When I received a request to write this blogpost (see the explanation in
the postscript) with the suggested title of "What Does
Project Management Mean to Me - A Project Manager's Sermon", I had
to sit down and ponder awhile how to put my thoughts into words. I am used to
writing about my opinions on how best to accomplish management-related tasks. Writing
about what it means to me to perform those tasks myself required looking at project
management from a slightly different perspective. It has been an enjoyable
experience—one I highly recommend!
First, let me explain why I removed “A Project Manager’s Sermon” from the
title. It is because project management is not a religion to me; it is an art. It
is not something that I believe but something that I feel, see and immerse
myself in. It is more artistic than divine.
Project management is often described as a set of skills or a collection
of best practices, and while those descriptions are not incorrect, in reality, project
management goes way beyond this. There is an art to managing projects that
cannot be developed based purely on best practices, spreadsheets and
organizational skills.
Consider the task of creating a project schedule that contains over 2000
line items for a team of 20 engineers. If one takes into consideration not only
each person’s unique skillset, vacation schedule and general availability but
also their interests and career goals, it takes artistry to blend those diverse
needs to create something that works well. By the time the schedule has been
completed, each person is fully utilized but not over-scheduled. Each engineer
has been assigned tasks that enable him or her to meet or exceed expectations,
develop new skills and enhance existing ones. Senior team members’ tasks have
been scheduled to allow time for mentoring junior team members. Continuing
education time has been allocated for all employees. There is flexibility built
into the plan to allow for scheduling vacations and holidays. Most importantly,
the project finish date is within the specified timeframe. The resulting first edition
of the project schedule is rather spectacular and unique. Why unique? Because no
two project managers would create exactly the same project schedule. However, the
project schedule is far from being a finished art piece. Rather, it is the
starting point for the project. It is the vision of what the project manager plans
to create—the pencil drawing that precedes applying anything to the canvas. The
project schedule is the foundation on which to build a great project masterpiece.
If you asked ten artists to paint the same landscape, their final
paintings will be original and distinctive. Each artist sees the landscape a
little differently and has developed his or her own individual painting style.
That style is based on experience, technique, color, artistic interpretation
and the thoughts and feelings the landscape invokes in the artist. The
different perspectives, artists personalities and artistic preferences will be
reflected in the uniqueness of each artist’s painting. In the same way, you
could ask ten project managers to manage an identical project and they will all
do it a little differently based on their own management styles, preferences
and perspectives. One approach may not necessarily be better than another. They
are just different.
My own unique brushstrokes have given my projects a signature style. The
way I create my project schedule, the process I use for updating it, how I
communicate with my project team members and stakeholders, the importance of
providing growth and development opportunities to everyone on the team, the team
celebrations and rewards, my sense of humor, how I manage a crisis……. all these
things, and more, blend together to create the unique masterpiece that is a
Colleen Garton project.
A project may be something beautiful and satisfying or dark and
apprehensive. Either way each new project contributes to improving and refining
the skill of the artist. Styles may evolve and perspectives may change but the
underlying character of the project manager is still there, overlaid with the layers
and layers of brushstrokes. Like art pieces, some projects will be successful, some
abandoned, some destroyed, some hidden away in a drawer never to be
contemplated again, and some perhaps not appreciated as much as they should be
until years after the project manager has moved on to new endeavors.
When I think back over the various projects I have worked on, each one had
its own artistic uniqueness. Where one may have been the solitary ship sailing
into a fiery sunset, another depicted grotesque gargoyles protruding from a sinister
cathedral wall. The modern, huge eyeball on a background of blue that was fun
but unpredictable, and soon followed by an old-fashioned, somber and dark image
of a funeral procession representing the less-than-successful project. The more
perplexing projects felt like a collection of randomly interconnected boxes or
a staircase that appeared to go up and down at the same time so there was no
escape until I solved the age-old conundrum of project challenges.
When each project is complete, I evolve into the artist I need to be to
tackle my next project. It may require adapting my style a little, using more
red and less blue, perhaps doing away with the impressionism and bringing
everything back into focus. Some of my adaptations will be based on my
increased level of skill, some on my desire to try something new or to avoid
repeating past mistakes, others may have been inspired by another project
management artist whose style I admire and wish to either emulate or
incorporate into my own work. My cubism may be replaced with surrealism or
evolve into the style of an old master, but my personality, my own unique
style, will be visible. My unique signature will always be there inscribed on the
bottom right- hand corner of each masterpiece I create!
Colleen Garton
p.s.
This post is published as part of a first ever project management related
global blogging initiative to publish a post on a common theme at exactly the
same time. 74+ bloggers from Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France,
Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain,
UK and the USA have committed to make a blogging contribution and the fruit of
their labour is now (literally NOW) available all over the web. The complete
list of all participating blogs is found here so
please go and check out my fellow project management bloggers!
