PMcrunch

The old adage goes like this: “It is much better to tell someone what to do than how to do it”. Violation of this rule is often the cause for less than optimal performance. Here are some reasons why and some ways to handle this common management miscue.

The Root of the Problem

Sometimes people are put into management roles due to skills in a particular area – usually not management. For example, someone who is good at database programming may be put in charge of a group that has database programming as a key activity on the project. Sometimes this works well, however, it often does not for a number of reasons.

1. Simply having this technical skill often encourages the person to tell people how to do the work, rather than what must be done.
2. There may be other individuals on the team that actually have some management skills and they may become discouraged.
3. With technical skill in one area, frequently individuals put too much emphasis on that area and leave out important details in other areas, where they are less comfortable.
4. Such tendencies on the part of a technical skill oriented manager will be to lessen the degree of ownership that other team members have on their portions of the project.
5. Creativity tends to diminish on the part of the team members when they know a team leader is going to insist on doing it their way.
6. As can be seen, there are many issues to be overcome in a situation where technical skill or skill in some specific area is the basis for someone being put in charge of a project.

Defining the Essence of Project Leadership

What is most important is to define the job of the project leader. Just as you want the project leader to define what must be done on their team, as opposed to how to do it, you must also define what must be done by the project leader. This is not only important for effective execution of the project, but is also a great development opportunity for the project leader.

When you tell someone what must be done you give them ownership of the project, allowing them to get the job done in the manner that they see fit. This will enable this new project leader to use their creativity, to follow your example, by providing ownership to team members of their pieces of the project and will generally produce optimal performance. Of course, it requires that you monitor progress and performance on the project. However, you will be setting out on the right foot and will have a strong foundation for the projects success, for making adjustments going forward.

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John Reiling, PMP

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