12.3 Your Role versus Theirs

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I was inspired to write this book for many reasons, one of which is that so many project managers do not understand the job that they subsequently underperform with predictably discouraging results. This is not a finger-pointing exercise, by the way, but simply an observation, similar to the kind a baseball hitting coach would make after noticing that an otherwise talented hitter takes too much of a back swing before driving the bat through the strike zone.

Generally speaking, when a project manager misses the mark like this, the misperception of roles and responsibilities falls into one of two categories:

The project manager is the clipboard and whistle type, who is standing on the sidelines with a somewhat worried but detached air.
The project manager is down in the trenches with team leads, but doing their jobs for them.

The downside to the aloof manager was covered in Chapter 7, but a few more words are in order for the "down in the trenches" type. If I had to describe the job in one sentence, it would be this:

The primary duty of a project manager is to see that the value expected and paid for, as defined by project scope, is delivered on the customer's behalf in a civilized manner.

Does that mean that the project manager is therefore responsible for:

Developing requirements?
Designing solutions?
Ordering equipment?
Chasing people around for updates on tasks they are paid to perform?
Harassing vendors to deliver or perform according to contracted terms?
Finding out why George or Mary did not come in today?
Writing code, installing routers, pulling cable, or building servers?

The answer to each question should be "Never." Your team should have technical experts, technicians, and engineers who do the work, and since it is such a large project, team leads who manage these groups. If I were restricted to a single sentence to describe how most project managers fail, it would read like this.

Most project managers who fail do so because they assume responsibility for performing other people's tasks, including the assumption of a team lead's responsibilities because that individual is unproductive so far as the project is concerned.

That being the case, there is not enough time or energy left to do the project manager's job effectively. This happens for two reasons:

Team leads and other players dump on project managers who let them.
If a project manager is uncertain about his or her duties, he or she is far more likely to look for things that "need doing," and then go do them.

It is really that simple. So what is the key to success, then? The simplest answer I can offer is the model of the head coach on a football team (see Exhibit 1). That person manages two teams, including the assistant coaches and the support staff, which includes the trainers and equipment managers. The assistant coaches, in turn, coach specific player types such as linebackers or receivers.

Exhibit 1: Football Team Management Hierarchy

click to expand

Can the head coach reach down and interact directly with a running back, thereby bypassing the coach of that squad? Sure. Can the head coach reach down to all 58 players every day to see whether they learned their plays, did their push-ups, and passed their drug tests? Can the head coach keep his job (and his sanity) over the long run? That appears unlikely, if not impossible.

The reason for the hierarchy is simple enough. Let us step two layers down from the head coach to, for instance, the assistant coach in charge of the defensive linebackers. He teaches those players the techniques of the position and instructs them on their customized duties for the team's next game. Does the head coach do all the thinking and coaching that goes into this work for each of the dozen or so squads that comprise his team? That would be impossible, considering all the game films they review, new plays they draw up, subteam meetings they plan and run, and on-field training and coaching they are responsible for. What about on game day? Does the head coach throw the pass, tackle the other team's fullback, kick the field goal, or recover a fumble in the end zone for the winning touchdown? This could happen only in his dreams. What the head coach does is:

Decide what type of players and strategy he needs to win the Super Bowl.
Work with the general manager to build that team.
Hire and manage the assistant coaches to implement that winning strategy.
With the assistant coaches, formulate a winning game plan each week.
Get the team fired up.
Keep the owner out of the locker room.
Protect team members from media criticism of last Sunday's debacle.

If you go back through the previous chapters, it should not be hard to see the strong parallels between the head football coach and the project manager. For me, the key similarities are:

Facilitating a sound plan that ensures team goals
Mentoring the experts managing pieces of the big picture
Tying all those pieces together into a cohesive, successful team effort
Keeping the team on task with enthusiasm and purpose
Being the public face that graciously accepts blame while delegating glory

This is a job that requires public determination, mentoring, patience, and never letting them see you sweat. The quarterback may be a dunce, but if he can hit that receiver in the end zone when it counts, let him get the big bucks and the adulation, even if you have to stay up all night explaining the playbook to him. It is all part of the job.

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