The Project Manager

The role of the Project Manger is crucial for your teams success in its service learning project.
Every team member will have a chance to be a supportive team member, and most will have a
chance to be a Project Manager for a SMART Milestone. A team member can act as Project
Manager for more than one SMART Milestone if your team has more Milestones than team
members. (You can also assign a Project Manager for your team assignments to make sure that
everyone has a chance to wear the management hat.)
The Project Manager is the individual who is most familiar with a particular Milestone. They
study the Milestone, identify the To-Dos that need to be completed, and develop a timeline to
insure success.
The Project Manager is the person that all team members go to with questions about that specific
Milestone. They are the primary planner, coach, information source, and cheerleader for their
team as it relates to their assigned Milestone:
Does
Make him/herself familiar with all the
requirements of their Milestone by walking
through the Milestone so that he/she can
anticipate the teams needs, likely obstacles,
and opportunities for improved results
Outline all To-Dos associated with successful
completion of the Milestone
Create, distribute and otherwise manage a
timeline detailing when assigned To-Dos must
be completed to insure success
Touch base with team members to determine if
they are making progress toward completion of
their assigned To-Dos
Have ultimate decision-making authority (with
high levels of team involvement) over issues
related to their assigned Milestone. This does
not mean that the Project Manager says,
jump and everyone else says, how high? It
does mean that if the team reaches an impasse
and has made every attempt to negotiate an
agreement, the Project Manager can and should
conclude discussions by making an educated
decision about what is best for the team in their
attempt to succeed with that particular
Milestone.

Does Not
Assume that everything will fall into place and
fail to plan ahead for the details needed to
insure success
Expect teammates to read his/her mind and do
what the Project Manager thinks he/she would
do in the same situation
Do all, or virtually all, of the work for their
assigned Milestone
Browbeat teammates and fail to allow for
empowerment and autonomy in execution of
assigned To-Dos
Treat teammates like sweatshop employees by
being dismissive of their input and expecting
them to blindly obey rude and ill-advised
directives