Chapter 1. A Project Management Primer[1]
Note
While I was working at Eastman Kodak Company a day I had anticipated—and rather feared—finally arrived: I was "promoted" from the engineering staff to a software team manager position. I had some project management experience under my belt and had demonstrated a bit of leadership ability. But I didn’t yet know how to be a great software manager. I had to learn a lot the hard way, by making mistakes. That’s not a fun way to get good at a new job.
Becoming a software manager might be your chosen career path, or you might have reluctantly agreed to give it a try. In either case, you’ve probably received little education in the arts of project and people management and leadership. There’s more to leadership and management (which aren’t the same thing) than simply doing the opposite of whatever Dilbert’s boss does. As you contemplate your new mission, consider the following list of action items. You can’t tackle every promising idea at once, but the recommendations described in this chapter will help you focus on actions that will improve both your own effectiveness and that of your team.
Perhaps the most significant initial step you can take is to consciously set your priorities as a manager (Wiegers 1996). While you might be tempted to remain heavily engaged in software development activities (indeed, this may still be part of your job), you also have a new set of responsibilities. Too many new managers cannot resist the lure of staying technically involved, which can lead them to neglect the needs of other team members who look to the manager for help.
Effective leaders know their top priority is to provide services to the members of their team. These services include coaching and mentoring, resolving problems and conflicts, providing resources, setting project goals and priorities, and providing technical guidance when appropriate. Make it clear to your team members that you are always available to help them. I find it valuable to think of myself as working for the people I supervise, not the reverse. Team members who need something from you should have a nonmaskable interrupt priority over most other things you might be doing.
Your second priority is to satisfy your organization’s customers. As a manager, you have little direct ability to satisfy customers, since you don’t personally provide the products and services that accomplish this. Instead, you must create an environment that permits the members of your team to most effectively meet the needs of your customers. The manager provides a powerful enabling function that can contribute significantly to customer satisfaction.
Your third priority should be to work on your own projects. These could be technical projects or activities your own manager requests, such as serving on strategic planning committees. Be prepared to postpone these activities when they conflict with the two higher priorities.
Explicitly taking actions to please your own managers should be your lowest priority. In a congruent (that is, non-Dilbertesque) organization, your managers will be thrilled if you are successful at the three more critical activities. We aren’t all fortunate enough to work in a nicely congruent context, but strive to keep the most important responsibilities of your new job at the top of your list. Focus on helping your team members be as effective—and as happy—as possible, instead of going out of your way to satisfy those above you on the advancement ladder.
[1] This chapter was originally published in Software Development, 1998, 6(6): 78–80. It is reprinted here, with modifications, with permission of CMP Media Inc.