6 PM Beginner Mistakes

Now working in IT is a very popular trend for well-known reasons. And more and more young people decide to dedicate themselves to this particular cause. However, not everyone likes to write code, and therefore the choice of a beginner often falls into non-technical IT specialties, such as business analysis, testing (of course manual), recruiting, or a project manager. And under the novice, I mean both yesterday's students and people with experience in other areas. Just as a project manager, I would like to dwell in more detail.

Nowadays, the position of a manager or owner of a business is so attractive that I’m afraid there will be no one to manage in 10 years ... I don’t know why, but there is a perception that if there is knowledge of English, and even several bestsellers about leadership, motivation and management are read, perfect candidate for a PM place. How often have you heard such reasoning? “Why are there managing the project - I distributed tasks, I controlled (seriously and sooo strictly), I chatted with the customer, and that’s all the work, business!”?

I hurry to upset you. The field of knowledge on project management is no less extensive than that of developers. Like other IT specialties, the role of PM requires effort for continuous self-learning and self-improvement. Oh yeah, you still have to work with people in many ways superior to you in knowledge and skills, so at best, the case will end in ignoring the "decrees" of the newly-made "leader."
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In this article I would like to describe the common actions of PM which, in fact, are mistakes, but are made due to the combination of the best motives with a lack of knowledge and experience. The saying "Do not do good - there will be no evil" very vividly illustrates the consequences of the young manager’s naivety.

Action # 1 “Do you want to entrust someone with a task?”
A typical situation is when a manager assigns a task to someone from a team without providing all the necessary information or even delving into what the person actually needs to accomplish it. Of course, he calls this approach “delegation” - transferring the task with responsibility for its result.
Effects. The task will be delayed or it will be executed not quite correctly, which will negatively affect the project (after all, they did not count on such a scenario). And, of course, a subordinate who does not do "everything as it should," will be guilty.
Starting point for reflection. To get started, let's look at the term delegation:

Delegation is the transfer of a task, authority or responsibility, setting a goal for someone while simultaneously providing the means to achieve it and the responsibility of the performer for the quality of the results.
V.V. Glukhov (“Management.” Textbook for universities, 3rd edition)

As can be seen from the definition, in order to properly delegate the manager, it is necessary to ascertain whether the person has everything needed to complete the task (understanding the purpose, knowledge, authority, access to information, etc.). Therefore, when assigning tasks next time, remember that before demanding, you first need to explain or even teach .

Action number 2 "And let's help ..."
From the kindest motives, some managers consider it their duty to help with what they can. And to make a layout check with the design, to make corrections, and to make a subtask, and to test and still have some work ... Instead of performing their direct duties, the manager simply turns into many-handed Shiva, who is heroically overtime alone, and the problems in the project for some reason not getting smaller, but rather the opposite.
Effects. Drowning in tons of someone else's work, PM loses focus and is no longer able to cope with its main task: with the team to successfully implement the project.
Starting point for reflection. This topic is beautifully disclosed in the book “One-minute Manager and Monkeys” by Ken Blanchard. The basic idea is not to scatter your efforts on the performance of someone else's work, but try to maximally free up time to engage in your immediate responsibilities (production of results, administration, integration, elaboration and implementation of new ideas).

Action # 3 “We have agreed on everything with the customer”
Unfortunately, it is very common practice to simply “lower” tasks for a team. PM does not consider it necessary to bring to the public information additional information about goals, priorities, for some reason, what is being done is so important for a company or a customer. We work on the principle of "no time to explain." And in vain!
Effects. The team, being in ignorance, often goes in the wrong direction, does not have the opportunity to share their ideas (believe me, this is a very big loss) and as a result, failed sprints or even projects.
Starting point for reflection. Try to always inform the team not only what it needs to do, but also WHY . Firstly, this approach will help build trusting relationships, because you are not just giving out instructions, but carrying people along and motivating them to take the most part in creating the project. Secondly, you insure yourself against failure to the customer. The better the team understands what is going on, the faster errors, contradictions, and risks can be identified.

Action №4 "We live in a new way since Monday"
Here we will talk about the reckless changes that young PM so often like to introduce. In almost every book, article, or report, you can come across a call for experimentation and testing of the material presented in your project. I fully agree with this empirical approach, but still it is fraught with danger. Many experienced developers are often skeptical about such changes, because in their experience they have experienced such things.
Effects. The abundance of new fashionable terms and the tightening of the advertised ways of working as is on your project in the best outcome simply will not give any result. At worst, such global, thoughtless changes can lead to a complete stop of work, to chaos and confusion, if you wish, to the paralysis of the project.
Starting point for reflection. Make sure that you have thoroughly studied the issue and understand the essence and goals of the new approach. Think about how to adapt the new approach in your project, taking into account the existing features, culture and company policy. Conduct the implementation in stages . This will not overload the team (after all, no one has canceled their current tasks), notice in time that additional adjustment is required, to be able to measure the result and draw objective conclusions. Present a new approach to the team and ask for their opinion. It is very important for the team to become your supporter - after all, they will have to work every day with the new process.

Action # 5 “I did everything right”
Often observed cases where the fault for the failure must find its owner among the team members. And the saddest thing is that this person himself fully agrees that the problem lies in him. Let me note that almost 90% of cases, indirectly or directly, the blame for what happened lies with the management. After all, PM is responsible for the organization and compliance with the optimal processes on the project, which are designed to serve for smooth operation. And the failure of processes is the responsibility of the manager, who just did not notice in time that something had gone wrong.
Effects. Due to the misinterpretation of what happened, similar problems will arise in the future, because no action other than “extinguishing the fire” will be taken.
Starting point for reflection. Analyze such deviations with special care. Look for the real causes of the problem and have the courage to share responsibility for the negative result with your team. Only by removing the cause you can be sure that this problem will not disturb you more. By acknowledging your mistake, you will also earn respect from the team. And without respect, leadership is out of the question.

Action # 6 “I’ve been doing this for 3 years and it works”
Another case involving the manager’s confidence is the unwillingness to learn. For example, you already have some work experience and consider that you already have all the necessary skills and knowledge. But in reality there is no guarantee that the methods developed in the past will help in achieving a new project (company). You will certainly need fresh ideas and views.
Effects. If you stubbornly ignore the achievements of the IT community, then your way of leading a project may simply not suit new customers or employers. You will become like a dinosaur, suddenly found himself in the middle of a metropolis.
Starting point for reflection. Always be open to new knowledge . Stay tuned for new trends, read literature, blogs, watch conference videos. The benefit of the Internet is available a huge amount of various useful information. You just need to have a desire.

In conclusion, I want to note that IMHO, the times of a strict individual partner are already in history and I see PM as a full-fledged team player whose main task is to help. Facilitation becomes the key focus for PM. To be able to build friendly relations in a team, to promote the growth of each member as a professional, to produce products that are necessary and useful for users, to build partnerships with the customer - this is all what the modern project manager seeks. I hope that common sense will still prevail over vanity and soon similar Professionals can be found on any project, regardless of the size and name of the company. And if you have firmly decided to opt for the role of PM, then go the right way, bypassing the long-known “rakes”.