Responsibility Without Authority

 

One of the biggest challenges of being a project manager is what I call responsibility without authority. Your success is tied to people who do not report to you or--worse yet--do not even work for the same company. How do you get the respect of these individuals and motivate them to get the work done? Here are some things to remember when you are in the trenches.

• Roll up your sleeves and learn the subject matter
• Remember that you do not know everything
• Ask others for their ideas and use them
• Admit when you are wrong
• Build alliances
• Minimize administrative tasks
• Manage at a level where you can add value

Rolling up your sleeves
Keep in mind that you may never be able to derive (or even understand) the complex formulas that the engineers are using. They have years of education and experience that you are not going to catch up to in a few months. That said, you can dig in and do some basic studying of the subject matter. Understand the concepts and learn the terminology. Schedule some time with all the team members and ask them to explain what they do. Get resources from the team members and do some reading and research. Show them that you are making an effort to understand their business and their piece of the project. Keep good records during your learning process. You will gain everyone's respect much faster if you can avoid …

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