The most challenging projects we are often assigned are projects that come from the executive leadership.   In situations like this, we are often told that we must manage up to deal with these difficult scenarios.   Managing up always sounds much easier than it really is and I think the principles of managing up are pretty straightforward, but they can be difficult to perfect.   The article “Program Management: Learning to Manage Up, Outward, Sideways and Down” (link below), describes some of those principles on how to manage up and beyond.

The article lists the three key elements of effectively managing up: use your meeting time wisely, always come with an action plan when you have bad news, and always be honest.  In general, these are pretty simple principles.  But following through on those principles can be more difficult than expected.  Personally, I do my best to manage up to my boss and my executive leadership team but sometimes I feel these principles are not enough.

I have found that understanding the agenda of a project can go a long way and sometimes you have to know that you’re not going to win, even if your argument is completely logical.  I often wonder if their unrealistic expectations are a way of pushing the team further or simply a misunderstanding of what is possible.  I find this is where knowing each individual can be effective.  If you know what drives the individuals you are more likely to get insights into why the certain project or scenario is being push forward.  But, this is also where trust can come into play.  If your boss or executive team trust you, they are more likely to be honest and provide full disclosure, so you don’t have to rely on your gut to tell you what is going on.

But if full disclosure is not possible, this is where managing sideways can be helpful.  As the article describes, managing sideways is getting “each manager’s full ‘buy-in’” in order to see a project through.  Sometimes when you can’t manage up, managing sideways is enough to help see the project through and ensure that it is not completely derailed.

In many situations I am in a situation where my executive leadership team is also my client, which means I must up and outward with the same team of people.  Sometimes this is easier, often it can be more difficult.  When the client sets the priorities for the team, priorities can become skewed as to what is best for the company and bottom line.  There’s no balance to ensure each project is really in the best interest of the company.  Managing down is always critical to the success of each project and is generally easier than managing up.

Have you found yourself actively managing up?  How many levels up do you manage?  What are the most effective tools or techniques have you found to successfully manage up?

http://evolvingstrategies.com/program-management-learning-to-manage-up-outward-sideways-and-down/

In my field as a developer, I’ve found that when working with technical project mangers there can be miscommunication on priorities and level of effort of projects or tasks.  This seems to stem from a lack of strong technical background and understanding of the specifics required to complete each tasks.  Because I serve as a manager of developers, I’ve often considered whether I would be able to step in as a project manager to help my team and company and I would have the technical background in order to understand the process.

I found this article titled “Can a Technical Developer Find Happiness as a Project Manager?” (link below) that addresses this very issue and I found it very interesting with some thought provoking questions that address my exact position.  I serve as a technical manager but often fill a need as a project manager in certain situations.  This article indicates that this is often the case with technical managers but that they are often not happy serving in that manager role.

Personally, I have found managing people to be very fulfilling and hope to continue on this path but I do find the role of project management interesting and a new challenge.  But I also think the role of a technical project manager could be a new challenge with opportunities that I do not currently have a technical manager.  With the experiences I’ve had with technical project managers, it seems that there is a gap when it comes to technical experience that could be filled by former developers moving into that role.

The problem we all encounter though is how do we deal with stakeholders and people with unreasonable expectations.  Would the technical background provide more credibility with stakeholders and then more weight to the validity of estimates?  Or would it make no difference?  Has anyone encountered this kind of situation?  Did you see more success when dealing with clients and stakeholders with technical expertise?

Of course, technical expertise must be paired with strong communication skills.  I’ve found that those with strong technical skills but weak communications skills can still be as ineffective (or potentially worse) than someone with strong communication skills but weak technical skills.  It also is common for developers to lack those strong communication skills.  I feel that I’ve bridge that gap well but it may not be as simple for other developers hoping to move into management roles.  I know a few technical managers that lack the soft skills often required to be successful at managing across disciplines.

Has anyone else moved from a solely technical role to a management role?  Have you found it fulfilling or are you restless?  Have you served as a project manager on some level?  Is this something you would consider pursuing?

Article Link: http://pmtips.net/technical-developer-find-happiness-project-manager/