There are three broad types of project manager – the Courier, the Facilitator, and the Thinker.

The Courier is, I am afraid, the worst type of manager.  He doesn’t actually add value to his team, and in fact often gets in the way.  But what does he do?

Well, the Courier just acts as the communication point between the project team and the senior management.  But he adds no value to that communication.  For example, if senior management puts pressure on him to deliver the project sooner, all he will do is pass the message on.  If he then gets pressure back from the team that what he is asking for just isn’t possible, he just passes that information back to the senior management.

In other words, he doesn’t make a decision.  When he is pressured from above, he doesn’t try and negotiate to get, say, more resources to enable a shorter timescale.  When he is pressured from below, he doesn’t try to explore different options with the team.

The Courier could be replaced by a telephone – it would be quicker, and cheaper.

The Facilitator is a big step up from the Courier.  While he may still sometimes get in the way, in general he is good at helping the team.  How does he do this?

The Facilitator is great at solving problems.  When an issue hits the project, he works with the team to find a solution, and implements it.  For example, if a supplier falls behind, he will work with the team to see how the tasks can be juggled to lessen the impact.  He would also go to the supplier and either help or chide them along.

In other words, he is a fire-fighter.  When problems crop up, he is excellent at solving them – but not so good at avoiding them in the first place.

The Facilitator tends to be appreciated by his team, and by management, but they sometimes wonder if life shouldn’t be a little less stressful.

The Thinker is another step up from the Facilitator.  He doesn’t seem to swoop in and solve as many problems as the Facilitator, but oddly there don’t seem to be as many problems either.  Why is that?

The Thinker spends considerable time thinking about the project.  He works with his team to identify potential problems, and also uses his own experience to identify possible issues.  Then he works to prevent these issues occurring.  For example, if he knows from previous experience that procurement takes longer than it should, then he will start that process earlier.

In other words, he removes problems before anyone else sees them.  He uses the project management tools, such as the project plan, the work breakdown structure, and lessons learned from previous projects, to gain foresight of the project.  He uses this foresight to make the whole process smoother.

The Thinker tends to be seen as unnecessary by his team, and by senior management – until they don’t have him anymore.

Of course, these are just the broad types, there are many sub-types for each one.  Do you know of some more?

(Image courtesy of gerlos. Some rights reserved.)