Is a Project Manager or Project Leader a type of storyteller?

By Sandra Hirschberg

Attribution: <a href="https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos/storybook">Storybook Stock photos by Vecteezy</a>

In creative writing “reverse storytelling” is a technique where a story is told backwards, revealing earlier events in reverse order, to show how the conclusion was reached (think the movie Memento or the Usual Suspects).

I’ve long thought of a Project Manager or Project Leader as a reverse storyteller. I visualise my project as a story or collection of stories, always keeping the prize in mind (such as bringing a much-needed new treatment to patients). In drug development we use “stories” in other ways also, such as in the context of a patient’s experience, the narrative of a molecule’s journey from research to final approval and storyboards for developing strategy and preparing for regulatory submission.

Stories are important for us humans: we’ve been telling stories around the camp fire since our species started walking upright. They’re fundamental for connection, making sense of the world, building communities, passing on skills, inspiring action and cultivating empathy. A project can be a narrative about people and events with an interesting plot (but hopefully not too “interesting”!). Thinking of the project as a story, shifts the endeavour from something abstract and formulaic to one that encompasses genuine collaboration and empathy. It brings the human side, from team members to patients, to the forefront of every task.

The goal of project management is obviously not to increase mystery and suspense, but when planning and strategising effectively it’s important to keep the end of the story (our goal) in mind. This means that once the ultimate goal and the reason for it is clear, planning can be done in reverse to include all the tasks and activities needed to make it happen. If the goal needs to happen by a certain date, reverse planning means that we know well in advance if creative solutions are needed to complete those tasks, especially if on first glance they seem difficult or impossible. 

Project managers leading a project team using either agile or waterfall, or something in between, are always storytellers regardless of the methodology being used. In the waterfall approach projects have a well-defined scope from the start and are managed linearly and sequentially from the outset. In agile methodology, delivery is in small increments, adapting to changes throughout the project and is typically used when detailed requirements are initially uncertain and a rapid course-correcting feedback loop is needed. In an agile project, not every detail of the story will be well defined in advance, but the main plotlines will be there to guide us and the conclusion still needs to be kept in mind to keep the project on course.

Does a successful project deliver “happy ever after”? Projects, like life itself, have ups and downs, surprises and sometimes conflicts. An effective project manager and project leader, through their “reverse storytelling” will have both prepared the team for untoward events (risk management), steered them through adversity (issues management) and guided them towards learning what went well and what didn’t so they can continue to improve (lessons learned). Insofar as “happy ever after” means a positive conclusion, an effective project manager will keep the successful outcome of the project and the happy stakeholders front of mind through every page turn.  So gather round and make yourself comfortable and we will begin……

Sandra Hirschberg PhD