HOW TO MANAGE A PROJECT WITHOUT DOMAIN KNOWLEDGE !!!

Project Managers – especially in BPO environments – are routinely assigned to manage projects for domains that they may not be an expert in. E.g. you may find yourself managing an accounting project when you may not have studied economics post high school.

Beyond a particular level of growth at work, you will find yourself leading teams of people who work on things that you have limited (and sometimes no) knowledge of. Think of a CEO who was a salesman throughout his life, and is now leading a team of highly experienced engineers.

Historically, leadership was considered top down. You are a champion of the craft that your team is learning and the teams look upon you to assist with expertise in the craft. You typically gained that position and the team’s respect because you started as an apprentice and gained mastery of the craft over time. Think of expert supervisors in engineering who would step in and solve problems – much to the amazement of their teams!

But, the world is changing and with it is changing the face of traditional leadership – at a rather alarming rate. The traditional roles of leaders as people who know more about their field than their teams is no longer correct.

Many of us routinely find ourselves leading teams of ‘Knowledge Workers’. Peter Drucker presented a very simple definition for the term:

“Knowledge Workers are people who know more about what they are doing than their boss does.”

People in such leadership roles – and the project managers in BPOs routinely find themselves asking the same question – “How do we lead the teams of people who know more about their craft than we do?” It is an interesting point to ponder. If not handled well, this issue can manifest itself in team conflicts, reduction in quality of output and many other challenges that could lead to the downfall of the leader and the teams.

My suggestion is to radically redefine the definition of Leadership from “Leader as a Boss” to “Leader as a Facilitator”

Look – in the ever increasing numbers of Knowledge Workers in our teams, it is very important that we are able to help the teams achieve their goals and resolve their issues when we – as leaders – are not experts in the topics.

Now, the leader’s transition to a facilitator is not easy if you have spent decades being the BOSS. It is more ‘art’ than ‘science’. It is a new world for most people and I can understand the anxiety it brings to most people.

Some of the fundamental rules of the road on this one are:

ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO SHARE PROBLEMS OPENLY SO YOU CAN HELP WITH SOLUTIONS

The most common issue in leading a team of Knowledge Workers is the lack of transparency on issues and progress from the team. Most of the team members hesitate in sharing updates or reaching out for help due to the (often misguided) belief that the Project Manager does not have the answers. While that is true, what is equally important is the understanding that the Project Manager mostly has access to case studies, resources and historical context that may come in aid of the issue at hand. As a project manager, you want to ensure that people bring out the problems to everyone without any hesitation or fear of reprimand.

BE WARY OF MAKING SUGGESTIONS WITHOUT TRUE EXPERTISE

This truly depends on the organization’s culture. There is some value in having an outsider – someone who does not possess the knowledge – to make suggestions that may eventually help in solving the problems. In fancy words, we may call it “thinking outside the box”. However, there is still an issue. If the organization culture values the Project Manager’s (or Boss’) word too much without apt validation, there is a chance that the suggestions may be sub-optimal due to the lack of knowledge and a lot of organization’s resources and time is spent on the implementation of the suggestions that are probably not worth it.

Additionally, there is also the chance of limited personal ownership of the team (it was the boss’s idea J)

It is tough – but very important – for the leader to provide excellent recognition for honesty. One needs to make sure that he will not be the source of the solution – but will be a collaborator to ensure team participation in finding the right solution.

TARGET TRANSPARENCY AND APPLAUD WHEN YOU GET IT.

The adage was “Do not approach your boss with a Problem. Approach your boss with a Solution”. This is passe. Think about it – in a team, this is exactly the opposite of what you would want as a Project Manager or Leader. You want people to come to you with issues, you want people to reach out to you for help and you want to ensure that people have access to the best solutions or insights that they need to ensure the solution is excellent.

Now, this is where some of the ART comes into play – Ensure positive recognition immediately for the person who comes to you with the issue. Ensure that you make it clear that raising these issues is appreciated and is NOT a measure of failure. Ensure that people who put out issues on the table to help find solutions are recognized and rewarded with the positive recognition that encourages honesty and inspires trust.

ACTIVELY INVOLVE THE TEAM

Leadership does not only come from top down. Many a times it flows between peers and sometimes even bottoms up. Reach out to the collective wisdom of the team for identifying the solution. Leverage your position and role to be the force driving the search for solutions.

CHECK YOUR EGO AT THE DOOR

Sometimes the most difficult to do. Leading “Knowledge Workers” requires the Project Managers (or leaders) to get rid of the personal ego and focus on team achievement.

Many wise people have said that ‘There is no limit to what one can achieve, if one does not mind who gets the credit!’

Peter Drucker once said very aptly that “Our mission is to make a positive difference, not to prove how smart we are.”

Encourage people to share problems, feel free to make suggestions but ensure the following:

1.    Do not feel burdened to provide the solution.

2.    Do not take it to heard if your suggestion is rejected

With ever increasing regularity, all project managers and leaders across organizations are becoming responsible for effectively managing Knowledge Workers. Create an environment where the individuals can transparently, safely and openly share their issues. Collective resolution of issues is so much better than individual silos re-inventing the wheel.

Footnotes:

I personally am a big fan of the Situational Leadership model and that was developed by Dr. Paul Hersey. I feel it is a very practical and usable model that has been founded over 50 years of solid research. Read more about it here.