What is a Project Manager?

What is a Project Manager?

If your L&D department is large enough, you might have a project manager. Their job is to keep the project on track, on time, and in budget. They remove blockers (things that get in the way of your work being completed) and manage schedules. They also communicate with stakeholders (anyone with a say in the project, and anyone the project will have an impact on).

A blocker is anything that is stopping your work from moving forward. If you are waiting on SME feedback that isn't coming, or you need access to a system and IT hasn't responded to your ticket, these are blockers. A really effective project manager treats them like a personal insult. They make calls, send escalating emails, find the person who can make a decision, and generally refuse to let bureaucratic friction get in the way of project completion. 

They communicate so that you can work. Project owners, executives, and other stakeholders need updates, but they do not need to be in every meeting the ID team has. The project manager translates the reality of the project into the language of people who think in milestones and budgets and risk assessments.

This means that you get to focus on actually building the thing instead of writing status update emails. It also means that when something goes sideways, there is someone whose job it is to communicate that upward.

Therefore:

If you have a project manager, keep them in the loop. Tell them when something is taking longer than expected. Tell them when a SME (Subject Matter Expert) has gone quiet. Tell them when the scope is quietly expanding because a stakeholder added "just one more thing".

They cannot remove a blocker they don't know exists. They cannot help if you are privately wrestling with a frustrating part of the project and hoping nobody notices.

Communication is key!