Driving Success: A Conversation with Program Manager, Michelle Mancil
Join Michelle as she shares the roles & responsibilities of her position and the keys to success in program management. With a proven track record of supporting project and construction managers to ensure the smooth implementation of proper procedures throughout project lifecycles, she is a valuable asset to our team!
Michelle discusses both the rewards and obstacles encountered alongside her team. From her initial role as a coordinator in the corporate office, she shares her journey of advancement within DSW Homes.
Read the transcript below:
WHAT ARE THE ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES OF A PROGRAM MANAGER?
Michelle: So the roles and responsibilities of a program manager, it's, it's basically managing a program that sounds silly, but you've got, you've got a lot of moving parts, you've got things that are happening as far as receiving assignments from the program, communicating with the program, managing coordinators and pre construction. Guys and girls in the office, managing the project managers that are in the field, working every day hands on on the projects that we currently have under construction, assisting assisting them with their their issues, day to day, assisting our contractors with any issues that they're having, you know, mediation, you name it, it's it's a, it's a, it's pretty big. So got a lot of roles and responsibility.
HOW DO YOU SUPPORT PROJECT & CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS TO ENSURE SMOOTH IMPLEMENTATION OF DSW’S PROVEN PROCESSES?
Michelle: Well, it's really important that I understand the processes. And as a program manager, it's really important that you understand the processes on the front end of receiving jobs, and then all the way from receiving the job to bring the job into construction to getting the job completed. And so that's important so that everybody on your team can come to you and asking questions, and you can help them work through issues. And you can sit down and draw the process out for them and show them the easy way from point A to Z, instead of them having to guess the entire, the entire way.
WHAT IS THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF SUCCESSFULLY MANAGING AND COORDINATING A TEAM?
Michelle: Understanding the people that are on your team, is what I would say, I think it's really important. And I have learned a lot in this role, where I have figured out that you can't manage everyone the same way, not everybody is going to respond to challenges. In the same way, not everybody is going to comprehend the processes that you're trying to get them to understand the same way. So getting to know the people on your team and investing time in them, and helping them learn and, and communicating with them and allowing an open door for them to come and communicate back to you. I felt like it was really important to be successful.
HOW DO YOU STAY DILIGENT AND ON TOP OF VARIOUS RESPONSIBILITIES?
Michelle: It's difficult sometimes to manage all of that. But it's if you're if you're organized. And again, if you have a good team that you can divvy out tasks to that you can rely on to assist you when your load is heavy. And the same way when their load is heavy, we sit down and we come up with a battle plan on how to get through the things that that are important right now. And then then you can kind of just schedule and get things get things going and get things taken care of.
WHAT WAS YOUR PATHWAY TO BECOMING A PROGRAM MANAGER?
Michelle: So I actually started a DSW as a coordinator in the corporate office, and I took opportunities to to learn from the people that were over me, the people who were my supervisors at the time. And I've just I asked a lot of questions. And and I was fortunate to be involved in some programs, right from initiation, and learn multiple facets of, of the business and of the process. And I was able to just take some steps and walk through some doors that got me to where I am right now.
HOW DO YOU APPLY THE THEME, “CHOOSE YOUR HARD,” INTO YOUR WORK?
Michelle: So choose your hard, we talk about this in our office almost weekly. Because this is not an easy job. It's a demanding job. It's a stressful job at times. But it depends on the mindset that you approach it with, you know, the house that I'm standing in front of, we have our program final on this house tomorrow, and we will find all the house at 37 days. One of the standards of excellence with DSW is to build a house in 60 days or less. But I've implemented the standard in our office that we will schedule every house in 30 days. So and I've explained to the guys on my team, you can do it both ways. Both ways are acceptable, but it's hard both ways too. And I feel like it's so much more personally rewarding. If you choose the other side of the coin, and you don't it doesn't get get drugged out and long, like made longer. because you've, you're also celebrating another success when you do finish that 30 Day house or you finished your second or your third 30 Day House, and you're able to move on to the next one. So you're able to complete so much more. And it's so hard either way, but I feel like you can celebrate that success in such a different way if you're exceeding the expectations.
