The job of a Project Manager in a software project is a complex one. Technically, the Project Manager is supposed to lead the project in the best possible manner, and try his / her best to understand the issues faced in the project, raise them to the best possible manner in order to resolve it and keep as much as on schedule as possible.
In reality, the Project Manager is the person who is the last resort person. He or she is the one who needs to understand issues which have rose in terms of complexity and drive /delegate the process of resolving the problem. This may also include resolving issues related to morale within the team.
Now, morale can be a team problem, or it can be a problem with specific members of the team. I remember a large project I was involved with, critical to the future of our team. Rumors started floating in that the project was being cancelled since the client was dis-satisfied and would drop the project. However, senior management was not conveying any sort of decision and team members were getting very low in morale, with the subconsious feeling about why work so hard for customization for a client where the project would be dropped.
It is in such a situation that the Project Manager and the team leads have to play a critical role. One part is to try to find out from senior management about whether the project is indeed being cancelled, or was there a chance. Once the status is know as well as knowledge about what parts can be shared with the team, it is important to share status with the team on an ongoing basis. Getting information from rumors can be incredibly bad for morale, it is better to discuss within the team, take questions and ensure that people are in a better way, and getting into such a discussion helps (and this is applicable not just in a case where the project may be cancelled, but there may be other issues that could cause morale problems).
More tricky is the case where one or more of the team members are having morale issues, or some other emotional issues. This is tricky to resolve when this kind of problem is causing productivity issues (and in a lot of morale and emotional issues, there will be impacts on productivity). It is the responsibility of the Project Manager and the team leads to identify cases where a team member might be having some kind of morale issues. This kind of becomes critical when there is an associated impact on productivity. Discussion needs to happen with the team member, although the discussion can become very limited if the issue is more of a personal or family nature, something that the manager needs to handle with some delicacy. What cannot be left unsaid, whether delicately or clearly, is that the impact on productivity needs to be set right - the Project Manager would be remiss in his or her duty if this is not handled well.
In reality, the Project Manager is the person who is the last resort person. He or she is the one who needs to understand issues which have rose in terms of complexity and drive /delegate the process of resolving the problem. This may also include resolving issues related to morale within the team.
Now, morale can be a team problem, or it can be a problem with specific members of the team. I remember a large project I was involved with, critical to the future of our team. Rumors started floating in that the project was being cancelled since the client was dis-satisfied and would drop the project. However, senior management was not conveying any sort of decision and team members were getting very low in morale, with the subconsious feeling about why work so hard for customization for a client where the project would be dropped.
It is in such a situation that the Project Manager and the team leads have to play a critical role. One part is to try to find out from senior management about whether the project is indeed being cancelled, or was there a chance. Once the status is know as well as knowledge about what parts can be shared with the team, it is important to share status with the team on an ongoing basis. Getting information from rumors can be incredibly bad for morale, it is better to discuss within the team, take questions and ensure that people are in a better way, and getting into such a discussion helps (and this is applicable not just in a case where the project may be cancelled, but there may be other issues that could cause morale problems).
More tricky is the case where one or more of the team members are having morale issues, or some other emotional issues. This is tricky to resolve when this kind of problem is causing productivity issues (and in a lot of morale and emotional issues, there will be impacts on productivity). It is the responsibility of the Project Manager and the team leads to identify cases where a team member might be having some kind of morale issues. This kind of becomes critical when there is an associated impact on productivity. Discussion needs to happen with the team member, although the discussion can become very limited if the issue is more of a personal or family nature, something that the manager needs to handle with some delicacy. What cannot be left unsaid, whether delicately or clearly, is that the impact on productivity needs to be set right - the Project Manager would be remiss in his or her duty if this is not handled well.
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