Are You a Bad Project Manager? 3 Signs to Look For.

What makes a project manager a bad project manager???Coming up are three traits that can define a bad project manager - and which can range from recoverable to irredeemable.??Of the three traits, I'm going to start with the most forgivable.

Incompetence

To say someone is incompetent is typically an insult.??It's not a kind way to describe someone, and you'd never want to hear yourself described in such a way - but it can be accurate.??To observe this trait in a project manager is not a deal breaker for them.??Afterall, we all start out as incompetent.??

Nobody was born knowing how to write a Gantt chart, or how to manage risks, or how to engage with stakeholders.??Everyone has to learn and we make mistakes as we go.???And we all find ourselves at some point in a role that is more demanding than we are competently able to manage.??But that's how we grow.??And that is why this trait is forgivable….to an extent.

You may be hired by someone that knows you are not fully competent in the role yet, but they accept that you will grow into the role and become competent.??The key is for you to recognise that about yourself and be motivated to develop that competence as quickly and visibly as possible.??Which means, in the short term at least, that you acknowledge that you're not yet a good project manager, or an adequate one… and that until you improve you're a bad one.??Don't be demoralised by that realisation though - it's not a life sentence; in fact you can rapidly improve your competence by being self aware and identifying the gaps in your skills and knowledge.??Then you can seek training, study, talk to peers…??Even discuss it with your boss who may be fully aware that you have these gaps and will offer guidance and support.??People are usually willing to help people that they can see are trying to help themselves, so create a simple plan of action for how you will bridge those gaps in your competency.

As I say, incompetence is a forgivable trait - but only so far.??After a certain amount of time and experience, you are expected to have developed relevant project management skills.??If you have presented yourself in interviews as an expert in all things project management, but when in the role - through your actions - you reveal that you can't do the fundamental activities of the role - then don't expect such forgiveness.??Especially if you don't make efforts to rapidly bridge those skill gaps.??

We all have strong points and weak spots - that's normal.??You just have to make sure that your weak spots are at least good enough to meet your organizations minimum requirements.??That's your responsibility - you have to be motivated to learn and to improve yourself.??If that is you, well you're taking the time to read a project management article in your spare time so I have some faith that you're willing to learn.

For anyone in PMO's or running departments that wants to identify this trait in the project managers in their team, the warning signs to look for are substandard outputs that do not improve over time; or attempts to avoid certain activities or outputs.?

Laziness

We are starting to move away from forgivable traits when we arrive at Laziness.??The problem for lazy project managers is there's nowhere to hide long term in project management.??It's results and performance driven.??If you're not putting in the effort then it will show in your work.

However, laziness is still not irredeemable.??I heard it said??that there are no lazy employees, just unmotivated ones.??If you are unmotivated, there could be a number of reasons that range from simple to complex.??It could be your burned out, you’ve become disenchanted with the work you're doing, maybe the work you're doing is too hard and you just freeze whenever you face it, or maybe it's all too easy and you can't drive yourself to do the work.??Or maybe you're just not in the right job anymore.

Whatever the reason, you - yes, you - need to identify it and resolve it quickly. As I said, there’s no hiding space and if your performance leads to poor results then your career may be at risk.?

For PMO’s or department heads, the warning signs to look for hear are simple tasks being delayed and murmurs from stakeholders that they’re not seeing much from the project or of the project manager. Also look out for project team members that seem to be doing more of the project managers role than their own.?

Hey, don’t YOU be lazy. If you’re enjoying this, hit the like button. Lazybones.?

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Dishonesty

This is irredeemable. Dishonesty can be forgiven, but never forgotten. If you are caught lying to your sponsor, stakeholders, line manager - whether it’s in reports or in verbal communication - it will never be forgotten. Depending on the size of the lie, you’ll either find yourself receiving more scrutiny than your peers, or you’ll find you don’t get trusted with the prestige projects, or you’ll get sacked.?

If you’ve made mistakes or things aren’t going right, no matter the culture it is better to be honest. Competence errors can be forgiven - training and experience can prevent them from recurring. But it’s often seen as easier to tell a small lie; and then you have to conceal the lie, so it becomes lies upon lies. The cover up is always worse than the mistake.?

So, be big. Take it on the chin. And if you’re already embroiled in a web of lies - coming clean sooner will be better than being discovered later.?

For PMO’s and department heads, you are looking for inconsistencies here. Not every inconsistency is a lie, and neither is every mistake or misspoken word. You’re looking for patterns. Or, sometimes, you may just see a big blatant lie.?

Three warning signs of a bad project manager. If it’s you, it’s in your gift to fix it. You can improve yourself. If it’s someone in your team, you need to plan carefully how to proceed. Seek advice from your Human Resources department and listen carefully to their advice. Proceed with caution.?