As a Program Manager, my daily routine is a delicate dance between reacting to immediate needs and proactively driving long-term initiatives. In this blog post, I’ll take you through how I divide my day into two distinct parts – reactive and proactive – to ensure effective management of projects and teams.
Reactive Responsibilities: The reactive part of my day involves addressing immediate needs that come through various channels such as emails, Slack, and team notifications. Here’s a glimpse of what it entails:
- Email and Slack Management:
- Reading and responding to emails and Slack messages promptly to stay informed and keep communication flowing.
- Meetings:
- Attending emergency meetings and re-prioritizing my schedule based on the day’s meetings.
- Meeting Preparations:
- Starting the day by reviewing upcoming meetings and adjusting priorities as needed.
Proactive Responsibilities: The proactive part of my day is dedicated to actively engaging with different teams and driving the progress of various initiatives. Here’s how I manage my proactive responsibilities:
- Team Check-Ins:
- Connecting with different teams to get updates on various aspects of ongoing projects.
- Collaboration with Product Managers:
- Discussing the status of PRFAQs (Product Requirement Frequently Asked Questions) and PRDs (Product Requirement Documents) with Product Managers.
- Engagement with Business, Legal, and Finance Teams:
- Collaborating with business, legal, and finance teams on initiative approvals, third-party integrations, and vendor agreements.
- Design Team Collaboration:
- Coordinating with the design team to ensure the completion of design work for specific initiatives.
- Engaging with Cross-Functional Engineering Teams:
- Working closely with engineering teams on design, development, and quality assurance.
- Interaction with Analytics & Data Science Team:
- Touching base with the analytics and data science team to gather insights and updates.
- Communication with Go-to-Market Team:
- Collaborating with the go-to-market team on collaterals for upcoming product launches.
Meetings : This proactive work is often conducted through various meetings, including stand-up meetings, Scrum of Scrum meetings, and 1:1 meetings. Additionally, I attend program meetings with stakeholders from product management, engineering, legal, finance, and business teams.
Proactive Updates : Presenting proactive updates, whether good or bad news, is crucial for maintaining transparency.
Documentation: A significant part of my proactive responsibilities involves documenting various aspects of the program, including status updates, program plans, resource loading Gantt charts, roadmaps, and more. This documentation helps keep everyone on the same page and provides a clear roadmap for the team and stakeholders.
Conclusion: In the dynamic role of a Program Manager, balancing reactive and proactive responsibilities is key to ensuring the success of ongoing projects and the long-term health of the program. By dividing my day into these two components, I can address immediate needs while actively driving the progress of strategic initiatives.