Projects are done by People

Surprise! Surprise!

And you thought we had monkeys roaming around the office doing projects, don't you?

Seriously, one of the biggest mistakes Project Managers have in running projects is they undermine the single most valuable type of resource which are your Human Resources. Amongst the various types of projects out their from a Space Shuttle launch to Events Management... everything requires people. The level of non-human resources such as equipment, machinery, tools, technology, and so on may vary from project to project BUT the impact of human resources will always be more significant than the rest combined. This is because non-human resources require human resources for them to work.

You may have an excellent plan, rock-solid knowledge in Project Management, all the cool tools and toys that would make James Bond salivate - but without the ability to manage the people properly - you are bound to fail. Project Managers need to remember that Projects are done by People - project plans or project tools. There is no silver bullet to managing people, although there is a pretty clear set of things to remember when doing so.

Understand and Manage Expectations - Everyone, and I do mean everyone in one form or another works under the concept of WIIFM. (What's In It For Me?) This is not really a bad thing but a fact of life that everybody has some reason for being involved in a project. You as a PM, have to understand what that driver is and work on achieving that. It is not only your primary stakeholders like the Project Sponsor who has expectations, even your team, your peers, and other people that are directly or indirectly impacted by the project. It is expected that these expectations will conflict one another - hence the value of you, Mr. PM, of being in your position. Each one must be managed.

Communicate - The uber tool of Project Managers. Project Managers need to communicate and communicate often. People need to be communicated to as they require information, direction, and feedback. It has been estimated that a Project Manager spends 90% of his time communicating.

Negotiate - So what takes up the 90% of the time communicating? Its primarily to negotiate. You negotiate the expectations that conflict with each of the people involved in the project (stakeholders). Always try to go for the win-win situation. Always negotiate in terms of getting the best deal for everyone and not just to satisfy a specific party or group of resources. Don't start the negotiations with a position to bleed dry the other party - even and especially your customers. Doing so will loose your non-tangible assets such as the relations to other people.

Mary Ann Allisson wrote:

Hire the best. Pay them fairly. Communicate frequently. Provide challenges and rewards. Believe in them. Get out of their way and they'll knock your socks off.

Yup. this is true as can be.