How to Empower Project Managers to Manage Effectively

The title “project manager’ is very broad and often overused in the architecture/engineering (A/E) industry. Why? In part because most firms are structured so that you have to become a project manager if you want to advance. This results in multiple variants of the project manager (PM) role being created to accommodate career growth for people who, while they aren’t truly PMs, are still valued members of the firm.

Regardless of how they got the title, PMs have to be able to do three things:

1. Deliver profit
2. Keep clients happy
3. Avoid errors that cause legal issues

What we know from our work with A/E firms is that the “what” of the role is simple; the “how” is incredibly complex. And because the job is so complex, firm principals are often hesitant to give PMs the responsibility and authority they need to be effective in their work. The work gets done, but the principal ends up being far more involved than they need to be because they are the ones who have the necessary information about the project.

In many firms, this results in the principals being unhappy that their PMs aren’t acting like PMs, even though the owners themselves are responsible for creating this scenario. A/E firm principals tend to operate their companies with a “hub and spoke” approach in which they’re the hub and all information travels through them on its way to other employees. PMs are then left wondering how much of a given project is their responsibility, how much is the principal’s responsibility, and how to get the information they need to manage the budget, perform quality work, and manage client relationships.

This bottleneck prevents growth and keeps the firm from being as successful as it could be. Plus, people with true PM potential are reluctant to stay with a firm where this kind of “command and control” culture keeps them from doing their job well and growing their skills. They see the principal’s involvement in projects as a burden rather than what it should be: a safety net.

The Key to Success for A/E Firms: Empowering Project Managers

In our experience, the most successful A/E firms are the ones that empower their PMs to do the job they’re being paid to do. Of course, principals are looking for “safe” empowerment. If they’re going to let someone else take the wheel, they need reassurance that that person isn’t going to steer the bus over a cliff!

One part of addressing that concern is implementing a project management system that has features that enable PMs to work more effectively and take the kind of ownership of projects that ensures they will guide them carefully. The tool should shift the control over aspects like project budgets to them, allowing them to take a more active role in project success.  

In fact, firms should implement a system that is designed essentially to force PMs to be more involved in projects, which ultimately is good for them and good for the firm. It’s a cultural shift away from the hub and spoke methodology that requires greater trust on the part of principals and accounting, and a belief that the system isn’t going to undercut their authority.