In The Social Project Manager, project management consultant Peter Taylor examines the shift from traditional, top-down project management toward a new socially oriented paradigm that encourages the free exchange of ideas at all levels. In keeping with the theme of being social and collaborative, Taylor invites industry experts to share their perspectives and offers his comments in response. Because projects are about people, not processes, and technology has changed the way people communicate in their everyday lives, social project management is set to become the new standard. As project managers’ responsibilities continue to grow, macromanaging by harnessing the abilities and contributions of their teams will become increasingly vital to delivering projects on time and on budget.
The author believes that:
- People already use advanced tools, apps, and software to share and access information in their personal lives. By leveraging these emerging habits in the professional arena, managers can benefit their projects, teams, and organizations.
- Projects are social by nature; therefore, any project can benefit from increased communication and collaboration. Centralized control and governance are still necessary, but the project’s scale and complexity will determine how much is appropriate.
- Newer project management models integrate decentralized control, bottom-up planning and execution, global access to real-time information, and open communication to foster team empowerment, individual buy-in, and ownership of responsibility.
- The structure of a suitably governed project plan combined with the richness of online social tools and techniques offer the ideal balance between traditional, authoritative project management and newer, more collaborative models.
- Success requires choosing the right tool for the needs of the project or enterprise, orienting and educating team members on how to use it properly, and creating a culture where communication and collaboration are effective rather than distracting.
- Globally distributed teams, increased market competition, and increased internal expectations will inevitably make social project management increasingly more vital. The more socially mature an organization is, the better positioned it will be for the future.
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