Project Management - an Under-Rated Banking Skill

There are many benefits to coaching widely within the same industry, and one is that I get to see patterns emerge about what is or is not working in a system. Lately the pattern I have been seeing is the meaningful differentiation from the bankers who are good at project management, and those who have not invested the time.

Picture a funnel where the work enters the system from the client and/or Relationship Manager and then every level down is a check point as the work gets organized and distributed. The better each level is at understanding, asking questions and organizing the work, the exponentially greater the efficiency, productivity and quality of work produced.

Seem obvious, right? But most bankers aren’t doing this as well as they could. Not because they are incompetent - it’s because things move fast and it takes discipline to stop and think.

I believe that the more bankers think of themselves as project managers, the more productive and efficient their teams will be.

When speaking with one of the juniors who was at the bottom of this pile of inefficiently delegated work, I had an analogy come to mind that made the situation very clear for me and him. Stick with me on this one as I may lose you with my opening line.

From my university summers waitressing I know that as a waiter, you need to deftly manage your diners (who will blame you if the kitchen screws up) and the kitchen staff (who will be scrambling and hate you if you promise what cannot be delivered).

In my analogy, the execution leader/mid-level banker is the waiter. The clients/RMs are at the front of the house demanding the world and the juniors are back in the kitchen, scarcely staffed and at the mercy of the orders coming in. Being in the middle is not easy.

So, let me speak directly to my waiters/execution leads. Your job is to triage, ask questions and negotiate for what is possible, taking in to account your clear understanding of the kitchen’s capability and capacity. Time and again, I see this breaking down into an over-promise and under-deliver scenario.

I had a Director level client who was an outlier in her phenomenal project management skills.  Her partners, clients and juniors love her. The number one thing they told me about her is she is ORGANIZED. When a new piece of work comes in she holds a team meeting and lays out the context, the plan and the desired outcome. She puts in the time up front. She then stays close as the work is conducted so everyone is aware of changes and there is minimal wasted effort. There is no broken telephone which can sometimes lead to days or weeks going down a wrong path.

Every banker needs to take the project management skillset seriously. Start with your next file. Make a deliberate effort to invest the up-front time and then enjoy a much more streamlined process.