How making noise hurts hyour team
It can be a difficult transition when someone makes the move from worker bee to management. You find yourself going from someone who had lots of tasks and was always busy, to being in an oversight position.
Certainly a manager keeps busy. There are plenty of things to do. But when a deadline approaches and the team has a ton of work to do in a short time, managers often find themselves in a situation where they watch people working, waiting for the rest of the team to get it all done.
Meaningless activity
In an effort to feel like he is doing something, the manager will bark out non-orders like “We’re behind on this effort!” Alternatively, he might continuously check status so often that it disrupts the team from making progress.
The idle time can be unnerving and frustrating. Everyone is so busy and I can’t do anything but wait around for all this work to get done.
Some people think that if you’re busy you must be doing something. Combine that with all of the nervous energy associated with trying to meet a deadline and you will most likely find a project manager who is trying to keep busy. Many will do it by barking out orders that do nothing other than blow off steam and disrupt the team.
Related post: The 2 Error Types That Destroy Your Management Credibility
Just making noise hurts your team
They think they are throwing out suggestions when they’re really just making noise without providing solutions.
In agile (and even semi-agile) environments, a project manager holds a daily stand-up meeting with the full team. In fifteen minutes or less, the team goes around the room and each team member provides updates on their accomplishments since yesterday, their planned accomplishments for today, and any obstacles they are facing.
It is the project manager’s job to facilitate removing the obstacles. This may involve something the project manager can do, finding an external stakeholder to do something, or delegating a task to another team member.
This may not occupy the project manager’s full day. She needs to accept that there may be down times in which there won’t be much for them to do but wait. She needs to be present and ready to jump in if an obstacle arises that requires her attention.
One of the most important responsibilities of the project manager is to remove obstacles. It is even more important to be aware of your own actions to avoid becoming the team’s biggest obstacle to progress.
Have you ever found yourself just making noise instead of removing obstacles?
For more information, check out The Importance of Leadership in Project Management
If you would like to learn more about a career in Project Management, get Lew’s book Project Management 101: 101 Tips for Success in Project Management on Amazon.
Please feel free to provide feedback in the comments section below.
Well said. Sometimes it just easier to let the work team. And no one likes a micromanager.