Defining Management’s Role

Management, to some, is a necessary evil. Sure, there are plenty of bad, heartless bosses in this world, but not every manager is bad. The majority of managers want to be good bosses, they want to be well liked, and they want to do a good, thorough job. While management should show an interest in the project you’re implementing, their role should be one of support, not one of implementation. Management should not be peering over the shoulder of a technician trying to install video cards and memory. That’s as obnoxious as family members watching doctors perform an appendectomy.

Project sponsors, however, do have an active role in the project management experience. Figure 3-3 shows the relation between the project sponsor, the project manager, and management. Project sponsors need to be informed of the status of the project, who is completing which portion of the project, and how the project is doing on time and finances.

Figure 3-3: Project sponsors are mediators for project managers and management.

Project sponsors have invested their credibility in the implementation, and they are relying on you to report progress and to complete the work. Project sponsors, like management, should not be peering over technician’s shoulders, but should, in some cases, attend team meetings, be involved with the project planning phases, and have input on the project implementation. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and share concerns with your project sponsor—the sponsor is on your side and wants you to succeed with the project.

In fact, if you are going to present the project, it is in your best interest to talk with the project sponsor ahead of time and get coaching on the presentation. Find out the hot buttons, allies, showstoppers, and so on. Then you can tailor your presentation to incorporate this information. If you are pitching a project that does not yet have a project sponsor, see if you can get some input from a likely sponsor, or a friendly person in senior management. It always helps to stack the deck in your favor a little bit.

Management Theories

Your relationship with management, and how management sees their relationship with their employees, has been theorized and debated for years. These management theories can not only help the project manager realize how management views him, but also help him manage his own project team more successfully.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

You’ve heard of Maslow, right? According to Maslow, people go to work to satisfy their hierarchy of needs. Basically, if we satisfy our most basic needs, we can strive toward self-actualization, which allows us to contribute and use our skills and talents. Here are the five layers of Maslow’s hierarchy:

Physiological People need these necessities to live: air, water, food, clothing, and shelter. People need a place to work.
Safety People need safety and security; this can include stability in life, work, and culture. People need a safe working environment—with job security.
Social People are social creatures who need love, approval, and friends. People want to participate with their colleagues and peers—and to be liked at work.
Esteem People strive for the respect, appreciation, and approval of others. People generally want to do a good job and complete their projects.
Self-actualization At the pinnacle of their needs, people seek personal growth, knowledge, and fulfillment. People want to excel and work at something they enjoy and feel that is valuable.

Herzberg’s Theory of Motivation

Frederick Herzberg, a psychologist and authority on the motivation of work, believed two agents affect people and their views toward their careers and work:

Hygiene agents These elements are the expectations all workers have: job security, a paycheck, clean and safe working conditions, a sense of belonging, civil working relationships, and other basic attributes associated with employment.
Motivating agents These elements motivate people to excel. They include responsibility, appreciation of work, recognition, the chance to excel, education, and other opportunities associated with work beyond financial rewards.

Herzberg’s theory says the presence of hygiene factors will not motivate people to perform given they are expected. However, when the factors are absent, it demotivates workers. The motivating agents inspire workers to strive for success.

McGregor’s Theory of X and Y

In Douglas McGregor’s Theory of X and Y, management’s view of their workers is broken down into two categories: bad and good. X people are lazy, must be micromanaged, and generally cannot be trusted. Y people are wonderful people who are self-led, motivated, and can accomplish new assignments proactively.

Ouchi’s Theory Z

William Ouchi’s Theory Z is based on participative management. His theory states that workers are motivated by the commitment, opportunity, and advancements the organization employing the workers provides. Workers have a lifetime-employment mind-set and learn the business by moving up through the ranks of the company.

Expectancy Theory

The Expectancy Theory states that people will behave based on what they expect the results of their behavior to be. In other words, people will work in relation to the reward they expect for their work. If the reward is desirable to the worker, she will work to receive it. In other words, people expect to be rewarded for their efforts.

Delegate Duties

In this discussion of how a project manager works with management, it also needs to be acknowledged that project managers are now part of management. If your organization has an us-versus-them mentality toward management, then it’s up to you to bridge the gap. As a project manager, your team, especially a newly created team, may not fully trust you at the project’s conception. Which may be too bad, considering your team will probably be made up of your friends and colleagues. You’ll need to do your best to work with them, not against them—and earn their trust and respect.

One of your first challenges will be delegation of duties. Delegation is necessary. You are the project manager, and you cannot do every task required of a project. Once the team has been created, you need to follow the path the management and the project sponsor have taken: put your trust in others that they can do the job you’ve assigned to them.

Have you ever had the experience of someone asking you to do a task, only to stand over your shoulder and question every move you make? Or worse, have a boss watch you without saying a word? It’s frustrating, to say the least. As a project manager, don’t do it.

Once you have pitched the idea to management and your project has been approved, it’s up to you to make it happen. It’s easy to be tempted to do every piece of the project planning, or at least the exciting parts, but it’s not wise to yield to that temptation. An effective project manager assembles the team, assigns tasks based on qualifications and credentials, and then trusts his team to perform.

Chapter 5 will detail the complete process of assembling and working with a team. For now, know that you are also management once you’re titled the project manager. All those nasty thoughts and dislikes you have harbored for some managers can very easily be sent your way now from your team. As you start the project, consider these points to being an effective project manager:

Follow management. Take management’s lead and delegate as they’ve delegated. If you like the way certain managers have treated and challenged you in the past, follow their lead and do the same for your team. If you don’t like the way some managers have delegated duties, find a role model and follow that manager’s lead.
Delegation is necessary. You are not Superman or Wonder Woman. By delegating duties, you are showing respect, trust, and wisdom to your team. As you move further and further into project management, you also move further and further from technology. Soon there will be a gulf between what you know and the present technology. A successful IT project manager must release the reigns of the implementation to the project team members; they’re closest to the project work.
You are in charge. From the onset, as you delegate activities, be fair—but also remember you are in charge of the project. Establish the flow of communication from your team to you, not around you.
Remember the users. As your project develops, don’t forget to consistently address the needs of the users impacted by this technology change. Often it’s easy to overlook the individuals affected by the project you are managing. At each phase on the project, remember to ask how this impacts the users of the technology.
Keep the big picture in mind. As a project manager, you need to make decisions on trade-offs and resources that benefit the company as a whole, not just you, your team, or your project. Develop the ability to see the macro environment and the details. This will take some getting used to, but it is an ability that will serve you well.

Learn how to speak different languages. At times you will need to present the status of your project to senior managers. They speak a language of ROI, productivity, and competitive advantage. However, your team members communicate in techno-speak. Make sure you are speaking appropriately to the various audiences you address.

Delegate, delegate, delegate. As a project manager, you will have plenty of work to do: following each team member’s success and failures, tracking the status of the project, meeting with management, meeting with the team, and meeting with team members one-to-one. You need to delegate the tasks and leave them delegated. If a team member is having trouble with a task, then offer your assistance.

You are responsible for the project’s success, the motivation of the team, and the communication to management. If this project fails, it is your fault. If the project succeeds, then everyone shares the glory. That’s just the nature of the beast.

Focusing on the Results

Management’s role is to help you, the project manager, focus on the end results. From the 1940s through the mid-1980s, management decided what task needed to be done, who would do it, when they would do it, and how it would be done. To complicate matters more, management would often supervise each step of the process to ensure that it was being done right. You know this, no doubt, as micromanagement.

Today’s management philosophy is more laissez-faire, a hands-off, empowering approach to allowing teams to accomplish a goal. Management today is more concerned with results, rather than the process of getting there. As a project manager, you, too, must adopt this strategy. You must recruit your team, and then let the team do the work. Focus on the results, be available when you are needed, but allow the team to work.

Of course, this all sounds wonderful, but in reality is hard to implement. It’s hard to allow others to continue with a project you’ve created. It’s hard for others to have the same passion and drive that you do about a project. It’s hard to put your future and your project’s success in the hands of others. But remember you are not giving up ownership or control, you are allowing your team to do the job that you’ve asked of its members.

One of the best ways to create a team with drive and charisma is to, if at all possible, involve the team from the conception. By recruiting team members early and giving them responsibility early on, you have given them ownership in the project’s success. A project manager, keeping the project results in mind, must have

The ability to encourage participation from all members
The ability to empower team members
The ability to inspire team members and management

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Defining Management’s Role