Project Managers are portrayed in one of two lights in the media. Project managers are either seen as do-it-all, constantly busy workaholics, or lazy do-nothings who create more problems than they solve. The question remains – which is true? This website is focused on what Project Managers do and why they’re important – on this site, we think Project Management is extremely important. This is biased of course. Others don’t see Project Managers so favorably. They may even see the PM in a negative light, using some colorful words to describe them. Today, we explore this question: Are Project Managers useless? Here’s my honest opinion…
What Are Managers For? An Overarching Observation
The term ‘manager’ is an extremely broad label. Nearly every business in existence has at least one manager on the payroll. The title of ‘Manager’ is more common than ever.
Essentially, Managers are supposed to oversee the day-to-day operations of a business, making sure that everything gets done when and how it should. This applies to every business, from bowling allies to a brokerage on Wall St. But what about Project Managers?
Titles are all the rage these days. The term Project Manager has gotten a lot bigger in recent years. There are nearly 11 Million Project Managers in the USA alone, as of 2017 (via DataUSA). In fact, many types of positions that were considered ‘Managers’ in the past are now known as a Project Manager instead.
What are all these millions of PMs for, exactly?
That’s where “useless” and “Project Manager” begin to associate. Allow me to explain, because I don’t mean it in an offensive manner.
At it’s core, Project Management is a discipline, skillset and methodology. These things take time to learn and understand, mainly via mentorship and experience. By the time someone becomes a full-fledged Project Manager, they should have several years of experience along with the level of aptitude required.
A P.M. is supposed to be a leader; a person who takes ownership of pushing the project forward – in good times and bad. A P.M. should be the bridge between parties, coordinating the efforts of owners, designers, contractors, specialty skills, etc. In traditional Project Management, the P.M. is essential.
As we said above, though, the title of Project Manager is more common than ever. Workers are being pushed into this title earlier in their careers, too.
This results in less experience, training and skills on average. Many companies will employ “Project Managers” that really don’t know how to manage a project on a fundamental level. This isn’t necessarily their faults, it’s just the ways things have gone.
What Makes A Project Manager Bad?
Bad Project Managers give PMs everywhere a bad rap. This is the reason why some people see Project Managers as useless. Here are a few major ways in which Project Managers can negatively impact the end result:
- They Don’t Look At The Big Picture
- They Spend Their Time Poorly
- They Do Not Effectively Communicate
- They Don’t Have A Good Grasp On “The Big Three” (Budget, Time, Quality)
- They Have Trouble Prioritizing
The above skills are essential for Project Managers in every field. Here’s a few examples of how each of these issues can quickly make a project turn south.
1. They Don’t Look At The Big Picture
On nearly all projects, the majority of people involved are assigned specific tasks to get done. The vast majority of their time is spent working diligently on getting that work done. These roles are vital to the overall success of the project.
But who’s looking ahead? Who’s planning? Who has the big picture in mind?
The Project Manager! At least, they should.
A P.M. must spend time planning the next steps of a project, taking into account any issues, hold-ups and tasks to get done. This largely includes the coordination of resources, too.
When a Project Manager isn’t doing this, there will inevitably be issues down the road. When people working on the project are suddenly halted for a silly preventable reason, they’ll blame the P.M. and rightly so.
Read Next: A Project Manager’s First Day On The Job: Focus On These 3 Essentials
2. They Spend Their Time Poorly
There are only so many hours in the day! On a project, the most valuable asset (or liability) is time.
When a P.M. spends their time well, it might not be obvious to those involved. When work is running smoothly and on schedule, every day feels like business as usual. It’s only when a project is plagued with issues that the P.M. starts getting extra attention – not in a good way.
For example, a project may be significantly behind in areas A, B and C. Any reasonably good P.M. will recognize the need to fix these problems ASAP to save the project as a whole (refer to item 1). They’ll spend their time on A, B and C until it’s not needed anymore.
A useless Project Manager will not only be working on item D, but may not even realize the effect that A, B and C are having.
Simply put, a good P.M. will spent their time wisely – on the tasks that are most important.
Read Next: What Is The Agile Project Management Process? 4 Simple Techniques
3. They Do Not Effectively Communicate
Communication comes in many forms, but a useless Project Manager will be the master of none.
The basic forms of communication in the majority of businesses are as follows:
- Verbal In-Person
- Verbal On The Phone
- Written Instructions/Guides
- Written Email/Text
That’s it. A proficient Project Manager knows when and how to wield each one of them. After all, communication is nothing more than exchanging information!
A bad Project Manager will not manage the flow of information correctly. People won’t be on the same page as one another. Vital information will not reach everyone it needs to. People won’t understand exactly what needs to be done, etc.
Here are a couple examples:
Rather than host a brief in-person meeting with the project team, a bad P.M. will spend a lot more time typing out a written summary and will email it to everyone instead. This is OK in some cases, but it gives no opportunity for group discussion, asking questions and double-checking comprehension. Everyone must read it on their own, understand the info. and collaborate with others as they see fit – this leaves a lot of room for error!
A useless Project Manager may feel accomplished after forwarding a bunch of emails to others and cc’ing everyone they can on whatever they send. Keeping others in the loop is great, but is there direction being given? Do others understand what they must do in response to getting this email? If there’s lots of back-and-forth via email, it gets even more confusing.
When not communicating effectively, it’s easy to see a Project Manager as useless.
Read Next: Being Direct In The Workplace, Without Being A Jerk: 10 Simple Steps
4. They Don’t Have A Good Grasp On “The Big Three” (Budget, Time, Quality)
This one is short and sweet – if a project finishes on time, under budget with all of the desired deliverables complete, the project is a success.
The essence of a Project Manager’s existence is to oversee these three variables.
This requires the P.M. to have a firm understanding of the budget as well as monitoring costs and revenue. They need to comprehend the schedule, watch the progress and resolve hold-ups in a timely manner. They must work to make sure that quality standards are upheld throughout.
If a Project Manager does not have a good handle on these three variables, they will definitely be considered useless by someone.
Read Next: Common Issues Project Managers Face & How To Solve Them
5. They Have Trouble Prioritizing
This is the cousin of item no. 2. The Pareto principle states that 80% of a project’s results come from 20% of its’ actions. A good Project Manager will know which tasks fall in that 20% category and make sure they’re done first and foremost.
A useless Project Manager will not take heed to this concept. Instead, they’ll spend time running around doing almost anything other than the important, actual work. Maybe they’ll spend their time doing as little as possible.
Trouble with prioritizing can take many forms. Perhaps the PM is running around like crazy, trying to do a little bit of everything at once. Other times, it’s just poor judgement – spending time on non-critical tasks.
Another way Project Managers run into this problem is by working on the tasks they have a preference for, not the ones that are most critical.
Regardless, a Project Manager who can’t or won’t prioritize is in effect, useless.
Read Next: How Do You Manage Multiple Projects Effectively? Our Top 10 Techniques
Are Project Managers Useless? My Opinion
Just to recap, I do feel that some Project Managers are “useless”. A project requires a person to oversee it. If a P.M. is on board but does not look at the big picture, spend their time wisely, communicate effectively, prioritize or have a firm grip on the budget, schedule and quality – yes, that P.M. is by definition, useless.
I DO, however, feel that a Project Manager who brings these skillsets to the table is an essential part of the project that should not be skipped…or taken for granted!
I hope you found this article helpful and informative. Thanks for reading.
