Fewer, better programs

Photo by Mae Mu on Unsplash

Effective program management requires that you have your finger on the pulse of everything that’s going on related to the program and are available to the program team as needed. The number of programs a program manager can handle simultaneously varies but they know when their plate is full, so to speak. When you get to that point — when the number of requests for support is greater than what you can handle, rather than take on more programs with less than optimal support for each, I’d rather see ruthless prioritization so you can do your best work on the most important programs. Otherwise you run the risk of leaving your team members feeling unsatisfied and with an inaccurate view of the real value of program management.