PROJECT MANAGEMENT 1

Project Management

Sean Sapirman

OGL 321: Project Leadership

Prof. Ben Pandya

January 19, 2020

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Project Management

It has taken time to fully grasp what Project Management is and to really understand that

it is different from people management. People management is just that, leading people to meet

the needs of an organization, there is no time frame, it is repetitive goals, objectives and

decisions that are made to meet obligations set by executives. Project Management is temporary

as it has a start time, end time and defined objectives that need to be met in order to produce

what is required. There is nothing routine about a project as PM’s work on different projects all

the time.

In order for a project to be successful, it will require a unique set of knowledge, skills,

tools and techniques to produce the objectives that meet the project requirements. According to

The Project Manager’s Guide to Making Successful Decisions, managers are well prepared that

their projects can go either way, they can succeed or fail (Powell, 2009). It is all about the

decisions that were made and how they were made, or in some cases the decisions that were not

made that were steer the project towards success or failure.

This was my biggest struggle, differentiating between what project management is from

what I do which is people management. I would keep confusing my everyday tasks for projects

where I would need to dig deeper into specific tasks that we would focus on for a certain period

of time (Powell, 2009). Those little projects were in fact more in line with project management.

After going through the reading, my biggest take away which I can use in the small

projects that I work on is that it is best to begin with the objectives and not with the decisions.

All projects have a pre-set list of objectives which outline exactly what needs to be done in order

to make the project successful (Powell, 2009). From there decisions can be made based on the
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objectives. The difference between identifying appropriate vs inappropriate objectives is another

takeaway that will help me on my journey to ensuring my understanding and execution of project

management/leadership. Objectives that are clear and concise that will aid to the success of the

project are appropriate objectives and objectives that are just irrelevant that will lead to poor

decisions are inappropriate objectives. I think that just because there is an objective listed, we as

leaders feel that it needs to be completed, however sometimes some of those objectives are not

always in the best interest of success. Knowing these key differences, I would have handled

some key work assignments differently and would have probably had a smoother time at

completing them.

I also pulled two blogs from pmstudent that resonate with me. One of them speaks to why

you should never stop learning in your chosen field and the other speaks to How to handle

criticism from employees when dealing with feedback. I chose the first one for a very specific

reason. There was a point a few years ago, I was still just a supervisor, but I had the mentality

that I knew everything there was to know about my role and my department. I would apply for

promotions but was passed over, no joke, four times. My attitude kept holding me back, I never

admitted to the fact I was wrong, or was willing to be able to accept advice. Since I have been

with Starbucks, I have learned that there is always room for learning (Sabell, n.d.). No matter

what role we are in, barista, supervisor, store management, district or regional management,

there is always something to learn. Going into my Assistant Store Manager panel interview, I

highlighted this about myself, my biggest opportunity ended up being one of my biggest

strengths; my willingness to learn and seek feedback from those under and above me shape me

as a leader.
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This led to my second blog post which is handling criticism from employees in the

culture of feedback. This blog post highlighted what “feedback culture” is, which is opinions and

insights from employees regarding daily operations and culture are all welcome and valued

(Peters, n.d.). I thrive off of feedback. There is no better way to get to the nitty gritty then sitting

down with my partners and just talking about how they are feeling. I want to know what is going

on in their lives, how they feel about what has been going on in the workplace, what is on their

radar for their own personal development, professional development and how I can help them on

their journey.

It is hard sometimes when we are met with difficult to hear feedback. There are times

where my facial expression changes and I look defensive, that is something I am working on

because it is my passion that pushes itself to the forefront, just not in a positive expressive way.

It is important to hear that negative feedback because let’s face it, without that feedback then

there is no room for growth (Peters, n.d.). That is where this blog ties into the first one. Hearing

the negative feedback and listening to it, sorting it out without reacting is also how we build

thicker skin. We want to keep the conversation open and ensure that our employees always feel

comfortable coming to us leaders with their feedback whether it be positive or negative.

Personally, I like when my partners are coming to me with concerns but also have a solution or a

suggestion to help turn things around. While I am always available to let them vent, I would

rather them take the initiative and think the problem through and find a way to turn it around

rather than just complain and berate everyone and the operation.
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My approach to any of my courses that I take is to find a way to relate it back to what I

do every day. I found it difficult with project management to find that link because of the key

differences between project management and people management. With the simulation I was

trying to run them the same way I would run my business. It has a very similar approach to

monitoring labor standards, costs, how many meetings to schedule and what kind of meetings,

overtime- allow it or not? To hire or not to hire? These are all things that I have to deal with

every day.

My struggle that I found with this was finding a balance to meeting all of the objectives

while meeting labor standards, cost standards, maintaining morale. It is much easier for me in

real life because I am living it in the moment, I can see everything going on and be able to make

decisions based on what I see and the environment as I feel. With this simulation, it is hard to

gauge because I have to make adjustments based on graphs and a couple of one liner about

morale. There are factors such as, do the employees learn as the sim goes on play a factor? That

would be important to know.

Project Management has been a whole new learning experience for me. For someone that

actively deals with people management, learning a new style is an eye opener. While yes, in one

way or another we are doing some form of project management, it is not a style that I am

focusing on. Now that I know the key differences and how to set up my approach to projects, I

am better prepared to tackle short term-time sensitive assignments at work. Understanding

project management and focusing on things that are important to me such as handling criticism

and continuing learning is and will continue to make me a stronger leader.

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References

Peters, J. (n.d.). How to Handle Criticism from Employees in the Culture of Feedback. Retrieved

from PMStudent: http://pmstudent.com/how-to-handle-criticism-from-employees-in-the-

culture-of-feedback/

Powell, R. (2009). Good Decision-Making: The Key to Project Success. In The Project

Manager’s Guide to Making Successful Decisions. Management Concepts, Inc.

Sabell, H. (n.d.). Why You Should Never Stop Learning in Your Profession. Retrieved from PM

Student: http://pmstudent.com/why-you-should-never-stop-learning-in-your-profession/