32 Project Management
The responsibilities you have to your teamwill vary from
project to project and team to team. They include ensuring that
the team is properly informed throughout the project, providing
constructive feedback when warranted, and giving positive, fair,
and appropriate recognition for performance. These responsibil-
ities are not easy. One of your biggest challenges will be striking
an appropriate balance among the needs of the individual team
members, the needs of your team as a unit, and the needs of
your project. Superior project managers will further accept the
informal responsibility for providing growth and development
opportunities for individual team members whenever possible.
Your final responsibility is to yourself. Though not often dis-
cussed in project management textbooks, this responsibility is
vital—particularly if you view project management as your cho-
sen profession. The odds are that your organization still does not
have well-developed career paths and career development pro-
grams geared specifically to project management as a discipline.
If you’re fortunate enough to have this support, congratulations!
If not, then the responsibility for your personal growth and devel-
opment falls largely upon you. Later in this chapter, we’ll explore
the role of introspection and self-awareness in this process.
Common Challenges You Can Expect to Face
As mentioned previously, you can expect to face a number of
challenges as you take on the responsibility of managing proj-
ects in your organization. Whatever the specifics of your particu-
lar situation, however, many of the challenges you’ll face are
faced by most project managers. Let’s review a few of these
common challenges.
The Responsibility vs. Authority Trap
Firmly embedded in project management folklore is this one:
the responsibility you’ve been given is not commensurate with
the authority (or formal power) you believe you need to accom-
plish the mission. The size of the gap between responsibility and
authority will partially depend upon the structure of your organi-
zation (as we discussed in Chapter 2). If you’re in a purely func-