Like many project managers, Thomas Alby, PMP, lives in the fast lane.
Hectic days are part of the job as the director of search at Uniquedigital, a performance marketing company in Hamburg, Germany. But he makes sure he starts the morning with a run and rocks out with his band two nights a week.
“When I play the drums, I forget about everything,” he says.
Music soothes the soul, as they say, and for Mr. Alby it's a way to leave behind the daily stresses of what tends to be a quick-paced profession.
“As a project manager, it's not like you get to sit around and wait for stuff to happen or someone to tell you what to do,” says Michiko Diby, PMP, program manager, Verdi Consulting, a financial management and enterprise solutions firm in Vienna, Virginia, USA.
Adhering to the pressures of tight deadlines and long hours is just the beginning, says George Pitagorsky, PMP, chief consultant at Pitagorsky Consulting, a management consultancy in New York, New York, USA.
“Lack of certainty about what is expected, fear of punishment for not achieving what is expected, having no outlet for anger and frustration—these are the real stressors of the job,” he says.
LEADING THE CHARGE
To effectively field the demands of the profession, try reducing stress before a project even begins. Feeling prepared for any contingency can keep anxieties under control.
“Urgent problems arise mostly due to defects in risk management,” Mr. Alby says.
Once you're in the trenches, try to zero in on what truly should take precedence. Faced with an excruciatingly long to-do list, some project managers have a tough time prioritizing tasks.
“The problem I have seen too often is that project managers do the most urgent things first,” Mr. Alby says. “But these are probably not the most important things to do.”
Poor time management leads to procrastination on other important tasks. “It's very easy to wind up doing what you were going to do during the day at night or on the weekends,” says Ms. Diby.
When stress levels do spike, make certain you know how to keep your cool. “You need to have a working system for managing all of the input that is bombarding you every minute,” Mr. Alby advises.
Sometimes you just need to walk away and do something completely unrelated to work. Tennis and swimming are the preferred ways to let loose for Ademisiku Shyllon, head of marketing and strategy operations at telecom company Globacom Ltd., Lagos, Nigeria. He finds sports especially beneficial when he's working on a project away from home. “Being in a foreign country can be stressful due to cultural changes and challenges,” he explains.
Other project managers look within to decompress. Mr. Pitagorsky meditates, which he says helps increase concentration and mindfulness. “This leads to the ability to be objective and to stop being driven by unconscious mental models and negative emotions,” he says.
CONSULTANT COUNSELING
Do stress levels impact consultants and practitioners differently? Absolutely, says Michiko Diby, PMP, Verdi Consulting, Vienna, Virginia, USA.
“When you are a consultant, you are less directly impacted by stress imposed by an organization—meaning away from silos and corporate politics,” she says. Then again, you must be more mindful of how you handle client criticism and offer advice.
“If I point out a problem onsite, someone on the client side could say, ‘I don't like that consultant’ or ‘I don't like the fact that she is pointing out issues I don't want to deal with,’” Ms. Diby explains.
Then there's good old-fashioned R&R—rest and relaxation.
“I used to put it on myself to get everything done,” Ms. Diby says. “Now I make sure to take time for me. I know how important it is to get a good night's rest, to eat healthy food and even keep the house clean. These are the things that slip first.”
THE TRICKLE-DOWN EFFECT
Stressed-out project managers only compound any strain on the part of their teams.
“As a project manager, you are not only responsible for the work results, but you also have to take care of the team members,” Mr. Alby says.
Not everyone deals with stress the same way, of course.
“There will be bullies, narcissists, wimps and perfectionists,” Ms. Diby says. “And guess what? Whatever traits that you have will interact with traits of others for quite interesting combinations.”
The pressure's on. “You'd better drive the train or you're out of a job,” she says.
Justified or not, team members will blame their project managers for adding to their stress levels by failing to plan and lead properly.
Spending time getting to know your project team should help you realize when they're close to overload.
“The project manager needs to sit down informally, one-on-one with his or her teams and try to identify what the challenges of a project are—both personally and professionally,” Mr. Shyllon says.
“Continually chat with your team members so they can see the big picture,” he says. “When there is a project slippage, all hands must be on deck to meet up with the new deadline.”
But setting unrealistic goals just because you're stressed-out won't help matters.
“Don't resort to scare tactics,” Mr. Alby says. “If you tell your team members that their jobs are at risk if the job cannot be delivered in time, you will lose the best team members during or shortly after the project. And this will result in even more stress for everyone.”
High stress often leads to high tempers, but project managers must learn to remain levelheaded. Mr. Pitagorsky learned his lesson early in his project management career.
“Some years ago, working on a very complex, politically charged project, I vented my anger and frustration on a co-worker who was obstructing the process,” he recalls. “This caused him to break into tears and become even more of an obstruction.”
Handling the stressful situation through anger only made matters worse. Several days later, after he regained his composure, he apologized to his colleague. “Eventually, my apology cleared the air and allowed us to collaborate more effectively,” Mr. Pitagorsky says.
Keeping emotions in check helps reduce stress, but sometimes project managers may want to offer team members some nice perquisites.
“Make sure your work environment supports productivity, be it good chairs, fast computers, free soft drinks and coffee, or a free lunch or dinner,” Mr. Alby says.
Stress comes with the territory for project managers and their teams. But sometimes it's nothing that a cushy chair or a little band practice can't help alleviate. PM
TIP: Close loose ends on a project as soon as possible. Leaving projects not quite finished will cause more stress down the road, says Vijay K. Verma, PMP, PMI Fellow, TRIUMF, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.