Is being vague a necessity or a deterrent

Eric made some good points. And although I am definitely one to rock the system when it needs jolting having been exposed to business transformations, I am also from the old school of respecting elders. The fact is that PM skills will vary across individuals. The majority of older PM's will have more experience than younger PM's. However, there will be some younger PM's that will run rings around an older PM. But should they display this in their attitude? I venture to say no. Being a senior PM (both in experience and age) brings along with it more than just PM skills. Many of these people have a long history with the organization and wield influence and respect that while not a substitute for great PM skills, is still a major factor why they were chosen for a particular project. While the integrity of the project must remain steadfast, calling these individuals out because they do not have as many ticks in the PM guru box as some others do is tasteless in my opinion. I recall a time (around 20 years ago) when I was a PM for a large program for one of Australia's biggest companies, and the PM above me was around 70 years old, and new less about vanilla project management than the rest of us. Some people in the program use to tease this guy behind his back, which would annoy me not least because he reminded me of my grandfather. I use to even compensate for some of his reports and meetings to make him look better. I did this not only because I didn't want this long-serving employee in the organization to look bad, but because I could see that the program required all us PM's to pull together to ensure a successful program, and that he had a lot more to offer than knowing how to populate a Gantt chart. I am rambling here, but to cut a long story short, the program ended successfully, and I would say it was largely due to the non-PM skills this senior project manager displayed: soft skills, communication, influence, compassion, pleasant nature, negotiation, understanding of the company culture, history/rapport with key stakeholders etc. After a career spanning 30 years, I can honestly say that working for this person and the program he managed was the best experience I ever had in employment.

Deepesh -

When I've encountered this before, it has been usually one of four reasons:

1. They are hedging their bets and don't want to commit

2. They are bluffing and know less than they are pretending to

3. No one has ever called them on this before

4. The situation IS genuinely foggy and hence they can't provide greater clarity

If it is a chronic behavior, then I'd suggest asking them if they are open to receiving some constructive feedback as it might help them later in their careers.

This is by no means a normal practice for seasoned PMs - while "it depends" is our favorite saying, transparency and ownership require that we take a stand.

Kiron