The notes below represent my current perspective on the role of a technical program manager and the behaviors of the most successful PMs.

A strong leader has the humility to listen, the confidence to challenge, and the wisdom to know when to quit arguing and to get onboard.

Role of the PM

The purpose of a project is to combine the works of different people into a single coherent whole that will be useful to people or customers. Project Management is about using any means necessary to increase the probability and speed of positive outcomes. We are accountable for making the project and whoever was contributing to it as successful as possible. Engineering is responsible for ensuring the solutions are technically feasible. We are responsible for making sure that the solutions are valuable and viable for the business. 

Context is Your Superpower

PMs don’t build the product, but we bring a wider perspective to the team that improves the team’s decision making effectiveness. Make sure you are bringing unique knowledge and insights to the table. If your Engineering leaders don’t want to make certain decisions without your input, then you are doing it right. Lead with context, not control.

Embrace Uncertainty to Achieve Outcomes

We must account for the natural bias that causes people to underestimate how long something will take and overestimate its impact. Ultimately, we are judged by the outcomes we deliver, not the output of our teams. It’s not about what we build (our first assumptions will likely be wrong). It’s about having a clear strategy, clear goals, and a good process that enables us to rapidly iterate towards our goals. We need to be flexible, able to quickly adapt and take advantage of opportunities as they arise. The PM is responsible for developing and executing this process with their Engineering team. Acknowledge complexity, champion simplicity.

Alignment is a Condition for Team Autonomy

We want to push the decision making down to those closest to the problem to increase our velocity and provide our teams a high degree of autonomy. However, without alignment, autonomy is squandered. A lack of alignment compounds quickly, putting our goals at risk. We need to constantly work with our engineering partners to understand the complexities of the systems we are responsible for. Visual artifacts and models of the system are great tools to drive alignment, define a strategy, and communicate it broadly with the team so they can fill in the implementation details at lower levels. Goal alignment precedes goal attainment.

Clear Priorities are the Backbone of Progress

Clarity is how we make things happen on projects. Each member of the team we support should show up to work each day knowing what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how it relates to what their other teammates are doing. For most programs, the three most important priority lists are the project goals (OKRs), initiatives (roadmap), and work items (release schedule). If people are having trouble focusing on the most important thing, it’s because the PM hasn’t ordered things properly or communicated those priorities clearly.

Be a Person of High Agency

Find a way to get the job done without waiting for conditions to be perfect. Push through adversity or work to reverse the adverse conditions to achieve our goals. Have an ownership mindset and be relentlessly resourceful. Foster strong relationships and develop influential communication skills so that you can find a way or make a way to get the job done. Have a strong bias for action.

All Tasks Are Not Created Equal

Doing great work and having an impact does not mean putting your best effort into every task. Identify the small number of high leverage tasks and put your best effort into those tasks. Other tasks can and should take less time and effort and a lower quality product is ok. They have very little impact for the time they take. Make sure you allocate your time and skills to the tasks that truly require it. Block off dedicated time on your calendar to allow time for deep work.