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Program Management: Building Trust (with Project Managers)

In the last post I talked about the need for a program manager to have trust from his/her project managers, because a program manager's ability to spot problems frequently depends on the data that his project managers are supplying him.  If they are not telling you about the problems in their component of the program, then you are unlikely to spot those problems on your own.  So it's important that your project managers feel comfortable enough with you to share the information about the problems as soon as they spot them, so that you can help them deal with them.   So how do you do that?

* Give them the right tools:   Not all project managers are created equal, so as the program manager you should be giving them the right tools to help them manage their projects.  In this case, give them a software development process that they can use.  With the proper tools in hand, it will give them confidence that will make it easier for them to report issues to you.
* Set a proper example: Make sure that as the program manager, you are visibly reporting risks and problems with the program as soon as possible.
* Set the proper environment: When project managers do report problems to you, make sure that you show appreciation to them for bringing the problem to your attention instead of jumping on them for allowing the problem to happen in the first place.  Even if the problem is something they should have caught before it became a problem, you'll only exacerbate the issue if you make them feel like they can't report the problem to you without getting in trouble.  At the same time, if there are project managers who have hidden problems until their effect has been magnified, you need to make it clear that this behavior is unacceptable.
* Work with them: When a component does report a problem, work with the project manager to identify the cause of the problem, and then determine the best way to address it.  Also help them figure out the best way to get in front of similar problems in the future.

If you practice these steps, you'll start to gain the trust of your project managers, but real trust will take time and consistency to build.  So you'll need to keep at it.