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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   4273 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for May 14, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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This is like saying "why do people want money or status?". Power gives you the ability to accomplish things, whether that is furthering your career, helping people, grifting, avoiding work, furthering a cause etc.

What you don't want is responsibility. Power frequently comes with some responsibilities and you have to weigh whether the power is worth the responsibilities, just like you have to weigh whether paycheck is worth the responsibilities.

Well, if you're defining power so generally, why do you feel that as a project manager you get less power but just as much responsibility? Can you indicate the context for what you mean by that? What sort of responsibility are you referring to?

There's a difference between being the manager of a mission-critical project that directly reports to a C-level exec and the manager of a project that is one of many projects your company runs to categorize capital expenses better.

The former has a lot of power, because it's basically a "Head of X" position that you can transform into a real "Head of X" position when the project is over. He or she can yank the best people from existing teams to work on the project full time and doesn't have to worry about their compensation or covering their absence.

The latter doesn't even get his own personal fief like any line manager does. He or she has to go to existing teams and beg for estimates, resources, commitments and results. Any piddling team lead or section head can brush him or her off, "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that by Friday. We've been fixing a production incident and you know Barry knows the system better than anyone, that why he's been assigned to your project, but this incident means he's busy until next Tuesday. Oh, and the vendor we've sourced the driver from has raised its prices, so we'll need you to approve additional $15k. No, how can I negotiate with them? I'm not procurement. And you might want to take it up with Larry if you want Barry to work on your project instead of fixing production issues, Dave. I'm just following the priorities I've been given."

So poor Dave goes to Larry, who explains he's the fifth PM he's seen today. No, there are no resources. Look, here's the meeting minutes from March when the resources were assigned to projects. It's written right here under "Risks": overbooking likely if system stability doesn't improve. And guess what, Dave? We're overbooked. Yes, I can tell Harry to ask Barry to work overtime. Can you pay for it from your budget? Oh, it was the first line item that was slashed? Guess what, HR has slashed our overtime budget, too."

What do you mean? I'm using the standard definition of power.

the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events.

I'm just asking for specifics. Keep it specific to what power and responsibility a project manager would have or want. Or not want, and have forced upon them.

I'm not going to do that this deep in a thread no-one is going to read. I'm done.

What on earth? So you don't actually care about sharing your viewpoints with others? It's all just about trying to score some kind of points by getting people to read what you write? How bizarre. You seem very hostile for some reason.

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