Project Management as defined by PMBOK “is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements”. At the heart of project management is the Project Manager (PM) who is responsible for…well everything. Specifically PMBOK tells us that the PM “is the person responsible for accomplishing the project objectives”, and one of those objectives is the professional responsibility to properly communicate to the stakeholders, customers, organization and the public.

But what if the stakeholders, customers, organization and the public don’t care? What if their perception of the project objectives are either so completely skewed, misdirected or completely different from yours that they tend to completely ignore the project, project team, and even the project manager. We have all been there. The disinterested stakeholder, director, manager, or team lead. The promise of support at the project meeting, while they quietly strip away your project team behind your back, the constant battle for funding, the changing of priorities, timeframes, and even projects.

The project team and more specifically the Project Manager must endure all of this and at the same time be accountable for managing the project to completion. But why! Why can’t the PM take the same approach, why not let the weekly report slip a week, or two, or even more. Why worry about updating the Project Server, or managing time or doing any of the things that PMBOK tells us is the correct thing to do? After all why is it essential for the PM to distribute information, report performance or communicate to the stakeholders when they themselves don’t care?

The answer is simple. Though it could be defined by our adherence to the PMBOK’s standard, or PMI’s “Code of Ethics” or even the “Code of Professional Conduct” the reality is that most of us met and exceeded these standards long before we became PMP certified. The answer is as a Project Manager we knew the difficulties that we would face, we knew the aggravation that was in store for us with each project, we knew and accepted that everyday would be a challenge, and yet everyday we face that challenge willingly. So what does this all add up to, it’s simple the question “Who Manages the Project Manager” is the Project Manager themselves, because their internal standards won’t allow them to not complete the report, not forward the communication, and not “no matter the difficulties” finish the Project…