The first and most serious difference between a project manager and a routine manager is involvement. If a company has created a project team to solve a specific task, the project manager must provide almost round-the-clock support to all employees. The work of such a project manager is more complicated than the functions that a routine manager performs for two reasons at once. Firstly, ordinary managers do not necessarily have to have competencies that their subordinates have – project managers have to be trained in technical details of the project.
The second, most important difference, which creates quite specific difficulties for the project manager’s work, is responsibility. The project manager takes all the blame in case the project is late for the deadline or does not fit into the budget (Cote, 2020). This position carries many risks, because if the project fails, the manager is also subject to sanctions, up to and including dismissal.
One of the types of problems that a project manager can face is considered ethical. As part of the team, but with more authority, the project manager must be able to balance the two options for employee relationships (Cote, 2020). On the one hand, the manager does not have enough power to give orders, but can only coordinate and guide employees. On the other hand, he has to be able to find a common language with his colleagues to perform the work. For example, in case a project fails, and it is evident to everyone that the blame lies on a particular member of the team, the manager should write down the failure for the whole team.
Blaming is not the best feature of a good project manager, and it will hurt future projects. Another important ethical issue is to create the right environment in which each employee will be most effective. Project teams may often include people from different generations: for example, an adult baby boomer representative and a university graduate may be included in the group to solve the problem of increasing sales. In this case, the manager should not offend any of his or her colleagues, but instead, demonstrate that overall corporate values form the basis of any work process. It must be explained that regardless of age, each participant is valuable, and the opportunity to work in such a diverse team is an advantage.
Reference
Cote, A. (2020). What to Expect from a Project Manager Job Description. Web.