“Where’s your Project Manager in all of this?!”
That’s what I say when I hear from consultants that they are expected to
– have tough conversations with the client (and say no)
– raise change requests for scope creep
– manage conflict and politics
– schedule workshops, meetings and resources
– manage risks and action items
– provide estimates of timeline and task dependencies
😱😱😱😱
No wonder your project is going off the rails!
No wonder your consulting team is burned out!
No wonder your client is engaging their legal team!!
You’ve skimped on a critical resource whose job is there TO MANAGE THE PROJECT!
Yes – we are there to do all the ‘admin-ny’ things like project status reports, RAID logs, gantt charts etc etc etc
… but we ALSO have to build, nurture and develop the human relationships necessary to get things done. Properly.
#ProjectManagement is one of those things things that organisations are loathed to pay for (the other is #QA), not realising that it is the glue that not only hold everything together, but is absolutely critical for true success.
My job as a #projectmanager is to remove the noise and flying debris, and protect the team so that they can do what they do best: Build amazing things.
Not only that – but I help to identify and manage the risks that might impact the success of the project.
When you remove my function from your project, you do your team a disservice by fracturing their concentration and distracting them from their work.
You think you’re saving money by omitting the project manager, but you don’t realise that you’re already paying for it
– in poor morale
– in sub-standard work
– in mental and emotional health toll
– in losing great people when they can’t deal with it anymore.
Consultants have been dropping so many horror story DMs into my box this week from my previous posts.
The sad thing is: None of the stories are unique 😔
These are people who have been asked to do far more than they are supposed to, with very little support and guidance.
Please.
Don’t skimp on project management.
