In project portfolio management, the drive to maximise productivity and efficiency often pushes leaders towards strategies that may seem practical in theory but prove detrimental in practice. Among these are the micromanagement of teams and the push for delivery teams to operate at 110% capacity. While these approaches aim to optimise output, they frequently lead to significant operational bottlenecks, reduced productivity, and a strained workforce. Understand why less can be more in managing project portfolios and you need to slow down to speed up!
Micromanagement: A Counterproductive Oversight
Micromanagement is often employed by project managers who feel the need to control all aspects of project execution closely. This approach typically stems from a lack of trust in team capabilities or a fear of failure in meeting project standards. However, rather than ensuring project success, micromanagement can stifle team creativity and initiative. When team members are not given the space to utilise their skills and make decisions, it decreases engagement and motivation, ultimately impacting project speed, quality and innovation.
Faster decisions = faster work. If the team has to check and double check ever decision, the delivery of value slows down to a crawl!
From a project professional perspective, it's crucial to understand that high performance stems from empowered teams operating autonomously within a defined framework. Project leaders should focus on setting clear expectations, providing necessary resources, and then stepping back to let the team deliver. This approach builds trust and encourages accountability, fostering a more productive and innovative project environment.
Overloading Systems: The Theory of Constraints
The Theory of Constraints provides a valuable lens through which to view the issue of overloading teams. This management philosophy, developed by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt, is based on the principle that every system has one or more constraints that limit its performance. In the context of project management, when teams are pushed to operate beyond their optimal capacity—often referred to as running at 110%—it leads to a phenomenon known as the 'traffic jam effect'. Like vehicles on an overburdened road, tasks start to pile up, and the flow of work becomes disrupted, resulting in delays and decreased throughput. What does this mean in your environment? Check out our productivity sparks!
Overloading also increases the risk of burnout among team members, as continuous high-pressure workloads are unsustainable. The added stress and decreased morale can lead to higher turnover rates, further destabilising project outcomes. Portfolio managers should aim to balance workloads and prioritise tasks based on their strategic value and resource availability, ensuring that the system’s throughput is optimised without overburdening any part of the process.
3 Strategic Approaches to Avoid Overloading
1. Realistic Capacity Planning: Effective capacity planning involves understanding the capabilities and limits of your team members and scheduling work accordingly. Aim at having people only doing one project at a time and cap commitment at 80% max! This avoids over-commitment and ensures that each team can deliver quality work within realistic timelines by reducing context switching, giving teams time to focus, and creating lee-way for when things don't go as planned.
2. Clear and Ruthless Prioritisation of Projects: Employ a transparent and rigorous method for prioritising projects that consider both strategic value and team availability. This ensures that the most critical projects receive the attention they need without overwhelming your team. There can only be one number-one project!
3. Continuous Improvement: Regularly review and refine project management practices with a focus on High Performance. Encourage feedback from team members on what works and what doesn’t, and adjust processes to align with realistic team performance capacities and delivery goals.
By adopting these strategies, project portfolio managers can mitigate the risks of micromanagement and overloading. Focusing on optimising the system as a whole rather than pushing individual elements to their limits will promote a healthier, more productive project environment capable of sustained success and resilience in the face of challenges.