Issue Management: Tyrant, Beggar or Manager?

 

Okay, you've read everything you can about issues management, and perhaps you are even project management certified. But you still can't seem to get issue management under control.

You have an issues management process, a database, forms galore...and you still find yourself sitting in meetings week after week with the same people looking at the same issues, wondering when Joe or Susie will ever get their issues resolved.

Well fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, you are not alone. As a project manager, this is where the rubber meets the road. Think about it. If issues just took care of themselves, there really would be nothing for you to do.

Unbeknownst to many PMs, you have three basic options in resolving your issues. You must become a tyrant, a beggar or (the preferred option) a manager! While a tyrant may gain short-term results, the long-term prospects for promotion will not be favorable, as you will most certainly alienate both your peers and your staff, not to mention the lack of job satisfaction you will feel at the end of the day. It will also be a gloomy day when you find your next boss was someone you leveled to the ground on a previous project, as you "got the job done."

A beggar is an option that some PMs resort to as a last-minute tactic. They plead, pester, coddle or do whatever it takes to get their issues resolved. I'm sure at some point in …

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