The Sith
Lord Darth Vader, of Star Wars fame, often gets a bad rap, particularly in what
we all think of as his ‘dark years.’
From a
certain perspective his mass murder, brutal oppression, and frequent deception
to serve his own ends makes him seem like a pretty bad guy. But if you look
past all that to his action, you will find a very capable and effective project
manager.
In the name
of finding silver linings in dark clouds, I’d like to present the top 10
reasons why Darth Vader was an amazing project manager.
Number 10:
Vader prioritized brutally. Over the course of Vader’s pursuit of the Rebel
Alliance, you see him set and pursue priorities according to their strategic
value. When he knew the plans for the Death Star had been leaked, he focused on
mitigating that risk. When Luke came on the scene, he shifted priorities to
recruit him to the Dark Side! Vader paid close attention to the happenings of
the galaxy, evaluated the impacts of any given issue, and went after the
highest priorities…time after time. No emotional attachments, no personal
agendas…just the right thing to do to preserve the Imperium, and see his
project through to successful completion. In project management, if you can’t
prioritize, you won’t get anything done, let alone anything done well.
Number 9:
Vader made decisions based on objective data, not whims. Remember that Imperial
officer who had to report to Vader that they had lost Han Solo in the asteroid
field, and he choked him? That was some decisive action! Vader consistently
evaluated the performance of his team, and made changes to fix problems when
the team didn’t perform. Sure, there may have been some fear and terror, but
put all that aside. The inclination to objectively evaluate the performance of
your team and not accept substandard performance is an important one. Project
teams needs to feel safe and supported, but they also need to know that the project
goals need to get met, and if you aren’t delivering on your commitments,
changes need to get made. Thank you, Vader, for making tough choices to
accomplish your goals!
Number 8:
Vader made commitments, and worked hard to keep them. If you think of the
Galactic Empire as something of a SCRUM project, the Emperor would have to be
playing the Product Owner role. Of course, in SCRUM/Agile, the team makes
commitments to achieve predefined goals over the course of any given sprint or
iteration. Darth did this with the Emperor many times, and he worked REAL hard
to make sure those commitments were met. I mean, how did he manage to get that
second Death Star operational so quickly anyway? Hard work, that’s how. Vader
understood the importance of commitments, and more importantly, the
significance of fulfilling them. Trust in teams is built on commitments.
Number 7:
Vader took time to re-charge, relax, and get some perspective. Projects and the
achievement of project goals can often feel like super-high stakes. Everyone on
the team is motivated to solve the problem, and get to done. Conflict is
inevitable in that kind of environment, and a good project manager needs to get
in there and confront those issues head-on. Of course, this can be exhausting,
emotionally and intellectually. Vader understood this, and was careful to take
time out of his busy project schedule to relax, meditate, and give himself room
to gain some perspective about what was really important. Remember that awesome
rehab egg thing he had in his quarters? Good project managers care, and they
need to express that care, but they also need to maintain objectivity, which
means they need to give themselves the time and space to regain perspective.
Number 6:
Vader managed risk and expectations…pre-emptively. Remember that time when
Darth Vader went to Cloud City, bought off the management, then lured Han,
Leia, and Chewbacca into a trap? Genius. The amount of planning and forethought
that went in to that little exercise must have been epic. After some serious
prioritizations, Vader perceived the highest risk to his Galaxy, and made a
plan to mitigate the risk stat! Additionally, you saw him having conversations
with team members all over the place making sure they understood clearly what
his expectations were with regards to the achievement of goals. Good project
managers think about their projects defensively, and act to protect them
aggressively.
Number 5:
Such a persuasive fellow. Of all Vader’s substantial capabilities, perhaps his
most effective one was his ability to persuade people to do what he needed
done. With the exception of his own kids (in his defense, have you ever tried
to get your kids to do something?), he did a pretty great job of getting people
to cooperate (whether through fear, obligation, or The Force!). The Imperium
was so enormous, so full of complexities…it must have been a serious challenge
to navigate that and convince people that his vision of the project was one
that they could all get behind.
Number 4:
Vader picked a methodology and stuck with it…until it didn’t work. In keeping
with the commitment to objectivity in performance, Vader picked his methodology
of fear, manipulation, and aggression, and stuck with it, until it was clear
that the methodology was not working anymore. Everyone knows that Vader
betrayed his Emperor to save Luke from certain death upon Luke’s refusal to
join the team in a certain role. Vader saw that his previous methods of fear
and intimidation didn’t seem to work with Luke, or any of the rebels any
longer. Boom! Change of tactics to get the job done.
Number 3:
No problem is too big to tackle. Sure, Vader had an enormous skepticism that
served him well in managing risk. All good project managers need that ability.
But good project managers also have to be optimistic enough to push through
tough challenges and look for solutions, however improbable their success. The
point at which the Rebels had slipped off the imperial radar screen, and holed
up on Hoth…Vader was feeling pretty lost at that point, you know? Where the
devil had those pesky rebels gone off to? How the bantha poodoo was Vader going
to find them in the enormity of the galaxy? What is that? Send out thousands of
spy droids to random planets and see what turns up? Low probability of success,
but still better than zero? Done! Vader’s optimism and confidence in his team’s
ability to overcome all obstacles is an excellent lesson in persistence.
Number 2:
It is never too late to do the right thing. Everyone is presented with choices
that have questionable moral consequences. The right thing is almost always
something to be wrestled with. One of the most profound moments in Vader’s
career came when he took responsibility for all the morally wrong things he
did, and did the right thing. He never thought it could atone, but he did the
right thing anyway. Project managers will make thousands of choices in the
course of a project…some of which may be of questionable moral fiber including
the omissions of details, avoided conversations, hidden pieces of data all to
paint a better picture of the project. Good project managers will take the time
to reflect on their choices, and re-make the choices they don’t feel good about.
The right thing is crucial to trust on a team, even if the right thing is a
hard thing.
Number 1:
Vader was never afraid of getting his hands dirty. Every project will have
boundaries drawn around the responsibilities of specific roles being played,
and Vader knew his own role in the imperial project. But he never asked anyone
to do anything that he wasn’t willing to do himself, and he made sure he had a
clear understanding and appreciation for the hard things that his team had to
execute on. This, I think, is what made Vader better than just good. No detail
was overlooked. He didn’t micro-manage, necessarily. He got involved in the
work of the project, and his team followed him because they knew he understood
and was invested in the project’s success! Whether he was force-choking a
non-performing admiral, or flying a tie-fighter, he contributed to the team’s
success anyway he could.
