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Leadership or Management

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by lchungwe

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I had a colleague who want to manage projects and dun really want to do daily operations. She had become a team leader.Any projects that she plans will inform you at the last minute or withhold information. Sometime we got into conflicts and had heated arugements. She worked in e co for estimated 5 yrs,know the environment, technical skills is a bit here and there. I worked in e co for a year but had 5 yrs of technical experience. Recently she become the team leader, i was so angry as I know that she is using mgt skills to use for leadership when I dun bother to respect her.If she is wrong in technical stuff, she insist she is right. May I ask you guys whether is there such a thing that people use mgt skills to lead the team?

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by james r linn

A project manager manages 3 things: Tasks, budgets and schedules. Note that people are not included - this is what differentiates a project manager and a departmental manager.

A project manager does not have to be the leading expert in the technology of the project, and I would argue can't do their job if they spend too much time in the details of the technology. The project manager should know enough to ask questions, and enough to resolve issues, but if they spend too much time in the details, something else will suffer.

So I wouldn't pick a project manager based on technical skills over management skills. The problem you face is that if she is hiding information, not communicating important information to you, causing conflict, she isn't a very good project manager either.

You don't help by not respecting her - you add to her insecurity and that will make her share less information not more.

My advice would be to sit down with her and have a heart to heart. If the project goes well you both win. If the project goes badly you both lose, but she perhaps will lose more than you. Talk to her about how you need to work together to both win. Be honest, but don't focus on the negative, look for ways to improve and focus on that. As for technical issues, thats a challenge - I always feel more comfortable with recommendations that are from the whole team, not the most technically able member of the team, because the more heads involved, the more chance of making a gooddecision. Can you suggest that the team meet to discuss technology recommendations, and that your team leader chair the discussion?

Hope that helps.

James

by lchungwe

Hi James, she is also a system administrator but she want to do project management as she want to do something differently beside operations. In this case, I do have my own projects to handle as well as daily operations to do. She is concentrating on projects than operations. She want to take control of the team operations.

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