A Passive/Aggressive Project Manager – How to deal with the
Nightmare – Part 1
You may not have been there yet (operative word “yet”),
however soon or later you will be forced to work with a Passive/Aggressive Project
Manager.
First you need to be able to spot passive/aggressive behaviour. Here are some signs which should start
flagging up when you are the intended “victim”.
1. 1. Vagueness about being able to deliver and ambiguity
as to their role. This includes the
inability to commit to a plan, or even a deadline to produce a plan to deliver
the project plan.
a.
“I can’t deliver my plan because Person X has
not produced their plan.”
b.
“I can’t put any milestones in my plan until the
requirements have been signed off.”
2. 2. Endless delays – you know the feeling, one week
gets delayed until two, then it’s a month and before you know it, even
producing the plan is three months behind.
3. 3. Constantly changing demands or withholding
information. Been there, done that! A passive aggressive manager will constantly
change what he wants for meetings – often letting you know 5 minutes before a
meeting what is needed. Aligned with
this is the instruction to print “XX” copies for a meeting starting in 3
minutes.
4. 4. Taking over meetings and subverting the purpose. Passive/aggressive project managers will rail
road a discussion into a series of complicated problems with no solution or
continually trying to move the focus onto someone who has not delivered.
5. 5. “Pow wows” which become nothing more than
complaint sessions. This is particularly
important when you haven’t been invited to the party as there is no way to
influence the focus of the meeting.
6. 6. Non-communication – refusing to meet to review
progress, continually putting off meetings to make decisions required to move
forward…
I'm not talking about the specific global risks that you mention (however your question does answer mine in a way), nor do I have anything specific in mind. I want to toss it out and see experiences and interpretations.
However, the lack of response tells me most if not all of us haven't considered Program risk as its own entity ... for any number of reasons.
Personally I was asked to develop separate Program level Risk definitions and processes in an immature healthcare PMO. The PMO was disbanded before any processes could be put into place.
I'm trying to think of a scenario where there could be a Program risk that wouldn't impact (roll down to) at least one project. I was thinking of politics at level removed from a Project that would impact a Program, but it any of these risks, impacted a Program then they would also be Project risks.
I don't know that there are Program only risks.