At some point in our careers, all PMs must have dealt with a colleague, specially in Functional or Weak Matrix orgs that can be best described as the Cowboy of the old Wild West.
Typical behavior includes complete disregard of the processes (law of the land), doing things their own way (which of course they are great at), by-passing all channels to get what they need, choose to show up for meetings when they want to (or not at all) and the list goes on.
Well... You already have the picture of that person in your mind.. don't you?
Question is, as the new Sheriff in town, how do you effectively deal with such personalities so that they are held accountable and get on-board like the rest of the team? (HINT: escalating to his/her manager or HR is not an option). Saving Changes...
There is a common sense rule that applies in the majority of cases and this rule says that you can't directly manage a worker unless you are able to do the work yourself. Most companies apply this rule and that's why the functional managers have formal authority over the human resources involved in projects and the PMs have no such authority.
The above rule applies even in the so called strong matrix organizations.
As the PM is concerned he should only care if the team members are working on the tasks that would reach the goals of the project. If the team members don't follow the project management processes but still deliver then it is still OK.
I am telling from experience, sometimes the team members feel that the project managers are sabotaging their work. For instance when the team is behind the schedule and the team members are struggling to finish the work ASAP many PMs would schedule long meetings to try to solve the problems but in reality they are keeping the team from working. Sometimes cowboys are needed and they can save the project even if they get the PM mad.
When cowboys don't work on the tasks needed to complete the project then you have a big problem. Saving Changes...
Mohan DahimaGM -PMO| Kalyani Steels LimitedSurat, Gujarat, India
Let there be one cowboy in the team.First have one-to-one discussion with the person.May be he does not follow the procedures because there are so many unwarranted procedures that are delaying progress.He does not attend meetings in time because may be PM does not have any agenda for the meeting.At least he has the courage to let team know what he feels.The man might have some positive traits which can be used constructively.
So long as one does not have negative attitude or destructive mind-set, PM need not unnecessarily worry.Some sort of coaching and mentoring will certainly help.
Give him the responsibility he can perform better.
Escalation is the last resort in such cases if the person is totally incorrigible. Saving Changes...
At one of the projects on which I have worked one of the team members was a functional manager reporting directly to the project sponsor (the sponsor was the functional manager's line manager). The functional manager ended up being a project team member (part time) because of his very good SME skills.
This functional manager was a great guy but if he had been a cowboy what would you have done as a PM? That's a real file example and not theory. Saving Changes...
For the sake of discussion, can think of having a cowboy in the team (specially in a weak matrix organization, where PMs authority is very limitted) is an equivalent opportunity like the threat it may cause.
Then we can brainstorm towards a practical benefit, than a theoretical confrontation.
as a PM in a weak matrix environment, no doubt, it would be hard to make a cowboy accountable like others, without having the blessing from higher mgmt. Still a cow boy can be utilized as a knight to save your queen.
i really dont know the capability of your Cowboy, I guess, they mastered on few skills. Saving Changes...
It is not clear why intervention by the person's manager or HR is not an option in a matrix organization. In matrix organizations, all resources report into a management chain as the manager is responsible for authorizing the resource to work on the project and is responsible for performance reviews, compensation and other HR admin functions. I would have a joint meeting with the resource and their manager and let that manager know the resource is not performing to expectations. If the problem continues, I would have the manager replace the resource.
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2 replies by Adrian Carlogea and Mayte Mata Sivera
Sep 13, 2018 12:52 PM
Adrian Carlogea
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Things are not that easy. For starters in many cases some team members are more senior in the organization than the project manager. As I said on one of the projects on which I have worked one of the team members was a functional manager having a few team leads under him and reporting directly to the project sponsor. The PM was just a contractor.
Do you think a contractor would tell an executive manager (the project's sponsor) that one of his direct reports which happens to be a middle manager does not perform to expectations? I don't think so.
But even when the PM is a permanent employee escalating to the functional manager may have negative results. For instance the functional manager and his direct report working on the project may consider that the PM is actually the problem.
If the functional manager considers that the project team member that reports to him is doing an extraordinary job then there is not much the PM can do about it and the escalation may make things worse. When Murtaza said that escalation was not an option I am pretty sure that he knew very well what he was talking about.
Sep 13, 2018 1:42 PM
Mayte Mata Sivera
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From my point of view the escalation is the last option to explore.
It is not clear why intervention by the person's manager or HR is not an option in a matrix organization. In matrix organizations, all resources report into a management chain as the manager is responsible for authorizing the resource to work on the project and is responsible for performance reviews, compensation and other HR admin functions. I would have a joint meeting with the resource and their manager and let that manager know the resource is not performing to expectations. If the problem continues, I would have the manager replace the resource.
Things are not that easy. For starters in many cases some team members are more senior in the organization than the project manager. As I said on one of the projects on which I have worked one of the team members was a functional manager having a few team leads under him and reporting directly to the project sponsor. The PM was just a contractor.
Do you think a contractor would tell an executive manager (the project's sponsor) that one of his direct reports which happens to be a middle manager does not perform to expectations? I don't think so.
But even when the PM is a permanent employee escalating to the functional manager may have negative results. For instance the functional manager and his direct report working on the project may consider that the PM is actually the problem.
If the functional manager considers that the project team member that reports to him is doing an extraordinary job then there is not much the PM can do about it and the escalation may make things worse. When Murtaza said that escalation was not an option I am pretty sure that he knew very well what he was talking about. Saving Changes...
It is not clear why intervention by the person's manager or HR is not an option in a matrix organization. In matrix organizations, all resources report into a management chain as the manager is responsible for authorizing the resource to work on the project and is responsible for performance reviews, compensation and other HR admin functions. I would have a joint meeting with the resource and their manager and let that manager know the resource is not performing to expectations. If the problem continues, I would have the manager replace the resource.
From my point of view the escalation is the last option to explore. Saving Changes...
Ruth Marina Lopez PerezResponsable TI| INSTITUTO DE PREVISION SOCIAL MILITAR - NICARAGUAMasaya, Los Madrigales, Nindirí, Nicaragua
It is a hard matter but is real. I have that unpleasant experience in which sincerly I impose dictatorial style when the processes are mandatory. Thus that cowboy understand who impose the rules of the game. I did'n have other way.
I have conversations verbal formals with the cowboy, also write formals, but my cowboy is refered for one of the sponsors. His attitud affect the team of the project and it sucess. Saving Changes...
If he does his work even if disregards processes then you should not worry about. Sometimes project management processes including the long meetings slow down workers.
If you think he does not perform his work properly then his line manager would be held accountable so again there is no reason for you to worry as long as you notify the stakeholders.
As a PM as a general rule you are not the boss so when you are not the boss it is not a good idea to try to behave like one.
Many times some project team members are more senior than the PMs so you have absolutely no chance to lead them. I imagine that this is also the case here so there is not much you can do about it rather then try to adapt.
As program manager who has responsibility for meeting the project objectives including building and managing the team, managing finances and managing project scope, I am the manager. As the manager, I do NOT have to deal with disruptive individuals and will have them removed from my team. I am not sure what kind of PM you are with no authority but it sounds like you're acting more in the role of a project assistant. And to those who don't think escalations can work due to relationships I will say this, effective escalations are part of your job and you need to enlist your manager and your manager's manager if that is what it takes to get rid of a disrupter.
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1 reply by Adrian Carlogea
Sep 17, 2018 5:20 PM
Adrian Carlogea
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When you are escalating this kind of issue to the functional manager to which the project team member reports to you have no guarantee that the manager would see the things your way.
Maybe you and the functional manager have different expectations from the team member and obviously he would obey the instructions of his line manager and not yours. The line manager can even feel offended by your so called escalation. You can only escalate in this way when you have an extraordinary good relationship with the team members's boss. But even so the results are not guaranteed.
If the "cowboy" happens to have some very important skills for the project your organization would most likely have you removed from the team rather then him.
