Project(s) (Managers) That Suck

What’s the difference between an arduous task associated with a project at work and something that is exciting, where you can’t wait to see it finished not so that you can do something else, but because you know it’s going to be awesome? I’ve worked at many different types of companies, organizations and public works departments and I can tell you from a lot of experience that no one task or job really sucks if you’re equipped with the tools and initial guidance to get it done right. What often sucks is the leadership in evaluating and conveying the value of a task and projected outcome to a team.

Whether you work on a team of software support specialists doing data scrubs and analysis reporting on MySQL Databases or compiling ridiculously huge email lists for a specific newsletter marketing campaign, you’re literally going to spend hours doing minutea that in itself isn’t interesting. But, what makes you finish the procedure? Some people (simple minded people) are going to say “well, I’m paid to be here, this is my job and this is what they ask me to do, so I do it. No questions asked.”

This “no questions asked” mentality kills me. Nothing makes me question leadership more than when I’m squashed from asking simple process and philosophy questions that should be essentially easy to answer seeing as the person in charge is supposed to know what’s going on. Right? The idea of collaborating at work isn’t some hippy-dippy shit that de-values authority and knowledge, but rather it makes it easier for the points of work that people are good at to be more easily addressed and used to tackle a considerable problem.

Good leaders or project managers aren’t supposed to convince people that doing individual checks on hundreds or thousands of lines of data is something that’s fun and to be enjoyed. It’s a shitty job and somebody’s gotta do it, but that doesn’t cut it as why the project is worth doing. Is the task an essential link in the success of the larger projects or even a companies success? If yes, the person doing the annoying task is becoming bigger than what their salary may tell them they are, more important than their title entails.

This approach takes more time and care than going into crisis mode and barking orders or simply delegating tasks without a stated reason or explanation. The project managers and leaders who suck are the ones who sacrifice this crucial piece of process that not only keeps workers happier, but also helps them understand their role and their task better.

Oh, and be honest with your employees. If you over inflate the urgency and time-lines with arbitrary dates and times, they won’t trust you next time shit hits the fan and you’re down to the wire. Project managers and leaders that cry wolf and don’t explain themselves  will always lose credibility and hurt productivity in the long run.