PM ExcellenceA recap of the July 16 call, for anyone who could not attend.
A synthesis of the first live discussion, covering the group’s early instincts about the PM role and two scenarios worth sitting with. This summary carries the substance of the full hour.
Meeting RecordingFull July 16 discussion · ~67 minWhat Came Out of the Feedback
The Week 1 survey measured how closely the instincts of the cohort already align, and on the scenario questions 85 to 89% of the cohort read the situation the same way. The work of the live session was closing the remaining 10 to 15% together.
The Standard the Program Builds Toward
Justin opened with a fill-in-the-blank: the project manager owns ___, and the chat answered fast, with three responses coming up again and again.
True, and incomplete. Finishing on time is a result. The decisions that keep the work moving are the job.
Closer, and on its own it does not name who does the work or how the work gets there.
This was the most common answer, and the one worth pausing on, since a project manager who does everything personally has not managed the project. That project manager has replaced the team.
The PM identity the program builds toward delegates effectively and holds only what nobody else can hold. The ownership is of decisions and gaps rather than of the work itself.
Three shifts came out of the discussion, each one a way of loosening the “I do it all myself” grip without losing accountability.
The project manager recognizes what only that role can decide, and stops assuming that the safest path is doing the work personally.
The project manager positions the team with the knowledge to succeed, then lets the team run with it. Handing off a slice of work without context is not delegation.
Some moments call for the PA lens and some for the PM lens, and the strongest PMs switch fluidly instead of picking one and staying there.
Two Scenarios From Today
Most of the live discussion ran through two scenarios, each one an occasion to notice which lens was actually doing the deciding.
The project manager is also the architect, and the design works. The design lens still sees two or three ways to make it better, the fee is spent, and the client expects drawings Friday. As the group put it: “that has got to be the PM hat, you control the fee.” The design lens asks what would make the project better. The PM lens asks what the improvement costs, and whether the value is worth spending what remains. When the two lenses disagree, the PM lens holds the line.
On a project that has already had its bumps, a client asks in the meeting for roughly 30 hours of extra design exploration, put on the spot. The instinct is to treat the request as a confrontation. The response modeled in the session was different: “Thanks for the opportunity to keep working on this together. There are two ways I can help, open it as additional services, or put together a short proposal. Which would you like?” The reply offers two win-win paths, no defensiveness, and no working for free.
What Comes Next