Over they years, I have formed the opinion that a program manager’s abundance of patience and the inability to say "no" have been the primary reasons why I have had to be brought in as a turnaround program manager. In a turnaround environment, time is of the essence and patience takes on the appearance of letting a program happen to you instead of driving results. I feel like I am in the movie The Matrix and I can see the code (logical next steps and the right thing to do for the project) and many team members and program managers get lost in the noise and can't read the code.
Having said that, when it comes to getting stakeholders to buy-in to the plan so they commit to clear the way for the recovery, patience has its place. The time invested will pay dividends as stakeholders remove roadblocks to a plan that they are aware of and buy-into. Not only that, but when a program is just starting (i.e. not in need of a recovery, or turnaround, effort), patience is required while in pursuit of the win/win. However, even then, inside, I am impatiently applying patience.
So, is impatience a secret to success or do you have to be careful to not apply "too much of a good thing"? Is it the balance between patience and impatience that is the secret? They are just two tools in the program manager’s toolbox. It’s using knowledge in the light of experience to determine which of the two to apply in the given situation. The constructive application of impatience with the cross-functional team to keep the team productive is the essence of the role of a program manager.
Having said that, when it comes to getting stakeholders to buy-in to the plan so they commit to clear the way for the recovery, patience has its place. The time invested will pay dividends as stakeholders remove roadblocks to a plan that they are aware of and buy-into. Not only that, but when a program is just starting (i.e. not in need of a recovery, or turnaround, effort), patience is required while in pursuit of the win/win. However, even then, inside, I am impatiently applying patience.
So, is impatience a secret to success or do you have to be careful to not apply "too much of a good thing"? Is it the balance between patience and impatience that is the secret? They are just two tools in the program manager’s toolbox. It’s using knowledge in the light of experience to determine which of the two to apply in the given situation. The constructive application of impatience with the cross-functional team to keep the team productive is the essence of the role of a program manager.
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