‪The Private Life of Project Managers‬.

For almost four years there is a conversation in the comments of The Project Shrink that pops up once in a while. It’s one of my favorites.

Why do we do what we do? Are our industry’s best practices really that, or do we merely say they are because as a PM we are expected to say so?

Jon Whitty from University of Southern Queensland creates fascinating articles and lectures around this theme by looking at this topic from a evolutionary behavior perspective.

In his presentation “The Private Life of Project Managers” a lot of his topics come together. This is really the best introduction to the topic I have ever seen!

What makes up our “Project Management” culture? The rituals, the icons, even the hand gestures!
What impact has this on the way we do our job?

This is really a must-see video.

If you want to start with a shorter video, you might have a look at “The Peacock and The Project Manager“:

“The point is made that Gantt charts have been adapted by project managers to serve as a cue or advertisement for their skills and abilities, and this aids their chances in being selected for the next big project manager role.”