Do you need to be a good multitasker to be a good project manager?
By Jose Espejo, PMP, and Sreenath Reddy, PMP
Is multitasking a good thing or a bad thing?
Jose Espejo, PMP: I don't consider multitasking to be a bad thing. We just have to be disciplined enough to apply the necessary attention to detail as you go from task to task. Maybe there is confusion on what is “multitasking” and what are “interruptions” or “distractions.”
Sreenath Reddy, PMP: Multitasking is a bad thing. It kills a project manager's focus. But can project managers avoid it? I do not think so.
Mr. Espejo: While I agree multitasking can take away from the uninterrupted focus of the task at hand, multitasking enables the flexibility and agility to stay engaged with a broader scope of the project.
Why can't project managers avoid multitasking?
Mr. Espejo: A project just does not have a single task. All the tasks in your project are related. Sometimes they overlap, and sometimes new tasks with higher priority will come up. Project managers just don't have the luxury to work on one task and forget about the others.
Mr. Reddy: If all activities are independent, multitasking can be avoided. But I don't think that is real.
Multitasking is an effect of synchronizing the activities needed to complete a project. Mostly multitasking is the result of change in requirements, due to change in business or market conditions. A well-planned project that is running without any issues does not see too much multitasking.
Mr. Espejo: A well-planned project may not encounter many issues, which is extremely rare. But if and when they do occur, the project manager who has not prepared for multitasking will, in essence, be a risk to the project.
Mr. Reddy: Integration and communication are the two most important tasks for a project manager. As part of integration, you are expected to do lot of work with different activities. So multitasking is part of the life of a project manager. Without this skill, it is unlikely a project manager can succeed. Project managers should know what to prioritize, what to delegate, what to take up and which one to hold. A bad multitasker will risk the project in terms of priority of tasks and be bound to fail.
All the tasks in your project are related. Sometimes they overlap, and sometimes new tasks with higher priority will come up. Project managers just don't have the luxury to work on one task and forget about the others.
—Jose Espejo, PMP, Quatro Solutions Consulting Group LLC, Orlando, Florida, USA
Do you need to be a good multitasker to be a great project manager?
Mr. Espejo: Yes, absolutely.
We would all love to have a project where every action item is sequential, but that's just not the case. Projects with added complexity have multiple tasks and action items that must be looked at, vetted and worked simultaneously. In some cases, you will have a team for these tasks. In other cases—primarily due to resource constraints—you will have to work and oversee all these tasks by yourself. That is called “multitasking.”
Sreenath Reddy, PMP, is a group engineering manager at Samsung India Software Operations in Bengaluru, India.
Jose Espejo, PMP, Is the CEO of Quatro Solutions Consulting Group LLC, In Orlando, Florida, USA.
Since it's unavoidable, how can project managers better multitask?
Mr. Reddy: Effective delegation is one way. Project managers can delegate trivial and non-critical activities to team members. If there are several activities at hand, take them one at a time when possible to make multitasking more effective. It's better to divide the workday into multiple slots and concentrate on one task in that time. Check emails between tasks.
Mr. Espejo: Set your expectations, team structures and communication channels from the beginning. If you do this, you will limit the amount of distractions that come up in your project.
The moral of the story is to stop fighting or avoiding multitasking, and embrace it. It's here to stay. PM