Program Leader

In a startup the head of engineering typically does both the engineering management and all the cross functional group coordination. As the company grows there reaches a point where the planning, tracking and reporting role becomes too large to fit into the VP or director’s spare cycles; in some cases this responsibility is handed off to the product manager or engineering manager working on the project. Sometimes, when the number of concurrent projects has risen, it makes sense to create a position that focuses full-time on cross functional planning, coordination, tracking and communicating project status.

There’s a natural reluctance to spend money on a role which COULD be the first step in converting a fast moving startup into a bureaucratic process-heavy company. The key to avoiding such a fate is to assure that the program manager hired is one who not only has the appropriate technical experience but also is an action-oriented individual.

The right person for this role will lead the program team to success NOT just coordinate the related activities. Rather than being content to report on how the project is going he or she must be inspired to influence the work of the team.

The program manager needs to get to know the representatives of the various functional groups and to understand their challenges, brokering deals, influencing the team to be productive and creating a common vision, making people WANT to excel in the execution of their piece of the action. Maybe this role should really be known as “program leader…”