Are You Anti-Social?

 

It seems the more we talk about social media and project or work management in the same breath, the more disagreement there is. I believe that most of those who dislike the notion of democratizing the project management process by making it more social fall into two camps:

1. Those who are put off by what they consider the trivial nature of current social media tools like Facebook and Twitter
2. Those who espouse a top-down, command-and-control, management philosophy and refuse to consider anything else.

What a Social Work Management Approach Isn't:

I don't believe a social work management approach works if all we do is incorporate a Twitter-like activity stream or mimic what Facebook is doing (or incorporate Twitter or Facebook for that matter). That being said, the workforce today utilizes social media in their daily lives, making it an easily recognizable metaphor for making work management processes accessible. I've said this before, but it bears repeating, the workforce today is different and interacts with media differently than it did even five or ten years ago. If we can successfully capture the essence of what makes social media work generally, within the work management context, I see the increase in collaboration, communication, and visibility a real plus.

Now, I don't believe for a minute that incorporating a one-size-fits-all approach to incorporating a more social project management methodology is a good idea. Every team is different and what might work very well for one team, won't work for another. That being said, I think the way we communicate with each other is changing. I remember the times before email (which was a real game changer for most of us back then) and there was a lot of push-back, that seems pretty silly now. How many of us would be able to do our jobs without email. I certainly wouldn't.

Command-and-Control Managements Philosophy Just Doesn't Work

Democratizing the process just makes sense to me. Those closest to the work really do tend to understand it best. And, they should be "enabled" to provide input into time-lines, milestones, and deliverables if project leaders really want accurate information. Does that mean that the project leader's role diminishes? Not in the least. In my opinion, their role is elevated as it evolves into more of a sophisticated leadership role. Project leaders who are able to grasp the vision of relinquishing the arcane notions of managing people with a top-down philosophy are seeing their project teams increase productivity. I hear from people all the time who tell me that it was not only a liberating change in terms of the decrease in time they spent glued to the computer screen; involving their teams in more of the project planning process increases team member engagement, increased team camaraderie, and improved productivity.

In today's world, socializing the work management process makes sense. What are you doing to democratize project management and engage your project teams.