Things do not just happen; things are made to happen.
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy
This is one of the greatest leadership quotes I've read to date; simple and very much to the point.
Too often we see cases of team members or even whole teams left to their own devices when it comes to creating deliverables and completing projects. This is a clear failure in leadership. It is easy to feel that we, as Project Managers, are also entitled to be aloof when department heads, company leadership, or even clients do not show obvious interest in the project but we must not.
Let’s face it; no one likes to admit that they are lost or overwhelmed and that they don’t know how to proceed. If everyone always knew what needs to happen, “things would just happen” and we would never have cases of analysis-paralysis, deliverables that drag along forever, end up incomplete, or are plain forgotten. We could also do without a WBS, schedule, and all other project artefacts.
My project management spin on John F. Kennedy’s quote is that the Project Manager should be the one that “makes things happen”. Walk around asking seemingly silly questions and be on the lookout for signs that the team members have lost their way. Ask leading questions that help prod the team back onto the path.
Just remember that the rest of the team does the real work and that you just make things happen.
What do you think? As always questions and comments are welcome.
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