The Case for Project Managers

Kevin Malover
Feb 26, 2023
2 min read

Updated: Feb 24

Where are my Resources?

Do you ever wonder how countless tasks are completed every day in your organization without contributing to your strategic objectives? Did you invest in a strategic plan only to find that resources are not available to implement it?

If this resonates with you, your organization may need an infusion of project management.

The Signal to Noise Ratio

Without disciplined project management, the sense of urgency to implement your strategic objectives can easily get lost among routine demands. Each and every day, employees are confronted with demands for reports, status updates, attendance at meetings, and endless emails about the routine operation of the business.

Project managers make sure your strategic initiatives have a fair chance of being prioritized against these routine matters. Without project managers fighting for attention, strategic initiatives often do not have a chance.

Your Magic Wand: Abracadabra! You are a Project Manager

Functional leaders and managers are often assigned as project managers to lead strategic initiatives. This approach ignores the reality that project management is a specialized discipline that requires time, training, certification, experience, and the right disposition. Functional leaders already have full-time jobs that leverage their unique expertise. They are not trained as project managers and cannot dedicate the time needed away from their specialty to do it justice. Nonetheless, assigning functional leaders as project managers is a widespread practice.

Add Flexible Resources

Adding more departmental resources to handle the day-to-day business is another widespread practice used to “free up resources for strategic initiatives”. These resources are quickly consumed by the organization’s insatiable appetite for cleaning up the backlog of routine work. Once committed, they stay in place indefinitely.

Project managers are more flexible. When a marketing initiative is complete, a good project manager can jump to an operations project and then to a finance or technology project. If you need to add resources, consider adding project managers to maximize your flexibility.

Try Before You Buy

Contracting for project management services allows you to scale resources up and down as needed without committing to long-term hiring. If your organization is new to project management, contracting allows you to test the waters to determine if you are ready for the processes, discipline, and rigors that come with project management. If a project management culture is already in place, then contracting gives you the flexibility to quickly ramp up strategic initiatives to ensure they get the attention they deserve.