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Project Managers

Project Challenges

Besides your manager's point of view, your project team may have members whose managers have their own agenda... and their own shortcomings.

But, thankfully, lying and manipulation were not observed traits of my manager. Experience and growth from that set of personality quirks would be reserved for a different leader, in a different situation. Everyone has to, well, maneuver around the truth in order to avoid hurting feelings or to not disclose protected information. What one can learn from habitual liars is a completely different lesson, yet can also be a valuable learning experience.

My ex-manager from years ago was battling other challenges that I was not aware of until much later. There were senior management issues - "internal politics" - that diverted his attention. Project management sometimes took a second place to resume portfolio management. He was, of course, trying to get his own career path in order, and concentrated on skills that he wanted to have for his future positions. And he did try and mentor those, including myself, that came to him and asked for career tips.

The end result? We sometimes seemed to be competing for the same positive opinion of others, so there was competition. I learned even when I was not realizing it, and I even became energized from the experience of trying to one-up the guy. With a manager or project leader that you hate to love, try focusing - both during and after the tenure - on the complete set of characteristics of the person. With a sometimes-difficult-to-fathom manager, it's possible to grow oneself by recognizing the bigger picture of the working environment, and your manager's accomplishments, motivations, and strengths.

Related article: read The Top Ten Project Management Challenges

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