Project managers are often stereotyped in three ways: as being too command-and-control oriented and directive; as only knowing how to use waterfall methodologies rigidly; and as being unable to adapt to agile environments. However, these stereotypes do not apply to all project managers. While some project managers may struggle to adjust to agile approaches due to being accustomed to traditional methods, it would be inaccurate to generalize that all project managers fit these stereotypes.

1. STEREOTYPES ABOUT
PROJECT MANAGERS
3

2. 1 Project managers
are very command-
and-control oriented.

3. are noted for getting results
and sometimes that means
being assertive and somewhat directive
to set goals and manage the performance
of project teams.
In many companies, if a project team is
underperforming, the project manager is
the one held responsible and is expected
to take corrective action to get the
project on track.
PMs

4. 2 Project managers
are rigid and inflexible
and only know how to
manage by the waterfall
methodology.

5. For many years, project managers have
been held accountable for managing the
costs and schedules of projects, and we
all know that in order to meet cost and
schedule goals, you have to control the
scope of the project. That, in turn,
requires a disciplined approach to
defining and documenting detailed
requirements and controlling changes,
where changes become the exception
rather than the norm.

6. The emphasis on managing costs and
schedules requires accurately defining
the requirements up front, which leads
to extensive use of plan-driven or
waterfall-style methodologies that
are based on trying to define the project
requirements in detail upfront before the
project starts and controlling changes
once the project is in progress.

7. 3 Project managers
are just not adaptive
and cannot adapt to
an agile environment.

8. Agile will require some considerable
rethinking of the project management
approach. Some project managers
are so heavily engrained in the
traditional way of operating because
it has been so widely accepted as the
norm for such a long time that they
may have a difficult time adjusting to
an agile project approach.

9. Like the other stereotypes,
there may be some amount of
truth in this stereotype,
but it would be inaccurate to
generalize and say that this is
true of all project managers.

10. CHECK IT OUT AT
http://wileyactual.com/ProjectManagement/
THE PROJECT MANAGER’S
GUIDE TO MASTERING AGILE
Charles C. Cobb