While managing project managers is similar to managing anyone else, a few extra considerations need to be top of mind. For example, you need to ensure every manager is aligned with the organization’s goals. They’ll also need feedback to help them tweak their approach here and there to be the most effective team leader possible. That requires leadership coaching. A good leader can help coach and guide those working with them to ensure the needs of their teams are met. However, the most effective managers of managers aren’t hand-holders. Instead, they need to walk the line of guiding and letting go to give project managers the space they need to operate effectively.
If you are a manager of project managers, here’s what you can do to help make them more effective leaders of their teams and departments.
Be a Role Model
Managers learn how to lead from their managers and bosses. However, don’t expect them just to be paying attention during one-on-ones. Managers are watching you every day. Therefore, it’s essential to model your everyday behavior to reflect your expectations.
Get Good at Coaching
Don’t just talk about KPIs when you’re discussing projects with managers. Make it a point to check in with relationships between managers and their team or how the manager perceives how cohesive their team is. If relationships are healthy, more collaboration will organically happen. Coach your project managers to work with team members and make sure they actively develop individuals.
Get Feedback from Your Project Managers
The coaching should go both ways, however. Actively seek feedback from your project managers as well to find out if your coaching methods are helpful or a hindrance. Figure out how to best support your managers actively as you coach and manage.
Train Your Managers
Some companies have training programs for managers. However, a startup might not have the same bandwidth, as often, smaller teams have less time and resources. However, laying out some sort of training, complete with expectations, will give them a roadmap of your company’s approach to project management and help them understand your expectations for them. Think of training as a constant process, similar to coaching.
As a manager yourself, if you’ve done a course that you found particularly useful, consider how it might benefit other managers as well. Another idea would be to give them access to online training options that can help them grow as project managers and set them up for success during projects and possible promotions down the time. Project managers are just like any other employee. If they feel like you are investing in them and their growth, they are more likely to stick around, and you are more likely to benefit from a team member engaged in constant learning.
Public Compliments Go a Long Way
Don’t just give it behind closed doors if your project manager deserves a compliment. Show you respect for their job publicly, where their teams can see it. It helps build their credibility with those they are managing.
Never Publicly Criticize
While public praise can be helpful, public criticism will undermine your project manager’s authority and erode trust in their decision-making among their team members. Therefore, if you have something negative to touch on, do it behind the scenes.
Trust Your Project Manager
Trusting your project manager doesn’t mean just checking in at the end of the project to see how everything went. However, you do need to give them the space they require to lead in a style that suits them. What works for you may not work for them. Have the grace to recognize they may have a different process and trust their approach. Allowing them the creativity to perform may even reveal effective strategies you wouldn’t have considered.
Conclusion
As a manager of managers, it’s your goal to guide your team to help them grow so that projects can flourish. By investing your time in them and giving/soliciting feedback, you’ll create a culture of open and honest dialog, which will help you understand how work is progressing.
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