People are SO Annoying!
By Denise DeCarlo, PMP

If people would just leave me alone - I know I would get my job done faster, with a high level of quality and efficiently. How many times have you asked yourself that question throughout your project management career? More times than you care to count, right? Well . as project managers, we thrive (and struggle) due to the various stakeholders (a.k.a. - project team members) on our team. Let me share a few scenarios with you to help you understand and appreciate the diverse set of skills that lie within your project teams and how you can leverage these skills to your advantage.

Scenario 1) We are two months into a seven-month project - I started a month "late" on the project due to other project commitments. When I arrived my project team had already been selected and everybody was doing "something" but appeared to be going in different directions. The person who held the project manager position prior to my arrival was not a project manager by profession - but they filled my role valiantly until I could arrive. Let's call this gracious person, Lionel.

Lionel continues to give the team direction even though I'm now onboard and should be providing direction and leadership to the team members. He frequently sends the technicians down a path without even discussing the ideas and suggestions with me first. He is causing a lot of confusion and frustration amongst the project team. Many team members have come to me wanting to know who they are supposed to take guidance from because they are getting it from me and Lionel and the advice is frequently contradictory. The team members just want to get their job done right the first time and not go back and forth on decisions/directions. Lionel is a very creative person with lots of ideas and thoughts - it's driving me nuts!

Scenario 2) Your lead architect is frequently going to the customer with her conceptual ideas, without coming to see you first. The customer LOVES the ideas and wants to implement them NOW. To make things worse you overhear this customer saying "Change control, what is change control"?

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