Managing Projects and People – the Cultural Struggles

I think anyone that has ever tried to manage a project will agree that managing the people is the hardest part of it. To get a whole bunch of people to do things in a coordinated way and ensure that everyone is moving in the same direction at all times is hard! Planing out the actual work that needs to get done is fairly simple. A roadmap and some clear goals and then you’re halfway there already. But the people and the communication between teams… 

Sometimes (more often than I care to admit even to myself), I have some serious thoughts about why on earth I agreed to do this job. The job I’m talking about now is the job I’m currently doing. It’s a new casino affiliate site with some big goals, and it’s far from just an average one. Actually, I think that the CEO of the company is the only one I’ve ever come across that didn’t lie when he said that he would create a unique affiliate site. All my clients say that, but in fact, they have never told me about anything that is actually new. But this guy had some truly big plans and innovative ideas, which is why I accepted a job with him, to begin with. 

He’s one of those guys that aren’t really into managing, and planing things is not his greatest strength, nor is clear communication.

I was originally hired to write 2-3 casino reviews a week, and that was it. However, before I knew it, I had also taken on managing all the content for the site, which then meant writers and translators for 14 languages. Needless to say, it didn’t take long until I didn’t actually have time to do much writing myself. Hiring and managing writers occupied most of my week. With some other side-projects as well I think I at the height of it all had 60 people reporting directly to me. And, let me tell you, that’s way too many! Still, it was all just content management, so it worked somehow. But then, as the company grew and we added on more people and teams, my area of responsibility grew, and, again before I knew what hit me, I had taken on the role as project manager for the whole site. It’s funny what happens if you’re not paying attention to the changes going on around you. I have to admit, I am a bit of a “yes” person, I very rarely say no if someone asks for my help. So I only have myself to blame.

I say “blame,” but really, I actually like my job a lot. If I didn’t I would just quit. That’s the nice part about working freelance. You don’t even have to give notice unless your contract stipulates differently (which my contracts never do…). The reason why I like it is mainly because of the CEO. He’s a really nice guy, and even more importantly he is truly innovative and there is no end to the visions he has for this project. Then again, there are also some issues with him. He’s one of those guys that aren’t really into managing, and planing things is not his greatest strength, nor is clear communication. That is, he knows what he wants, but he always wants it right now, so a lot of things just get started without anyone else really knowing what we’re trying to do and where we’re heading. That wasn’t so much of a problem in the beginning when it was just a couple of us, but when you’re all of a sudden a company with some 40+ people, then it’s starting to become an issue. So that was basically why I got the job of doing the management part of it so that he can focus more on what he is good at, which is, among other things, coming up with new great ideas for what we can do to grow and scale the project. Anyway, back to the managing people part…

We Nordic people tend to be very blunt, we don’t beat around the bush, and we just say what we think about things, and that’s it.

In any given setting, managing people can be tricky. There are always a lot of different personalities at play, and what works for some doesn’t work for others. When you add on that everyone involved in the project I’m currently working on are freelancers, independent contractors or working for agencies we’ve hired, it gets even worse. You then have a whole bunch of people running their own businesses and have their own set of preferred ways of working, which makes collaboration a struggle at times. Add to that that we also have a lot of cultural differences. The last time I did a count I came to 19 different countries we have team members in, so needless to say, the cultural divide can be huge. This is perhaps an extra challenge for me since I’m Norwegian. We Nordic people tend to be very blunt, we don’t beat around the bush, and we just say what we think about things, and that’s it. To other people from other countries, we very often seem rude. That I’m perceived as rude by some of the people working on his project was quite recently pointed out to me. I’ve heard that before, so I can’t say that I was surprised, but it did make me think about this with cultural differences. In Norway, it would be perceived as unprofessional if one wouldn’t be able to give clear and precise feedback, good or bad, while other nationalities find it rude when one does. So the question is, how does one solve this?

The last thing I’d want would be to make a change into strictly corporate language and the stiffness that requires. That’s simply not a way I’m comfortable working or talking. I prefer to be honest (and I’m often brutally so), as that usually doesn’t leave much room for interpretations, and thus there are fewer cases of miscommunication and misunderstandings. Everyone knows what I think, and believe it or not, quite a lot of people actually appreciate my blunt honesty. But, of course, I don’t want people to get hurt by what I say, as that also happens. To me, it’s a bit mind-boggling that people get personally hurt about feedback or criticism about the work they do, as in my mind that’s work and nothing personal. The thing is, though, that I obviously can’t tell people that it’s ridiculous to take this personally, as that would probably make matters even worse! Haha! So changing the communications style might be the only viable solution, even though that will be uncomfortable for some of us. Normally one would perhaps say that “this is how we communicate in this office, as we’re based in X country” but that doesn’t work in this case. The whole company is 100% remote, all though the business is registered in Malta. And, if there is one thing I’m sure of, it’s that I would never want to run a business the Maltese way…

…up until a person turns 30 it’s possible to change their personality, but after that, it’s extremely difficult. For my part, that train has left the station…

Anyway, as I’m writing this I still haven’t come up with a good solution for this issue, so basically, this blog post is just a rant of some sort. One thing I do know though, is that I’m what people tend to call a “no-nonsense” type of person, so I can’t see that I’ll ever be able, nor want, to change that. I was once at a management course where this thing with management styles was discussed at length, and the person holding that course showed some studies that concluded that up until a person turns 30 it’s possible to change their personality, but after that, it’s extremely difficult. For my part, that train has left the station… So if changing my personality isn’t possible, then perhaps it’s better to change jobs? Working with people that communicate more similarly with yourself is, after all, easier. And, if a different project manager would be beneficial for the company and the internal communication, then who am I to stand in the way? Perhaps I’ll get back to just being a writer. Life was easier when it was just me and my laptop, and the only person I had to manage was myself.

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