect where necessary, facilitate creative problem solving, etc. These roles require thought-leadership, critical thinking, business acumen and solid judgment.  

 
But are these skills any less interchangeable, in the broader sense? Admittedly, they are less common. Not every hire an organization makes will be able to understand strategy and how it impacts their team's day to day work. Not every PM knows how to move a group from "we can't" to "these ideas might work". PMs with this skill set are certainly rare, but they are not irreplaceable. It is really more a question of hiring and corporate values. Does your organization hire for business acumen? Does your company value leadership skills in the PM team? If the answer is yes, you may have fungible PMs, even in this instance. If the answer is no (or I don't know), there will most likely be a need to take a close look at specific skills of the resources when assigning PMs to initiatives.

The more basic disconnect in the scenarios described above is that it does not account for changing needs, differences in organizational preferences and individual leaders. It assumes that, if PM 101 is all that is expected from our resources, that is all that anyone ever will expect, anywhere in the organization. It also assumes that if those needs change, magically, the individuals filling these roles will change with it. Both of which are very unlikely.

Realistically, project managers are no more or less fungible than any other role in an organization. Each PM brings with them a basic set of skills, along with a cultivated style, approach and energy. Each PM has strengths and weaknesses, specific subject matter expertise, preferences on types of projects and people they like to work. It is a complex role that's part field sergeant and part peacemaker. Misinterpreting the ability to be flexible enough to add PM value to any project as being interchangeable resources would be a mistake. There is as much value in choosing the right PM for a project as there is for any other role - even an HR Generalist.  

Managing Projects in High Governance Environments

Project Governance is a management framework which allows leadership visibility and decisioning authority within the project structure. It aids management in tracking and managing multiple projects and programs simultaneously, aligning project teams to a set of standards and mitigating risk. Governance processes can range widely from organization to organization. It can be as simple as a weekly status report and as complex as a system of multiple, inter-related templates, on-line program tools and a series of project management process assessments and tollgates.

More robust governance can create tremendous value to leadership, but this value can come at a cost to project teams. Added deliverables and additional documentation and meetings could potentially cause roadblocks and timing delays if the project manager is not prepared. To be successful in this type of environment, a PM needs to understand their organization’s governance process and plan ahead for the steps and actions required to move beyond the next tollgate.

 7 Tips on effectively managing projects in a heavy-governance environment:

 

1.       Understand the requirements: In a high governance environment, it isn’t enough to know what documents the governance committee wants to see, PMs need to know why. What specific elements or key points are they asking the team to satisfy? Is it a question of budget? Scope? Resources? Timeline? It may be different depending on the tollgate, but knowing the drivers to each conversation will help the team prepare the appropriate information.

2.       Get in front of it: Plan ahead in your project routines and include your governance activities early in the effort. Governance activity usually requires a good bit of project work to be done before it can be completed, but oftentimes much of the progress on the governance deliverables themselves can be made up front. There are typically templates to fill out and systems to log project information. Knowing that completing the governance templates are a requirement to getting through the tollgate, the best approach is to start early and ensure that you have time to deal with what would be an avoidable delay.

3.       Put the Governance SME’s to work: Most organizations with heavy governance processes typically have an SME that can guide you through the process. It may be part of someone’s job description, like a PMO analyst or manager, or it may just be a seasoned Project/Program Manager that’s familiar with the process and knows how to best navigate. Either way, find that person and ask for help. Most often, it’s uncertainty in how to get through the process, not the project information itself which is lacking. 

4.       Leverage your champion: A best practice in project management is a project champion – a high ranking manager in the organization that has ultimate accountability for the project’s success. The project champion may sit on the governance committee, or may simply attend to represent the project. Request that your champion communicate with their peers on the governance committee in advance of the meeting. Find out what is being asked for, any specific leadership concerns, what leaders may need additional information before approving the project. The champion’s role is critical to pushing projects through multiple layers of governance in a complex process. 

5.       Communicate ahead of time: Keep the project team, key stakeholders and management informed on upcoming governance activities and requirements. Communicate expectations to team resources as early as it makes sense to do so, and clearly as possible. If the team lacks clarity on what is being requested, why and when its needed, chances are that they will focus on other priority items until they understand how to fulfill the deliverable.  

6.       Shield project team when possible: Project teams rarely have full visibility to project governance deliverables. It can be perceived as something that is a PM’s responsibility, or gets in the way of their regular work. As a PM, understanding this perception and working to minimize as much of the administrative governance as possible from the team will help project members maintain focus on the most critical tasks and make a vigorous process seem less burdensome. 

7.       Project Governance is not Project Discipline: Many PMs fall into the trap of thinking that, if all the deliverables are completed, the project is in good shape. Governance processes may require that a team identifies risks, documents a resource plan, provides budget estimates, etc. but do not always audit the quality. If the team is simply filing out the document to satisfy the process rather than drilling into the issue, the exercise is wasted. Haphazardly documentation to check that deliverable off the “to-do” list creates confusion and additional risk. Be wary of short-cuts and work to identify, confirm and communicate where value is and is not being added. 

Leadership implements project governance because it is an invaluable tool in maintaining control over project functions. Although managing projects effectively in these types of environments can require more administrative effort from PMs, with proper planning, effective use of SME resources and a focus on disciplined project management, both project teams and leadership can recognize the benefits of strong governance without undue stress.

Risk Management is not an event... It's a routine.

                Risk is everywhere - and with the current state of the economy, many industries are making Risk Management a priority in everything they do. This mindset can be particularly impactful in the project arena. Projects are vehicles of change, and wherever there is change, there is risk. So how do you effect change efficiently and with a significant impact without causing unintended harm or miring your team in yards of red tape?

                A favorite tool of many organizations to manage risk is the Risk Assessment. Anyone familiar with projects or project management should recognize this tool in one form or another. Typically, the PM will call a meeting (or series of meetings) to get the team to work through a template, brainstorm risks, document mitigations; sometimes we'll even score them on their occurrence, severity and/or detection. Maybe that document is updated and re-reviewed at each tollgate meeting and hopefully signed off by the project sponsor. Documents and exercises like these can be very useful in identifying the project level risks that the team needs to be aware of, what can impact the strategy, derail the timeline, etc.

                But effective risk management in a project means a lot more than the exercises above. If these tools are the entire project risk management strategy, they may leave the effort open to the unforeseen issues that happen in everyday project work.  Often, it is the day to day risks and issues that become the derailers of a project - these are the ones that eat away at project timelines, deliverable by deliverable, forcing the team to work overtime and attempt to pull off heroics in order to meet deadlines.

The project manager has a responsibility to do more than fill out a template because it’s being asked by the PMO. PMs need to create awareness and management routines around the day to day risks, in addition to the broader risk assessment exercises. This everyday risk mindset is the best way to insulate projects from the unforeseen, and keep projects from unnecessary delays.

How to make Risk Management a routine:

Make Risk a part of every update - Hopefully, the PM has established meetings where the subject matter experts or work stream leads provide updates on the status of their assignments, what's outstanding, when they'll be complete, etc. A very simple way get the team thinking risk is to ask about it with every update. Simple questions like "what can go wrong with..." or "what should I be concerned about?" will help the team get in the habit of thinking about where issues may arise.  

Always think mitigation - Identifying risk is only the first step. Having a several contingency plans will help the team prepare for any unanticipated problems. “What is our best action if…” or “How should we react when…” are great ways to kick off these conversations. A complete plan of attack may not be necessary, but a high level straw man could be of tremendous value if a “what if” becomes an “oh no”.

Focus on the little things – Projects are most certainly impacted by the large scale risks and issues. Companies are bought, funding is lost, settlements occur… However, as a project manager, most of the controllable issues that arise come from the day to day. Here is where a solid risk routine can be vastly useful. Spend time understanding what work the SMEs and work stream leads are doing. Know what can go wrong, why it would and how to fix it. Close ties with project resources and firsthand knowledge of what needs to be done is a great way to keep ahead of risks and prevent issues.

Communicate – When risks become issues, a lot of PMs want to try to keep it quiet and attempt solve it before it becomes widely known. However, a better approach in these cases is to communicate early and often with project team members, stakeholders and SMEs. Engage these key players in solutioning. Ask for input or suggestions on your mitigation strategy. This dialogue may not only help solve the problem, but it will also show transparency in management and awareness by the PM of what it will take to complete the effort.

        Risk is all around us, and there is no way to mitigate all of them in any project work. The best strategy is to leverage techniques like these to keep the project team thinking risk in all that they do, foster open communications and prepare for the unknown. And when risks turn into issues, hopefully the project team is prepared to meet the challenge.

The Role of Critical Thinking in Project Management

                Project managers are drivers by nature. They're not typically satisfied to hear an issue, and simply wait for resolution to come their way. Most successful PMs want to dig in and understand the problem they are facing, how it impacts their project and most importantly, how to resolve it. More often than not, however, the PM isn't the subject matter expert on the team. We rely on the knowledge and skills of others to produce project deliverables and develop solutions. The PM's role is predominantly to track the issues, report the impact and facilitate resolution. It is in this facilitation where project managers can bring value and realize the benefit of critical thinking.

                Critical thinking, in the simplest form, is the process of using logic and reasoning to fully understand a topic and develop solutions. It's an exchange of questions and answers designed to challenge assumptions, expose bias and foster creative solutions. Project managers who can think this way and facilitate these types of discussions will be able to resolve issues more quickly, develop better solutions and reduce project stress and anxiety.

                Any project meeting where issues may be surfaced is an opportunity to leverage critical thinking as a means to get to resolution. Begin by clarifying the issue; create an understanding of what the problem is and how it is important to the project goals. What is the impact to the project and overall operations if this is not resolved. Gain an understanding of the meanings of the terms and phrases used to describe it. Attempt to identify what assumptions or previous experiences are being drawn upon to support the initial position. Ask for specific examples of the evidence used to sustain the issue or stance the project team has taken. If there is data associated with the issue, look for the source of that data, and see if there is a way to verify that source.

                Once you feel that the team has thoroughly laid out the issue and all assumptions have been identified and challenged, begin brainstorming solutions through a line of creative questioning. Questions like "why can't we..." or "how would we impact it if..." will get the team to start seeing new and different ways to solve the problem. Ask for reasons why your suggestions will not work and for alternatives to those suggestions. The complexity of the questions or validity of the solutions shouldn't matter as much as the process itself. The hope is that you'll stretch your team members thinking to pursue opportunities to resolve the issue that they may not have considered until this point.

                Project Managers familiar with cause/effect relationship technique called the 5 Whys will recognize the use of asking questions to gain understanding and facilitate resolution. The 5 Whys is a method where, when an issue is presented, the facilitator will ask why that situation is occurring. Once answered,  the facilitator continues to ask why (5 is a guideline) to that answer until the team has a solid view of the root cause of an issue. It is a rudimentary approach to critical thinking that helps the team look upstream at the causes of an issue, rather than getting stuck in discussions that can become circular and counterproductive.   

                Of course, critical thinking in and of itself will not resolve your project issues. As a PM, the next step is to apply the appropriate project discipline to identify the most impactful action items, assign owners, set a timeline and manage progress and status. Critical thinking will only get you to that point faster and more effectively.  However, making these types of discussions part of your management routines in your regular project meetings will help your team members begin to think more laterally on their own, helping them bring creative ideas to the group, rather than just the issue itself.

                Developing and practicing critical thinking is an effective way to help you understand the full scope of an issue and drive out solutions faster and more effectively. You'll be adding value as a project manager and a facilitator, and may even be able to help your project stay on track. It's a valuable skill that can help you not only as a project manager, but throughout your career.

 

Ideas for this article are based on "The taxonomy of Socratic questions" created by Richard Paul, author of Critical Thinking: How to Prepare Students for a Rapidly Changing World

What's PM Solutioning?!?

Project Management means a lot of things for a lot of reasons... your industry, company, background, etc. For some, it's setting a schedule, tracking tasks, raising issues and the like. But for me, Project Management is a bit different. It's about solving problems. Determining what could or should be better, why it's important and how to make it happen. It's corraling the experts, getting them to think differently about how we're doing things and helping them use the tools and knowledge in their heads to to create something exceptional. It's being willing to take ownership of a problem much larger than yourself and, with nothing but your skills, wits and nerve, change the way the people around you think.

I believe that's the value and the advantage; getting deeply engaged in what actually needs to happen and how it's getting done. It's solving a problem with any and all options, not just technology or process or people. It's the marriage of all three, without boundaries or borders. That's what this blog is about - creative solutions in project management.