The Plate-Spinning PM: 7 Tips to Manage Multiple Projects

Lonnie Pacelli is an Accenture/Microsoft veteran with four decades of learnings under his belt. He frequently writes and speaks on leadership, project management, work/life balance, and disability inclusion. Reach him at [email protected] and see more at ProjectManagementAdvisor.com.

  Career Development   Leadership  

I remember as a kid being entertained by plate spinners. The performer would spin bowls, plates or other flat objects on poles and keep them all spinning without falling off.

I watched each plate spinner run from pole to pole, jiggling the pole to keep a plate from wobbling and falling off. The spinner had to prioritize those plates most likely to fall off the pole first, get them spinning again, them move on to the next teetering plate.

Sometimes, the spinner was able to keep everything spinning; sometimes, a plate crashed to the ground, to the “oohs” and “aahs” of the crowd.

Welcome to the world of managing multiple projects.

As a young PM, I was managing three large engagements. I was bound and determined to show everyone I could do it. Long story short, I ended up tanking not one, not two, but all three projects. All three plates came crashing down. It was one of the most painful experiences I ever went through as a PM…one that I was determined not to repeat.

I’ve been asked how many projects is reasonable for a PM to manage. Honestly, it depends on several key factors:

• The experience level of the PM
• The experience level or neediness of the project sponsor
• The experience level of the team members working on the project
• The significance of the consequence if the project was not delivered on time, on budget and …

Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.