Many IT projects fail not because of technology or budget, but because of poor leadership. Between moderation mania, micromanagement and missed decisions, deadlines and motivation often fall by the wayside. Those who bear responsibility but do not take it on cause stagnation. IT service provider Avision presents five types of project managers that everyone knows from practical experience.
Modern IT projects depend on good leadership, decisiveness, empathy and foresight – all attributes that should be combined in project management. That’s the theory. Back in practice, however, IT teams, who are often not to be envied, find very different ‘strengths’ in project management. Decisions are postponed over and over again, responsibility is generously passed on, and meetings are scheduled ad nauseam.
In addition to the many capable and competent project managers in the world, Avision has identified five very specific types who are guaranteed to crash even the most promising IT project into the next wall.
The moderator – always trying
He never chairs a meeting alone and never makes a decision without consulting at least three colleagues. Everyone is allowed to have their say, and they are welcome to do so several times. And at length. His own comments bring even the smallest progress back to square one, and most employees dread the next ‘quick’ team update. After two hours, everything has been discussed, but nothing has been decided. The moderator likes to confuse leadership with physical presence and the length of the discussion with real progress. His strength lies in organising meetings, not in their effectiveness. Projects with him rarely end with a breakthrough, if they end at all. Perfect for those who don’t want to fail – because they never finish. And there’s another small catch: projects become increasingly expensive and the schedule is more of a well-intentioned guideline.
The speaker – a friend of his words
He confuses communication with constant noise. Every meeting begins with a monologue and ends with a repeat of the same. Anyone who tries to contribute triggers an hour-long digression. The speaker loves his own voice so much that he is reluctant to interrupt it – neither for arguments nor for results. At some point, no one in the team talks about problems anymore because they are afraid of provoking a new lecture. As a result, every topic is thoroughly discussed, every project is moderated to death – and every hour becomes one that you will never get back. True to the motto ‘This meeting could have been an email’, the team already looks with unease at the next appointment in the calendar.
The invisible one – camouflage mode on
He is formally the project manager, but in practice he is a myth. He is absent from meetings, offline in chats, and only present as a name in the project plan. While the team organises itself as best it can, the customer wonders about the remarkably long silence. In the best case scenario, the invisible one reappears shortly before go-live, usually to congratulate the team and sell their work as a joint success. For him, leadership is a concept that should work without him. And sometimes it even works, until someone notices that no one is talking to the customer anymore. The invisible one reliably causes escalations – both internally and externally.
The clueless one – a lot of hot air
Content? Nobody needs that! Instead of tackling problems and leading teams with his experience, he counts tickets, checks complicated tables and spends most of his time in mysterious meetings anyway. He takes technical questions ‘with him’ (wherever that may be) – and never brings them back (for whatever reason). For him, the project status is a number, not a state. His understanding of leadership is based on the idea that everyone must update each other at all times – even standing up in the morning. This way, he always remains superficially informed and can update the project plan. He reliably recognises risks only when the worst-case scenario has occurred and successes when someone else explains them to him. He has exactly zero ears for problems in the team and no interest in whatever his colleagues are actually working on in detail.
The dictator – everything stops at his command
He knows everything (better), especially when something is ‘finished’. Criticism is considered disloyalty, contradiction a weakness. Under his direction, tasks are completed rather than done. Pressure is his preferred management tool, and threats are part of his meeting culture. ‘I can see how you prioritise,’ is one of his favourite phrases – half cynicism, half warning. Teams under his leadership only function until the first ones leave. Which, strangely enough, happens very often. After that, he ensures a ‘breath of fresh air’ because new people are constantly joining. He confuses discipline with fear and does not realise that under his command, not only do projects fail, but people also lose motivation.
‘In the end, it’s not just new methods or powerful tools that determine the success or failure of IT projects, but people,’ says Nadine Riederer, managing director of Avision, with a wink. ‘Good project management keeps the team together, provides guidance and makes decisions when others hesitate.’
This press release can also be found at www.pr-com.de/de/avision.
Press contact
Avision GmbH
Christina Karl
Marketing
Bajuwarenring 14
D-82041 Oberhaching
phone +49-89-623037-967
christina.karl@avision-it.de
PR-COM GmbH
Melissa Gemmrich
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D-80336 München
phone +49-89-59997-759
melissa.gemmrich@pr-com.de
