Ian NobleParents And Children TogetherReading, United Kingdom
Are Project Managers born optimists (always believing that the project can be a success) or are they born pessimists (always looking for the risks, challenges and why something won’t work, will take longer etc.)? Saving Changes...
If we put project management aside for a minute as I believe it is the type of person that we are that can make us successful in our personal and professional life. Some people are pessimistic in everything that they do, thats how they are - if asked whether a glass is half empty or half full they will probably say it is half empty it is their type of thinking - an optimistic person always looks to the brighter side of things, even if something is broken it can be fixed. To be a successful PM the optimistic ones win over the pessimistic PMs cause people stop listening to the pessimistic people, depressing believing there is no hope... to answer you question a good PM will ensure the Project is managed and led to successful delivery, and yes analysis is required to termine risks and challenges the project may face so these can be managed.
I am optimistic..... look on the bright side there is always a rainbow in the horizon Saving Changes...
Elizabeth HarrinDirector| RebelsGuideToPM.comLondon, England, United Kingdom
I think a successful PM has a bit of both: sometimes you need to be optimistic to encourage team morale and spread positivity when things look challenging. Sometimes you need to err on the side of caution and consider the risks. You can do this in a structured way without having to label people as optimistic or pessimistic with Edward de Bono's thinking hats exercise. I don't use it often but it is useful. Saving Changes...
Hans RobbersSenior Director| SalesforceVlissingen, Netherlands
Ian
Good question. Elizabeth and Vasoula are both right. You need to be both.
Optimist to the team and the stakeholders, you have to believe in the project and the result.
Planning and predicting the end date you need to be pessimist, although I would prefer realist. People tend to be positive if the end date is far a way there will be no issues or there is plenty of time to solve. In your planning sessiions you need to temper the optimistic view and build in the contingency.
Hopes this helps Hans Saving Changes...
Ian NobleParents And Children TogetherReading, United Kingdom
I am also a natural optimist, but I agree that the good Project Manager needs to be both. However if you are a natural born optimist, it can be a challenge to then also be a pessimist when needed.
I remember in my early days as a Project Manager I was always too optimistic in my planning (probably most optimists would be), and it was very difficult to me to train myself to be more pessimistic, in order to better prepare my plans.
I could imagine that someone who is naturally more pessimistic, would also find it difficult to keep their pessimism under control.
Any tips from anyone one how to adopt your less natural side ? Saving Changes...
Stan YanakievCustomer Project Manager - IT| Hewlett-PackardSofia, Bulgaria
I would say the PM, and everybody, must try to be realist, that is to perceive reality as is. This is difficult of course. Optimist or Pessimist - both attitudes mean we are interpreting reality too subjectively, either in rose or in black. To me both attitudes are wrong. And planning shouldn't imply too much guessing and incorporate emotions, otherwise we should change our approach to the project. Saving Changes...
Bernard GorePortfolio, Programme & Project Professional| NZ PoliceWellington, New Zealand
I think all good PMs need to be able to hold the "cognitive dissonance" of both optimism and pessimism - we can't afford to get stuck in one or the other.
In "Six Hats" thinking we need to sometimes wear the black hat, sometimes the yellow one. We need to be able to look at the risks, issues, challenges, constraints etc, but also maintain positivity that solutions CAN be found, otherwise we are unlikely to deliver well. Saving Changes...
