In Part 4 of this seven part series on habits of highly effective project managers we considered the concept of the project manager relying on everyone. Meaning wisely reaching out and connecting with those who can help make the project successful…both inside the delivery and customer teams and outside those teams. In Part 5, we will look at the other side of the coin – trusting no one.
I realize this sounds like a huge contradiction, but in reality it is not. Smart leaders rely on others to get work done and to help them get work done. They surround themselves with reliable individuals who can do the work, they show them quality leadership to keep them engaged and to gain and keep their respect, and they delegate work to them to get the critical tasks done properly and in a timely manner. It’s all about timely, quality work. But trust is another issue. And I don’t really mean trust as it’s defined: “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.” Rather I mean trust in just letting people run with work and know it’s going to get done along with a million other things that need to happen or that those assigned resources already have on their plate. Rely on everyone, but trust no one. Basically…leave nothing to chance if at all possible.
I realize this sounds like a huge contradiction, but in reality it is not. Smart leaders rely on others to get work done and to help them get work done. They surround themselves with reliable individuals who can do the work, they show them quality leadership to keep them engaged and to gain and keep their respect, and they delegate work to them to get the critical tasks done properly and in a timely manner. It’s all about timely, quality work. But trust is another issue. And I don’t really mean trust as it’s defined: “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.” Rather I mean trust in just letting people run with work and know it’s going to get done along with a million other things that need to happen or that those assigned resources already have on their plate. Rely on everyone, but trust no one. Basically…leave nothing to chance if at all possible.
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