The Human Side of Project Management

THE HUMAN SIDE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Projects will prosper when team members feel heard, motivated, and supported.

Until the robots launch their long-heralded uprising, carbon-based lifeforms will remain an essential part of every project. That means Project Managers need to excel at more than just tasks, budgets, and timelines. They need to be masters of the human touch.

Projects will prosper when team members feel heard, motivated, and supported, but it’s easier to read the recipe than it is to bake the bread. A good PM has to keep their eyes open and their fingers on the pulse, because not everyone on their team will feel comfortable speaking up when something gets in their way.

Some clues you might look for:

1) Was your most effusive team member unusually quiet on this morning’s Stand-Up?

2) Has your perennial risk-taker grown more conservative over the last two weeks?

3) Is your prized deadline-squasher suddenly cautious about committing to the latest target?

4) Is your most passionate innovator trying to recycle last month’s template, when creation is something that usually gives them energy?

And those are just the basic diagnostic questions. Once you’ve teased out a roadblock, actually fixing the problem requires its own dose of sensitivity and compassion.

In sum, there are no easy answers, but as long as you've acknowledged the humanity of your team, and tried to approach their struggles through a lens of empathy and collaboration, you’ve laid the groundwork for a dynamic and high-performing super-group. The rest is up to you.