Are Project Managers nice?

Effective ones are

Image: psychologistworld.com

Project Managers ensure that things get done. Their task and results orientation can lead to a view that they are oblivious to the human side of project delivery.

Intriguingly, research into the personality style of PMs indicates that more effective PMs are nicer.  The agreeable dimension (one of the Big Five personality dimensions) can be described in terms of being pro-social, warm and trusting.  Agreeables help others and have more harmonious interpersonal relationships.

At the other end of this dimension of personality – those lower on agreeableness are less inclined to trust and help others.  They might, at the extreme be described as cold-hearted, hostile and non-compliant.

A study of 244 members of the Brazilian Project Management Institute by Rolf Luis de Moura and colleagues found that Project Managers with more than 15 years of experience were 17% more agreeable than early-career PMs.

Yi Wang studied a different population – PMs leading complex software projects in Hong Kong. Wang looked at how personality factored into these PM's leadership and successful implementation across 116 software projects (controlling for PM training, project complexity and team capability). Agreeableness was the standout quality of PMs leading more successful projects.

Agreeableness seems related to PMs success and accordingly increases with professional experience.

One possible explanation for why agreeableness makes a difference is what evolutionary theorists describe as ‘frequency-dependency’.  A recent paper in Nature illustrates this in terms of the changing popularity of pure-bred dogs.  If you are the only person in the dog café with a pure-bred Irish Setter your pooch will have a certain star quality (and maybe you can enjoy some reflected glory).  However, if you find that almost every other dog in the vicinity is a beautifully shaggy Irish Setter, your best friend is not going to provide you with a unique aura.

If you are a PM working in an ecosystem where most other PMs are competitive and ruthless in their dealings – being nice and easy to work with could give you an advantage.  However, if most of your colleagues are trusting push-overs, then being a tough nut could give you an edge.  In de Moura’s study of Brazilian PMs, the average rating for ‘agreeableness’ was the lowest of the Big 5 – it was rarer. The agreeable PM in a world of hard-headed and less agreeable PMs might have an advantage.

Another explanation for this agreeableness advantage is that the nature of work for more senior PMs demands more ‘teamy’ and collaborative behaviour.

Senior PMs are leading teams that commit to the success of the project, and need to work through problems and conflicts with a view to that longer-term success.    

To achieve this Senior PMs need to create a vision for the team, and build a feeling of belonging among team members.

In this simple view – the pushy and demanding style of the junior PM might ensure that things get done. But what works in a more transactional, one-off situation might not work, and might even be counter-productive when they need to keep team members focused on the longer-term vision.

There is an aspect of agreeableness that needs to be addressed.  Agreeableness is the most gendered dimension of personality.  The average man is lower on this personality dimension than 70% of women.  If lower agreeableness is helpful early in the career of PMs – many women will find they need to learn some assertive skills.  That will underpin their early success and then they may find they have an advantage in working harmoniously as their career progresses

Melanie McBride provides examples of assertiveness in a PMI Congress paper:

·       Emphasise your authority

·       If you’re on the phone – stand up and then talk, in a face-to-face situation, maintain eye contact

·       Interrupt those monopolising conversations and bring in quieter individuals

·       Ask disruptors to collect and report data that supports their argument

More senior PMs need to get things done with people.  For example, coaching approaches work when you are developing an early careerist – asking questions that encourage thinking rather than establishing superiority and dominance.  Examples of coaching questions:

·       What do you think the client means by this question?

·       Who are the players in this situation? What are their agendas?

·       How will that work out in three months?

When you take the lead in a project meeting you are aiming for long-term relationships and to build a culture of psychological safety. Some examples:

·       Emphasising there is no such thing as a dumb question, and demonstrating vulnerability – “I didn’t know that!”

·       Building in time for Check-Ins at the start of the meeting – so all have a chance to speak, and share concerns

·       Reviewing how the meeting went, as well as the Who Does What at the end of the meeting

Developing these skills rests on building your self-awareness – what am I doing in my interactions? To help you go beyond your established habits – practice some in-the-moment reflection.  Here’s a useful reflection tool from Google’s  Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute: The Siberian Northern Railroad (SBNRR):

(1)  Stop
(2)  Breathe
(3)  Notice
(4)  Reflect
(5)  Respond

Building your agreeableness means noticing where other people are at.  Being nice is great.  But to be helpful you need to understand what people want.

Stewart Forsyth is an organisational psychologist and executive coach and also the author of 21 Remarkable People – available from Amazon or Apple or other eBook sources.