Dear Kiron
Thank you for participating in this reflection and for your opinion
Interesting what you wrote: "Things like financial management, risk management, stakeholder engagement and orchestrating the work between different well-managed teams would still be done by a PM."
What prevents self-managing teams from carrying out what you described as the role of the Project Manager?
Is that what happens on Spotify?
I think Spotify is a very special case of a company which was formed in a manner conducive to self-management from the beginning and was able to maintain that as they grew. I'd suggest that product development companies built in this manner from the ground up might not require dedicated PM roles but this is rarely the case in most other contexts.
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1 reply by Luis Branco
Jan 31, 2020 5:19 AM
Luis Branco
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Dear Kiron
Thank you for your opinion
What is the trend in terms of organizational evolution?
What role will be reserved for project managers?
Of course, in this reflection, we also have to take into account the evolution of technology (AI) and its impact on our profession
It would depend on the maturity of the project team, their level of experience, clearly defined roles and responsibilities and the ability to get on with one another. The more developed and mature a project team is the less micromanaging that they require. As for going the whole hog and not having any project manager or delegated leader, for me this would be like a ship without a captain. There always needs to be a leader within a project team who is some what remove from the day to day tasks of the team but who can provide clear oversight, direction and communication between the levels of hierarchy within an organisation.
Daire
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2 replies by Daire Guiney and Luis Branco
Jan 31, 2020 6:27 AM
Luis Branco
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Dear Daire
Thank you for participating in this reflection and for your opinion
Why does a mature team need a captain? Do you imagine that a self-managed team needs to have a leader?
Jan 31, 2020 6:45 AM
Daire Guiney
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Dear Luis,
If a project does not have a project manager then you have decision by consensus process a not decisions making process by any authority. Also their is no continuity in management style within the team and the mood and confidence of the team could change with the weather. Also this would be the case for a rotating project manager system. We have already discussed attributes required for a project manager and they need the ability to rise above the internal operations of the team in order to ensure that the project in on target, meeting requirements and budget and not be caught up in the internal dynamics of the team. If you were to 'upgrade' a self managing team to the management of an organisation then we would all live in a commune.
Daire
Saving Changes...
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Jan 30, 2020 9:49 AM
Replying to Thomas Walenta
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Well said, Scott, and great comment by Kiron.
Any team has different roles and skills and of of them is leading the team and interfacing into the organizational governance beyond the product.
Dear Thomas
Thank you for participating in this reflection and for your opinion
You wrote: "Any team has different roles and skills and of them are leading the team and interfacing into the organizational governance beyond the product"
What prevents self-managed teams from being able to interface with organizational governance beyond the product?
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1 reply by Thomas Walenta
Jan 31, 2020 7:19 AM
Thomas Walenta
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Dear Luis,
'What prevents self-managed teams from being able to interface with organizational governance beyond the product?'
Short answer: the lack of communication capabilities of their members.
When I saw teams without a PM, this role was often emulated by the scrum master. They normally have the best communication behaviors towards the team and also towards the outside. While they can be servant leaders inside, they should be strong negotiators in the outside world, which often is a jungle.
Team members in their specific roles often are product and technology oriented and avoid being exposed to the corporate world. They should be client oriented but often are not. A scrum master and product owner also serve as translators between the technical and business cultures. This is also required by the team interface to the outside world.
If any team member would be allowed to speak for the team, this would result in a cacophony of opinions, lack of decision making and confusion on both sides. Every functional team has a (one) speaker with delegated authority.
Saving Changes...
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Jan 30, 2020 10:38 AM
Replying to Aaron Porter
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If I'm not mistaken, the project manager role used to be part of the manager role. At least, in some companies. If your company merged it into a team role, or spread it across a team, your job would be gone (you might be given a new job) but the job functions of a project manager would, for the most part, still need to be performed. If the company grows, it is likely that the project manager function would evolve, again, as people struggle with high levels of multitasking needed to perform multiple functions across a growing workload.
Dear Aaron
Thank you for participating in this reflection and for your opinion
What, in your opinion, is the likely evolution of the role of the project manager in organizations where teams are self-managed? Saving Changes...
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Jan 30, 2020 9:37 PM
Replying to Kiron Bondale
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I think Spotify is a very special case of a company which was formed in a manner conducive to self-management from the beginning and was able to maintain that as they grew. I'd suggest that product development companies built in this manner from the ground up might not require dedicated PM roles but this is rarely the case in most other contexts.
Dear Kiron
Thank you for your opinion
What is the trend in terms of organizational evolution?
What role will be reserved for project managers?
Of course, in this reflection, we also have to take into account the evolution of technology (AI) and its impact on our profession
...
1 reply by Kiron Bondale
Jan 31, 2020 8:30 AM
Kiron Bondale
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PMs will still be needed for larger scale or complex initiatives where multiple well-managed teams are involved but they may not always be called PMs.
Saving Changes...
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Jan 31, 2020 4:11 AM
Replying to Daire Guiney
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Dear Luis,
It would depend on the maturity of the project team, their level of experience, clearly defined roles and responsibilities and the ability to get on with one another. The more developed and mature a project team is the less micromanaging that they require. As for going the whole hog and not having any project manager or delegated leader, for me this would be like a ship without a captain. There always needs to be a leader within a project team who is some what remove from the day to day tasks of the team but who can provide clear oversight, direction and communication between the levels of hierarchy within an organisation.
Daire
Dear Daire
Thank you for participating in this reflection and for your opinion
Why does a mature team need a captain? Do you imagine that a self-managed team needs to have a leader? Saving Changes...
It would depend on the maturity of the project team, their level of experience, clearly defined roles and responsibilities and the ability to get on with one another. The more developed and mature a project team is the less micromanaging that they require. As for going the whole hog and not having any project manager or delegated leader, for me this would be like a ship without a captain. There always needs to be a leader within a project team who is some what remove from the day to day tasks of the team but who can provide clear oversight, direction and communication between the levels of hierarchy within an organisation.
Daire
Dear Luis,
If a project does not have a project manager then you have decision by consensus process a not decisions making process by any authority. Also their is no continuity in management style within the team and the mood and confidence of the team could change with the weather. Also this would be the case for a rotating project manager system. We have already discussed attributes required for a project manager and they need the ability to rise above the internal operations of the team in order to ensure that the project in on target, meeting requirements and budget and not be caught up in the internal dynamics of the team. If you were to 'upgrade' a self managing team to the management of an organisation then we would all live in a commune.
Daire
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1 reply by Luis Branco
Jan 31, 2020 9:03 AM
Luis Branco
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Dear Daire
Thank you for your opinion
I think that everyone can be anything they want, just for that:
- To will
- Develop your knowledge (know, know) and (know how to do)
I can assure you that throughout my life I have been positively surprised
Most Project Managers are not real managers in the sense that nobody directly reports to them. Project team members report to their line managers and those line managers actually manage them and not the PM.
While the project team is executing the project the PM just tracks and reports the progress without getting involved too much into the details of the work. Also the PM ensures that what is done is part of the scope and also that there is budget allocated for the work being done.
PMs have many other duties outside the project team and those duties have to be performed by someone no matter if the team is self-organized or not.
I have seen software development projects that used Scrum to develop the software but still had a PM to deal with client relationship, high level scope management, finance, etc. If the team hadn't used Scrum the PM would have still been there doing the same job.
Conclusion: the PM role will survive no matter if the teams are self-organized or not since leading the team at the work level is not the main responsibility of the Project Manager.
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1 reply by Luis Branco
Jan 31, 2020 1:04 PM
Luis Branco
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Dear Adrian
Thank you for participating in this reflection and for your opinion
The tendency is that AI will carry out some activities that are currently carried out by project managers
Against this background:
- Artificial intelligence
- Self-managed teams
What is your prognosis for the activities to be carried out by the project managers?
Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Jan 31, 2020 5:12 AM
Replying to Luis Branco
...
Dear Thomas
Thank you for participating in this reflection and for your opinion
You wrote: "Any team has different roles and skills and of them are leading the team and interfacing into the organizational governance beyond the product"
What prevents self-managed teams from being able to interface with organizational governance beyond the product?
Dear Luis,
'What prevents self-managed teams from being able to interface with organizational governance beyond the product?'
Short answer: the lack of communication capabilities of their members.
When I saw teams without a PM, this role was often emulated by the scrum master. They normally have the best communication behaviors towards the team and also towards the outside. While they can be servant leaders inside, they should be strong negotiators in the outside world, which often is a jungle.
Team members in their specific roles often are product and technology oriented and avoid being exposed to the corporate world. They should be client oriented but often are not. A scrum master and product owner also serve as translators between the technical and business cultures. This is also required by the team interface to the outside world.
If any team member would be allowed to speak for the team, this would result in a cacophony of opinions, lack of decision making and confusion on both sides. Every functional team has a (one) speaker with delegated authority.
...
1 reply by Luis Branco
Jan 31, 2020 1:42 PM
Luis Branco
...
Dear Thomas
Thank you for your opinion
Has it occurred to you that all people can learn if they wish and that we are facing a paradigm shift about the way of working (methods and organization)?
What is the trend in terms of organizational evolution?
What role will be reserved for project managers?
Of course, in this reflection, we also have to take into account the evolution of technology (AI) and its impact on our profession
PMs will still be needed for larger scale or complex initiatives where multiple well-managed teams are involved but they may not always be called PMs.
...
2 replies by Adrian Carlogea and Luis Branco
Jan 31, 2020 10:00 AM
Adrian Carlogea
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I once worked on a project as the single project team member. I was reporting directly to the functional manager but still a PM worked on the project and the project I think was also part of a program. I only saw the PM once and just said hello and shaked his hand. All the communication with the PM was done by the functional manager so as the single project team member I never had to talk with him again.
Large organizations would always be using PMs even for small projects to handle at least the administrative work needed by the project.
The need for the PM may not be to lead the project team as there are other people more qualified to do this but to handle purely project management issues. If the project is delivered to an external customer the PM is needed to be the main point of contact for the customer and also to negotiate with the customers scope and financial related issues.
The size of the project or whether or not the team is self-organized does not have much to do with the need for a PM. Small organization may however not hire dedicated PMs but instead they may give the role to another team member in addition to other duties he may have.
