Your first million dollar project is due to launch in two hours, when the customer calls in to request a major change in scope that will delay the project launch by many weeks. Meanwhile, the project team is still rushing bug fixes. Will you start panicking? Or are you in control of all your projects?
Many a time as project managers, we manage multiple projects daily, handling different customers, teams and sometimes external vendors. Every detail inside our project tools and techniques - from scope of work to bar charts to communication plans and procurement documentations - is what keeps us feeling in control of every project. We get so involved in being good project managers that we make absolute certain to be in the know of everything project related. Should anything slip between the cracks, we go all out to track the cause and source of that miscommunication gap and fix it. We do all these not just because we want the project to run smoothly, but also to give our stakeholders the confidence that we’re doing our job the best that we can. Because we are the project manager - anything affecting our project is our responsibility...hence we feel the need to be in control. But is control always a good thing?