3 True Stories of Bad Project Managers

I’ve worked for and with a number of people in the technology space throughout my career. Most project managers have been great: open-minded, reasonable, flexible, and focused on the greater good. On the other hand, I have worked with some that have been profoundly and deeply dysfunctional, Jim and Suzanne being two that come to mind (not their real names). They are the embodiment of project managers that leave a lot to be desired. Hopefully, you don’t come close to having any of these traits yourself.

They are Hot Heads

They are on the extreme opposite side of calm, cool, and collected. They are powder kegs that can go off at any time and for any reason. You never know what it is that will set them off, so you are particularly careful to measure each word you utter in their presence. One day, things may be perfectly fine with what you state. The next day, you may say the exact same thing and KA-BOOM! Off they go.

Suzanne worked in a development environment, and had an office enclosed in glass walls. It was called the glass cage. The problem was that the glass cage was not soundproof, and approximately once a week Suzanne would explode in it. Everyone in the office could hear the screaming and yelling that ensued, and would just adjust their headphones a little more tightly.

They are Wafflers

Terrible IT Project Managers are unable to take a position and stick with it. They will look you right in the eye, tell you one thing…and then a day or two later change their position or make a statement that is 180 degrees from what they just told you. Their instability creates an environment of distrust and audit trails, and is a phenomenal morale breaker.

Jim was the last person that needed to sign off on the form before the software could be deployed. He had sat in all the meetings, knew the process, knew the project status and knew his role. There were only a couple of items that remained before the project could be considered complete. As soon as those tasks were done, Jim said he would sign off on the form and allow the project to move forward. The customer was given the delivery date, and the team completed the items. When the team went back to Jim for his signature, he promptly stated, “I don’t remember saying anything like that, and I’m not going to sign it. You’ll have to let the customer know the date will be missed.”

They are Arrogant

Nobody, I mean, nobody knows as much as these enlightened Project Managers know. They have extraordinary IQs (which they publicly advertise), can handle any situation single-handedly, and think that everyone around them (with their sub-par mental capacity) is there to serve them. They listen to no one, never act on anyone else’s suggestions and believe the world revolves around them.

Suzanne wrote a book, sort of. She was one of approximately 20 authors who contributed one chapter each for a compilation of texts having to do with programming in a particular language. You would have thought she wrote the Bible! That book went with her everywhere. It was on her desk. It went to every meeting with her. If someone was taking an opposite position to hers, she would merely glance at the book for the purpose of shutting the other person up.

Fortunately, there are more good project managers than bad project managers. Just make sure you’re on the right side.