i just read Holding Managers Accountable at Chris Johnston's blog. He asks "how many projects would be more successful if the managers knew their jobs were on the line if the project failed?" and feels that "the blame is always pushed down to the lowest person–the developer–and the managers try to figure out a way to make themselves look good through the developer’s failure."
Personally, I think it's about the kind of manager you are. And yes, I'm a project manager.
I believe my job is to enable my team to be successful. So if the team fails, then I didn't do my job. I know a lot of other PMs who feel the same way. By the way, I feel that team member performance (non/sub-performance) is just another risk that could challenge the ability of a team to be successful, and needs to be treated as such.
Conversely, I've also come across a number of people playing the PM role, who do not believe this. They are the ones that are concerned on making themselves look good in the event of failure. I don't really consider them project managers. I'm not entirely sure what they are ...
Maybe it's just a kind of lazyness, but I believe the easiest way for me to look good as a manager, is for my team to do an amazing job. It certainly seems much easier than trying to make up a reason for failure later on.
