5 Reasons You Don’t Want to be the Project Manager
Thursday, June 1st, 2006I’ve been on both sides of the Project Manager (PM) debate throughout my career. I’ve worked with them, I’ve been one, and I’ve had them work for me. On some projects I’ve seen way too much PM, and on others I’ve seen far too little.
One thing that gets me is the number of people in school right now that actually want to be a PM when they hit the “real world”. It’s a good living, and I laugh because I used to say the same thing. But I have to wonder if some of these guys know what they’re getting into.
The role has its purposes
There’s a purpose for the role, and I believe it is necessary for a successful project even if there isn’t a single person dedicated to filling the role. Someone needs to play the part. The need for a plan and to track the plan on every project is helpful for everyone to understand what the expectations are and how we’re meeting them.
However, it’s a part with a double-edged sword of responsibility. I laugh at the one phrase that sums up a typical PM’s role: “Are you done yet?” I think there’s some humorous truth to the stereotype given in such a generic (and to the people actually doing the work, annoying) statement.
So, you aren’t a total anti-PM extremist. Why the list?
I can think of some reasons why I like being a PM for a project, but the reasons I don’t far outweigh anything I can come up with. I was originally going to make a pros/cons list about playing the role of a PM, but the reasons I wouldn’t want to be one made me laugh too much to want to clutter it with anything else.
