10.39 Knowing When and How to Give and Take

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10.39 Knowing When and How to “Give and Take”

There are certain circumstances in which a project will slip because someone has mucked something up. Regardless of who or what it was, the Project Manager is the one who bears the brunt of the negative reaction to bad news. That is part of the job; however, it is easier to accept responsibility for the problem and be prepared to present alternatives when the Project Manager knows it is something that should have been avoided. Admitting human flaws is something most people don’t like to do, but when it is done, the folks you admit such flaws to are often quick to forgive and move on. The fact that you know and admit there was or is a problem and are able to explain that it can be fixed by taking the alternative actions you are prepared to present shows that you are on the ball. This is the “give” part of give and take. When something under your watch goes wrong, bear the burden of responsibility and show that you can and are willing to fix the problem. So, where does the “take” part of this come into play?

When tasks are completed early, that is a take. When things are working like a well-oiled machine and all cogs seem to be turning exactly the way you want in the big project wheel, some free slack is gained, and that is a take. If equipment is delivered early, there is an opportunity. Take advantage of it. There are takes all around any project. Good Project Managers leverage every single one of them to their advantage. Never pass on an opportunity to gain some time or save money by jumping at such opportunities. If you can do that, it mitigates pain.

Many times in the course of a project, the opportunities to give and take are missed because Project Managers and those around them become way too focused on the delivery of the next milestone and overlook the “golden eggs” lying all around. When assessing the relevance or value of anything that pertains to a project, it is important—no, imperative!—that good Project Managers step back from the task of the moment and review the issue in light of the whole project. Take a holistic view and don’t rush to judgment on the matter between sips of coffee while running from one meeting to the next.

A story comes to mind about a Project Manager who was hiring staff to help code a CRM deliverable for a company in the San Francisco Bay Area. One young man’s rÈsumÈ was pretty light in coding experience for this CRM product, and it was tossed off the hire pile without much thought. He only had two years of coding experience for this particular product. What was overlooked was the fact that he had spent nine years writing and executing test scripts for the same product using the test software that our project required. The review of his rÈsumÈ was far too narrow-minded in scope, and the Project Manager almost missed a great talent that would be sorely needed at a later stage in the project. Fortunately, the HR manager brought the matter to my attention and the young man found a spot on the team. The team still owes him, big time, by the way. He helped mitigate a lot of pain.

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