Hero... or Superhero

As I stated in my first post, of the article  The Project Manager, a hero in Project Management: 
Posted by Marian Woods on March 22, 2012 at 12:57pm 
  , Marian's article was the inspiration for this blog. I will be writing about and collecting stories about project managers and their projects. And, yes, some of them will be heroes.

After adding Marian's article to my blog, I re-posted it in some project management discussion groups on LinkedIn. The result was some quite lively discussions about the concept of the project manager as a hero. In a way, I think the discussions got off track a little from the intent of the original article. At least, in my opinion.

The main message that I took away from Marian's article was the importance of six basic skills in effective project management. Those are:

1. Communication
2. Team building
3. Problem solving
4. Leadership
5. Commitment
6. Organization

In one of the LinkedIn discussions, we segued into a discussion of the merits of being a hero project manager. A lot of great points were made on the side of not being a hero. But, I think an important distinction was lost to some of those making that argument. That distinction is the difference between being a hero and trying to be a superhero.

Let's explore that difference a little. What makes someone a hero? A superhero?

Heroes are people who, in their everyday life model for others the following qualities:

1. Integrity
2. Patience
3. Sound Reasoning
4. Humility
5. Perseverance
6. Cooperation

Now, if you look at that list, it really is just another way of saying Marian's list. Or, at least, both list share the same basic concepts. Live your life, manage your projects, following these principles and you will be a hero to more people than you will ever know. People will see you as successful, effective and productive as well as sharing, likable and approachable.

So, what makes a superhero? While the superheroes of comics may have many or even all of the qualities we have listed above, those fantasy superheroes have been severely idealized. In real life if we try to be a superhero, we almost always (always?) end up pushing aside more and more of these important qualities.

Superheroes find themselves in situations that require them and only them to save the world. They end up jumping from one hot spot to another, putting out fires one after the other. Superheroes are required when no one else can save the day.

As the superhero gets more and more involved with saving the world, they may succumb to temptations to cut corners, thus impugning their integrity. They lose patience with others and take on even more of the load. In the rush to the next fire, the may not take time to use sound reasoning about the course of action. There's no room for humility. Yes, they will persevere, but so often for the wrong reasons. And cooperation goes right out the door as the superhero, with no help from anyone else, saves the world from forces no one else has the power to overcome.

The superheroes of comics had admirable qualities. And they saved their worlds from forces no one else could handle. But, those were fantasy worlds. In the real world none of us should want to be superheroes.

I do, however, sincerely hope that I can be somebody's hero, whether as a project manager or not.