The Unsung Heroes of Progress: Celebrating Project Managers
Bart has been in ecommerce for over 20 years, and can't imagine a better job to have. He is interested in all things agile, or anything new to learn.
As a manager of project managers—and as someone who is often put in a position of evaluating their skill, results and performance—I’m often frustrated by how different reality is from perception. I’m frequently given feedback along the lines of “They did a great job, but that project was very easy to run; it practically ran itself!”
I’m then faced with explaining to the feedback provider that, no, what they witnessed was not an “easy” project; they were seeing the impact of having an excellent project manager. As a manager, it can be difficult to know because if the job is done very well, it looks simple; only when things go wrong does it look like the project manager is adding value.
International Project Management Day, celebrated on the first Thursday of November, is meant to highlight the contributions made by project managers. It is also a way to remind us all of the skill required to run a large, complex project—and to appreciate the dedication it takes to launch something new into the world.
No matter the industry, project managers are the ones that ensure that customer needs are being met, within schedule and budget, and obstacles are anticipated and overcome. From delivering across time zones or around the globe to balancing the conflicting demands of stakeholders, project managers excel at resolving …
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