Project success requires accountability + authority. Empower your PMs.
Let’s say, you hired a seasoned jet pilot, but instead of letting them fly the plane, you constantly pull them out of the cockpit to pass out snacks to the passengers.
Ridiculous, right?
Yet that’s exactly what happens in many organizations when they hire a project manager.
You seat them in the cockpit, then:
- Dictate the flight path from the passenger lounge,
- Hand the throttle to someone in accounting,
- And reroute midair without even telling the person flying the plane.
You ask for leadership but strip away authority. You demand accountability but keep the budget locked in a drawer. And you expect flawless delivery while operational leaders make decisions that affect the project behind closed conference room doors.
Then you wonder why the plane veered off the runway during landing.
What You Said You Wanted vs. What You’re Actually Using
Let’s talk about the gap between what project managers are trained to do… and what many organizations actually allow them do.
According to PMI (Project Management Institute), PMI-certified project managers (PMPs) are trained to lead strategy execution, not just play status traffic cop. They understand how to align work with business objectives, manage competing stakeholder needs, lead teams through ambiguity, mitigate risk, and drive measurable outcomes.
They’re not just there to “make it go.”
They’re there to help you make it go better.
But in far too many environments, here’s what happens instead:
- They are asked to run meetings… but the key stakeholder doesn’t show up to weigh in, support, or provide corporate direction.
- They collect status updates… but aren’t told about key decisions that changed the status.
- They track the budget… but the actual budget owners only inform them about spending after the money’s gone.
- They manage the schedule… but aren’t consulted when the scope changes (again).
- They flag a risk… and it’s dismissed until it becomes a fire.
C’mon now. If your VP of Ops was treated this way, they’d walk out or escalate to the board.
But for many project managers, it’s just another Tuesday.
So, How Do You Empower a Project Manager?
Empowering a project manager doesn’t mean giving them Jira or Asana and disappearing.
It means clearing the runway so they can actually do the job you hired them to do.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
✅ Involve Them Early
Bring them in before the kick-off. Let them pressure-test the scope, timeline, and resources before promises are made to clients or leadership. PMs can help prevent overcommitment if they are included early enough to say, “Yeah, that’s not gonna fly”.
✅ Give Them Authority – Not Just Responsibility
If your PM needs three layers of approvals to escalate a blocker, you’re setting the project up to stall. Give them direct access to the people with the power to say yes, no, or “not yet.”
✅ Give them authority – not just responsibility
How reasonable is it to ask someone to deliver outcomes and then tie their hands? If you expect accountability, match it with authority to manage change, negotiate scope, and influence execution.
✅ Loop Them Into Budget and Scope Changes
They don’t have to own the budget necessarily, but they need visibility into what’s being spent, shifted, or cut. Ditto for scope. If it’s going to change the deliverables or deadlines, they need to know before it happens.
Imagine this: your PM walks into a stakeholder update meeting, only to learn, in real-time, that the contract was renegotiated last week, slashing half the deliverables. She’s left fielding questions she never saw coming, and suddenly the PM looks unprepared. She isn’t. She’s just been left in the dark.
✅ Back Them Up in Front of the Team
When a PM sets boundaries or adjusts expectations, make sure they’re not hung out to dry. Leadership support signals that this role has teeth and isn’t just there to schedule meetings and deliver bad news.
✅ Treat Them Like a Peer, Not a Processor
According to PMI’s Pulse of the Profession report, organizations that undervalue project management experience more waste, missed goals, and talent churn. A PMP is trained to manage complexity, lead through uncertainty, and drive results across teams. When you undervalue them, you’re not just misusing talent, you’re undermining your own project.
Gut Check: Is Your PM Babysitting or Leading?
Here’s a quick diagnostic. If your PM…
- Doesn’t know the real business outcome of the project
- Has no visibility into the budget or contract terms
- Needs three reminders to get someone to respond to their email
…they’re not empowered. They’re babysitting.
You’re not just wasting their skills. You’re burning time, morale, and money.
Empowered Project Managers Build Better Projects (and Stronger Organizations)
Here’s the thing: most PMs don’t want more control just for the sake of power.
They want clarity. Access. The ability to make things better.
If you’re hiring project managers with real talent (and we hope you are), give them space to use their judgment.
- Invite them to the strategy table early.
- Let them weigh in on strategy.
- And when they raise a red flag, take the call seriously.
Because empowered PMs don’t just hit deadlines, they spot the risks you never saw coming, build cohesion across teams, and carry the load that would otherwise fall squarely on your shoulders.
Final Thought: Want to Know How You’re Really Doing?
Ask yourself honestly:
- Does your organization involve your PMs in decisions before the wheels are already in motion?
- Does your project manager have access to the people, information, and resources they need?
- Are project managers in your organization treated like strategic partners or status-report generators?
Better yet, ask them:
“Do you feel empowered to impact the success of the projects you’re leading?”
If the answer isn’t a clear “yes,” that’s not just a missed opportunity, it’s a flashing red light on your organizational dashboard.
Empowered PMs deliver better projects.
Empowered PMs stick around.
And empowered PMs just might be your company’s superpower – if you let them.
