Molly McCourtProject Manager| Akron Children's HospitalAvon, Oh, United States
Hello, Some organizations are getting away from using "manager" for those that do not have direct reports. What do you think program and project managers should be called in this instance? Program Architect or Program Administrator? Any other ideas?
George FreemanThought Leader | Author | Architect| Florida, United States
Hi Molly,
Having a “project manager” HR title, in my opinion, has no intrinsic value. For myself and many others, their HR title has never been PM based, but they take on the PM role when chartered or empowered.
Generic HR titles such as Specialist or Advisor (and others) are common for positions where the employee takes on different roles. Obviously, the salary grade is a critical component, but other than that, having an empowered-role is what matters. Saving Changes...
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Molly, to a certain degree I do agree with George and quite honestly I don’t think it matters if you have direct report or not. Project Managers who work in Weak Matrix environment, are still called Project Managers. Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Would be interesting to understand the motivation to limit the term manager to those with permanent direct reports. Seems to be playing with politics and power games.
PMs have direct reports temporarily assigned to projects. They are managing them within the project, and have some power over them.
For a weak matrix, we know the term project coordinator or project expeditor from previous PMBoK Guides.
I also have seen the role of a (project) team lead. Saving Changes...
While "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet", titles do matter when it comes to moving to a different company. Not having had the PM title in your most recent company could be an impediment with some recruiters or hiring managers when applying for PM roles somewhere else.
And this is not the only role which has the word "Manager" in it without having direct reports - Account Manager & Product Manager are two other examples.
Kiron Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
They still has to be called Project/Program Manager. In fact, the art to be project/program manager is you have to convince people that is not your direct report "to work for you". So, the problem in the cases you stated, is a misunderstanding of what the word "manager" means in this context. Saving Changes...
Chad DukesProject Coordinator| DP SolutionsBel Air, Md, United States
My title is Project Coordinator specifically because I don't have direct reports. I'm still part of the senior leadership team. I still manage all of the project work. This is pretty common in my industry. Saving Changes...
Molly McCourtProject Manager| Akron Children's HospitalAvon, Oh, United States
My colleagues tend to agree with Sergio on this one that there is a misunderstanding within the organization regarding managing the work/project team and managing permanent direct reports. Coordinator is a possibility that we discussed but many feel it does not encompass all that we do. Thanks all for your input. Saving Changes...
When I hear that people don't think those without direct reports in the organizational structure should not be called managers, it strikes me as a social caste system common in command and control environments. The term manager then conveys more importance and power over others. It's common in business cultures where being a manager is distinctly different than being a leader. Saving Changes...
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