Teaching Someone to Manage Tasks: A Juggling Act

I've been talking a lot lately about teaching collaboration, and teaching project management, and developing teams. I've come to describe it as juggling, and so for a lark, I decided to see how far the metaphor would stretch. Here is a verbatim transcript of Teaching Someone to Juggle, with ONLY the following global search-and replace:

• Juggling=project management
• Juggle=manage
• Ball(s)=task(s)
• Cascade pattern=waterfall model
• Throw=assign
• Catch=complete

I find the result both amusing and instructive, especially as a program manager with a new hire. "Do not worry about your student completing the task as much as assigning it correctly. Completing will come naturally with practice, good assignments are vital when someone is first beginning to manage tasks."  In juggling, the responsibility for success lies squarely with the teacher. A useful lesson for project managers looking to build high-performance, self-managing teams.

 

What do you think? How useful is juggling as a metaphor for project management, and what else might we as project and program managers learn from teaching juggling?

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Teaching someone to manage tasks is an exercise in patience. Watching someone struggle with something you can perform while you sleep can be frustrating but must be met with a calm and understanding attitude in order to teach them correctly. Try to remember what it was like when you were first trying to learn how to manage tasks. Even if it comes naturally it still takes diligence and practice to get down. To be a good teacher you have to be the embodiment of what project management is all about; relaxation and perseverance.

What To Teach

When teaching someone how to manage tasks you should start them off with the easiest and most basic project management model known as the waterfall model. It is often common for teachers well versed in the waterfall model to have forgotten the steps and not have a clear method of explanation for how to perform the waterfall model. Watch me and do what I do teaching is not going to work well when teaching project management. The following steps and directions will lead you on the fast track to teaching your student how to manage tasks in the waterfall model in no time.

Step One

You want to make sure your student is in a comfortable setting before you begin instruction. Have him or her put two tasks on the ground and hold only one task in their hand. Be sure to stress the importance of assigning and completing tasks properly, which are the only techniques you need in order to master the waterfall model. To begin have your student hold his or her hands out in front of him or her with their palms facing up. Have your student lower their hand with the task in it to their side before he or she assigns the task. Teach your student to assign the task up and just a little bit across to their other hand moving only their elbow. A common beginner’s mistake most students will make is to flick their wrist when assigning; this will throw them off and make it harder for them to assign the task the same way consistently. Teach him or her to assign the task to around the top of their head. Be sure to teach your student not to reach up to complete the task. Do not worry about your student completing the task as much as assigning it correctly. Completing will come naturally with practice, good assignments are vital when someone is first beginning to manage tasks. Continue to have him or her practice assigning the task to the same height while keeping their hands level. Once this motion is easy for your student to accomplish you can begin move on to step two.

Step Two

Now your student is ready to begin assigning two tasks. Have him or her pick up another task and hold one task in each hand. Have him or her assign one task up like he or she originally practiced with one task. Just as the first task begins coming back down have your student assign the other task up into the air. Make sure he or she completes the first task and then completes the second task and stops. Make your student take a pause and a breath after each complete. Keeping him or her relaxed is one of the most important parts of teaching someone to manage tasks. It is easy for students to get carried away which leads to mistakes and more drops. Do not let your student assign one task up into the air and then hand the other task over to their empty hand. This is the most common mistake made by beginners. It is not project management and will not help your student learn how to manage tasks at all. Get your student to alternate starting hands in order to get efficient with both. Once he or she can manage two tasks easily your student is ready to attempt the final step.

The Pay Off

This is what your student has been waiting and practicing for, three tasks. Have him or her hold two tasks in one hand and one task in the other. Make sure your student understand to always start with the hand that has two tasks in it. When the first task your student assigns up starts to fall have him or her assign the second task and then when the second task starts to fall have him or her assign the third. Get him or her to complete all three tasks and stop.

Congratulations! You just taught someone how to manage tasks! Tell them to keep practicing and your student will be ready to move on to harder models in no time. Before long he or she may even start managing other models. Remember, it takes patience and perseverance to teach project management properly.