1. The Sack.
2. The Magpie.
3. The Deer in Headlights.
4. The Hungry Vulture.
5. The Premature Solutioner.
6. The Terrier.
7. The Wanderer.
8. The Anticipator.
9. The Reluctant Puppet.
This is the second last article in the destructive project manager behaviour series. For three weeks now I’ve been bringing you my thoughts on different behaviours a project manager can exhibit that will damage their projects. My purpose in this endeavour has been to raise awareness of individual behaviours (that aren’t right or wrong, by the way) that get in the way of our productivity. Most of us exhibit some or all of these traits from time to time. But it’s important for us to keep tabs on our responses to stimuli in our respective environments and nip those behaviours that could hurt our projects in the bud.
It’s been an interesting go, collecting these pieces here, and I’d be very interested to hear what you think of them in the comments section below.
And now I bring you…
Image courtesy of skipnclick on Flickr.
8. The Anticipator.
Anticipators are very forward thinking. They can see impacts of actions and decisions that others can’t. In a project management capacity, this trait makes them incredibly valuable. Unfortunately for them, their communication skills are often weak.
Anticipators aren’t great at communicating what they see. They often assume that since something is clear and visible to them, it must be clear and visible to everyone else. As a result, Anticipators can be assumptive (not telling others what they see), or miscommunicate (either creating panic or not creating enough interest).
This trait makes Anticipators feel very much isolated with their visions.
To give a nod to a recent article by Ty Kiisel of AtTask software, I’m going to dust off my own Greek Myth text. Cassandra was a mortal, beloved of the god Apollo. Because of her beauty, Apollo granted her the gift of prophecy: she could see into the future. Unfortunately Cassandra didn’t return his love (you’d think the mortals would learn not to upset the gods), so instead of taking his gift back, he cursed her such that whenever she spoke of her predictions, nobody would believe her. When Troy fell in exactly the same manner as her vision, she went insane because nobody had listened.
Bummer for Cassandra.
Consequences:
The project manager needs to be able to look into the future. It’s an incredibly valuable skill to look beyond a seemingly small, inconsequential decision, through the chain reaction of events that decision will trigger, to the results.
But the project manager can’t stop there. Whatever the PM sees, it’s imperative he or she be able to effectively communicate that vision to the project team. If they can’t or don’t, there will be nothing to stem the tide of events, and the consequences will come to pass. It’s unfortunate, but only the person with sight is in a position to take action.
Here’s a few possible ways the Anticipator can deliver their messages of “the future” and the likely responses from other team members who don’t yet see things the way the PM does:
| Message Delivery | Message Receipt |
|---|---|
| Alarmist | Too many of these and the recipients will start to think of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf“ |
| Lukewarm | Not enough emphasis placed on the seriousness of the consequences and nobody’s likely to do anything |
| Cautionary | Halfway in between but still may not get action unless a plan is put on the table. It’s one thing to raise an issue, it’s another to ask for help to stem it. |
Prevention:
While Cassandra may have had a curse placed on her, most of us project managers aren’t that cool (although you could argue that the very fact we can see what’s coming is a curse in itself). In addition to their powers of foresight, Anticipators need to develop effective communication and influencing skills.
Stakeholders, team members and everyone else needs to be able to trust the project manager’s visions. That’s a product of trust in the project manager. Blowing into a meeting room screaming “the sky is falling” isn’t likely to get you a lot of positive attention on the important issues.
Constant, regular communication is a much more effective way of getting focus on the right details, and it also allows others to accompany you on your visions. As you start to assemble the pieces yourself, others get to watch you do it, and they’re never far away. So when you reach your conclusions, people saw how they evolved, They’ll be far less likely to presume you just jumped to them.
Stakeholders need to see project managers regularly raising issues before they’re likely to begin to trust that the PM’s issues are valid. That’s not to say the PM should raise each and every single issue, but I have yet to see a project where I don’t go a week without needing a stakeholder’s help on something. My policy in my status reports is to raise the top three issues each week and present those. If my people don’t report three relevant issues to me each week I go looking, because I don’t believe them.
Here are some resources for both clear communications and influencing skills that may help an Anticipator get the help they need to overcome an issue to which they see the consequences.
The last thing the Anticipator needs is the ability to truthfully say, “I’ve communicated the message and I’ve done the best I can.” At that point my friend, you need to realize that you’re only one man or woman–you cannot own the future by yourself.
Keep that in mind, and what happened to Cassandra doesn’t have to happen to you.
Next (and last) up: The Reluctant Puppet
