The high cost of not managing — Part 1

This is the first of a three-part series on problematic project management and steps that could be done to create a healthier and more productive team environment. The following article highlights some real-life encounters to demonstrate the effects poor management can create to teams, individuals, and the negative impact in the pursuit for work-life balance.

Whether it’s the Great Resignation, Quiet Quitting, or Rage Applying — it’s time to talk about poor management; specifically poorly managed projects and how this affects people. Communication is meant to be a skillset and solution to workplace conflict, but the content of the communication determines it’s effectiveness.

While there are plenty of technology that can provide the tools necessary to facilitate meetings, share information, and produce work, the problems that show up during work are a result of poor coordination, weak communication, undefined roles, unclear direction, misdirection, and an absence of support and resources. Another topic that isn’t discussed much is the impact of toxic managers and their effect on the cycle of a disengaged and transient staff. Harmful practitioners within an institutionalized system that continues the cycle of toxic workplace practices requires individuals to fend for themselves while operating under a guise of authority.

Poor Coordination and Weak Communication:

It seems reasonable to assume that project teams will have a project manager who will meet the necessary responsibilities of managing a team and keeping a project moving forward. These don’t necessarily happen with what on appearance seems like a fully operating team.

One of the biggest problems in projects that can cause not only internal team conflict and affect project development is the lack of coordination along with unclear and inconsistent communication. Project managers are to manage the scope of work for the entire project to ensure that deliverables are met timely and to scale, and satistfies the expectations of clients and stakeholders.

When a project manager lacks the ability or consideration to communicate to their team members, it is a problem for the following reasons:

1. A project manager who does not share information to a team member is not allowing that team member to perform their responsibilities to the best of their skills and expertise.
2. If a project manager makes the decision to complete a task that affects a team member’s scope of work, it is communicating to the team member that their contribution or area of work is not valued. Anyone can essential do their job.
3. When a project manager assigns a task but doesn’t follow up with next steps, then team members are left stranded to figure out how to coordinate amongst themselves, not knowing if it aligns with their company’s best practices or if it’s what their project manager would want. In the end, they either do nothing until instructed or they expend effort to move the project forward only to circle back and redo their own work once their project manager gets around to providing comments.
4. Project managers who manage based on their own schedule and without consideration of other people’s time. This could be a separate category as it’s a highly problematic practice. In this scenario, team members wait for instructions and are only told of expectations and deadlines the day before an assignment is due. At the same time, they are informed that the client is unhappy with the team’s performance.

Undefined roles and being led in the wrong direction:

A common phrase found in job posts is the requirement that job seekers are “comfortable with ambiguity”. Similar to reading an apartment listing as “cozy with potential”, it’s a phrase to be approached cautiously. In many work settings and projects, there will be unknowns. It is why ensuring that a workable process of design and development is necessary throughout the project lifecycle. When something unexpected shows up, which can and will happen, having a framework on how to address it while keeping things on track is key. Keeping team members in the dark is inexcusable.

1. Every team member must understand their role and responsibilities for the specific project. This is especially important when coordinating with consultants. Every team member must manage their time, and knowing what they are to do and ultimately deliver is important.
2. A project manager who withholds information and gives baseless assignments to keep a team member occupied, in order to hold onto creative control, is not respecting the person(s) on their team and manipulating someone’s professional development. It’s an abusive practice that is common among toxic managers.
3. When team members are given busy work in order for the project manager to spend time working on the project independently, it is informing the team that their time is not valued.

Manipulative tactics and toxic leadership:

1. Under the disguise of mentorship, a manipulative project manager will load up one team member with work assignments and offer no support, while leaving another team member with nothing to do. This tactic is multifold in creating a display of favoritism, pitting team members against each other, but ultimately, it’s for the project manager to get what they want, which is controlling the direction and outcome of deliverables.
2. Project managers who are guided by being in control will misdirect team members in order to not have another voice influencing the project. Whether unconscious or intentional, misdirection stalls progress and harms team morale and trust.
3. In this current awareness of needing more diversity and inclusion in the workplace, it’s not uncommon to have someone in a position of authority to not only misunderstand their own prejudices but to place their own struggles and career needs as priority over the goals of their team members; without understanding their own privilege, insecurities, and biases.

The role of a project manager is very important in guiding the outcomes of a project. Many who become project managers have previously been designers but it’s important to evaluate poor practices before allowing them to continue in a managing role. When management knowingly allow poor practices and behaviors to continue, it’s a signal that they don’t value consideration towards their team.

Ineffective project leadership can still deliver a project, and it’s possible that clients could find the work acceptable, but the efforts are entirely on a team of individuals overextended from carrying out their responsibilities through an infinity loop of piecemeal task management.

Projects are under developed, with a process more complicated than it is required, outspending available time and budget, and draining talent resources. Individual team members are expected to contribute to a certain level of work standards but in return, they don’t receive the same level of respect.

In Part 2 of this series, I will discuss a few methods that can be done to improve design process, project management, and engaging team members.