June has brought some lovely, colourful blooms to my garden. After a hard day managing IT Projects, they lift your soul and your mood!!
Alongside them are some early shoots that, if all goes well, will become vegetables by the end of summer. Some growth is already visible; some is still beneath the surface, hopefully quietly growing toward something more.
You see, earlier this year, I started a second attempt at gardening.
I had some pots and seed packets from a previous try (that never quite took off) and this time, I was determined to do it properly.
I picked up some fresh potting soil and bags of compost, took time to choose which seeds to plant, and committed to caring for whatever I grew.
When choosing what to plant, I found myself favouring pretty over practical! Vegetables promised “returned value” but were, I’d read, more demanding. Flowers, on the other hand, seemed easier … and I liked the idea of supporting the local bee population. So, I planted the flowers.
And then, a few weeks later, being a project manager, I couldn’t resist the ROI of some lovely spuds, so I planted the vegetables too!!!
Each morning, I watered the plants, unless it was raining, which I’d happily concluded was mother nature lending a hand. I delegated the evening watering to the kids but when, day after day, nothing had broken through the surface, they told me it was boooorrrrrring and the wanted to pack it in!! To be fair, we’ve all had IT projects like this!
Weeks passed … still, we (or usually I) I watered with nothing to show!
Then, suddenly – signs of life!!! Small green shoots started to appear in the flower pots!
Meanwhile, where I’d planted the veg … still nothing.
I asked the old chap in our street (the one with the four greenhouses and always a bag of mint imperials) for advice. This was transformational!!!! A change of fertiliser (and a few other adaptations) later – vegetables also started to poke through!!
It’s funny, I started the gardening to give me an oasis of calm away from the stresses of IT project management, only to find similar challenges lay in the soil!!!
That balance between what’s blossomed, and what’s becoming is so like life as an IT Project Leader! Much like gardening, what we do is about patience, consistency, trusting that what you nurture today will yield results tomorrow, and asking for guidance when you need it.
6 SEEDS OF WISDOM FOR IT PROJECT LEADERS
1 – CONSISTENCY BEATS URGENCY
You can’t rush a seed to grow but you can kill it by neglect. Likewise, progress in large-scale IT programmes often happens behind the scenes before it becomes visible. Daily discipline moves the work forward. Delivering value is about steady momentum, not constant velocity.
The most critical work in any project often happens before anyone notices. Stakeholder alignment, backlog refinement, risk planning — these don’t make prize winning projects bloom overnight, but they do prevent projects from withering on the vine later.
2 – ALWAYS HAVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE FOR THE JOB
I’d imagined coming home from work to see my kids busily tending the plants, as delegated. More often than not though, they would be indoors holding a screen in their hands rather than outside emptying a watering can!
After days of zero results, the kids got bored!
While I hope that no-one ever gets so bored that they don’t turn up to work on your IT projects, it IS easy to allocate the wrong tasks to the wrong people. Especially when you don’t have the right talent sitting on your bench.
Project Management as a Service (PMaaS) is a fertile and flexible, cost-effective way to source IT project management expertise without having to weed through the overheads of permanent hires or contractors.
Come to think of it, I wish Weeding as a Service (WaaS) was a thing!!!
3 – PRIORTISE WITH PURPOSE
Me choosing between flowers and vegetables mirrored a common challenge in IT leadership: Prioritise the impressive quick win, or the more complex, valuable long-term goal. If I’m honest, I REALLY wanted vegetables, but I got anxious and “bottled” it at first
I focussed a little too much on the flowers to compensate and neglected the veg!!
It wasn’t until I had the humility to fess up that I’m no Alan Titchmarsh, took advantage of a fresh pair of eyes, that I was able to prioritise what I really wanted and that lovely veg started to grow.
I love the pretty flowers but the lettuce that I have grown is heavenly!!!!
4 – NOT EVERY POT WILL GROW THE SAME
In gardening, some seeds sprout quickly, others take longer, and a few never break the surface. No two projects are the same. Like I did with the veg, it’s a mistake to apply a one-size-fits-all model across your portfolio. Adjust your approach accordingly!
Some projects need patience. Some projects need a little pruning.
5 – YOU CAN’T DELEGATE ALL OF THE WATERING
While project tools, templates, methodologies, effective delegation and resource allocation help, the real progress OFTEN comes from hands-on leadership. Stakeholders and colleagues respond to your presence, consistency, and engagement, AND so do plants!!
Be visible. Be invested. Projects thrive when leaders really show up – not just check in.
6 – ASK FOR HELP WHEN YOU NEED IT
Whether it’s IT advisory or Project Management as a Service (PMaaS), Stoneseed can attest to the value of not trying to tough it out yourself.
Soon, I’ll have delicious potatoes after switching to a fertiliser “with high levels of potassium and phosphorus, and a moderate dash amount of nitrogen” – who knew?!
The thing is, there’s always someone who has more experience with the kind of mission you’ve embarked on – let them help you with your spade work!! Even better when they have mint imperials!
CONCLUSION: LONG-TERM SUCCESS IS CULTIVATED BY HAND (NOT HOPE)
My flowers are a glorious, multi-coloured delight that take my breath away, and one day, very soon, there’ll be veggies ready for harvest!! The outcome depends on what we plant … and how consistently we care for it.
Whether it’s in the garden or in IT project delivery, success never comes overnight.
It takes patience, care, and a commitment to keep nurturing your work … especially when progress isn’t immediately obvious … and it’s OK to ask for help!
As you manage your IT projects, remember to keep “watering the seeds” you’ve planted. Even when the growth feels slow or invisible, with the right mindset and steady care, those seeds will grow into something truly rewarding…
… and if you need a helping hand … Stoneseed is like the wise experienced gardener down the road, just without the mint imperials!! With Project Management as a Service (PMaaS), Business Analysis as a Service (BAaaS), PMO as a Service ( PMOaaS) and Technical Advisory Service on demand – we are here to help your projects bloom!
More about Project Management as a Service from Stoneseed