People Matter, Too

 

Dear project manager,

Do you want to know what really matters in managing projects? Contrary to what all those project management bibles on your bookshelf may say, managing projects isn't just a matter of controlling time, budget and quality. People matter too! You may be great at generating fancy Gantt charts, give great blind-them-with-special-effects PowerPoint presentations and use the best project management software that money can buy. But who is going to build your application if nobody signs up for your projects?

We'll say it straight and we'll say it loud: Here's what really matters to us.

Being part of the team matters
We know you want to play boss, but we'd prefer it if you would act like you were part of the team for a change. We want, and need, to feel that you're one of us, not them. When was the last time you rolled up your sleeves and joined us in the trenches? When it's Friday evening and your team is in a crunch for a deadline that was due yesterday, when was the last time you actually considered taking a rain check on your hot date and helping us hand-code Web pages? When was the last time you actually bothered to wash your own cup?

Take a lesson from Roberta Parazzani, a Milan-based project manager at IconMedialab. "A good project manager has to adapt to various situations and the various personalities of each individual. Don't only lead, but try to be …

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