Project manager volunteers to demonstrate new software to his entire team, ends up getting everything wrong: '[I was] wrong about literally every single thing'

This employee thought he knew exactly what he was doing. Unfortunately, he found out in real time that he was completely in over his head.

We have all likely found ourselves in situations where we were just a bit out of our depth. As such, it's hard not to empathize with this project manager's predicament. He learned of a new software platform that his company was using and thought he was well-equipped to lead training sessions for the entire team. That's because he had accidentally confused the new platform with one he had used at a previous company. 

Despite the fact that the logos and purposes of these software platforms were similar, there was absolutely no overlap in terms of how to use them. However, by the time he figured out that he had made a grave mistake, it was too late for the project manager to salvage.

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  • A project manager leads a presentation in a team meeting.
    via Unsplash+ (Pablo Merchán Montes)

    A project manager leads a presentation in a team meeting.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • [Today I messed up] by confidently explaining to my entire team how a software tool works and being wrong about literally every single thing

    NOTE: this happened yesterday and the secondhand embarrassment i am still feeling is physical. if this saves even one of you from doing the same thing, my suffering was worth it.
    via MaujoraX
  • I am a project manager. I have been doing this for about six years. I am generally the person in the room who knows how things work.
    via MaujoraX
  • A project manager leads a presentation in a team meeting.
    via Unsplash+ (Pablo Merchán Montes)

    A project manager leads a presentation in a team meeting.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • We recently switched to a new project management platform. I had used a very similar tool at my last job, and when it was announced i told my manager i
    via MaujoraX
  • was already familiar with it and could help onboard the rest of the team. She said great and asked me to run a thirty minute walkthrough session.
    via MaujoraX
  • A project manager reviews a software platform with a team member on the laptop.
    via Unsplash+ (Pablo Merchán Montes)

    A project manager reviews a software platform with a team member on the laptop.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • I did not do a trial run first. I want you to understand that. I just assumed. The session starts. Twelve people on the call. I share my screen and begin explaining the workflow. I
    via MaujoraX
  • am confident. I am using phrases like "what you'll find is" and "the nice thing about this one is." I am pointing at things and explaining what they do.
    via MaujoraX
  • A project manager reviews a software platform with a team member on the laptop in a startup environment.
    via Unsplash+ (Pablo Merchán Montes)

    A project manager reviews a software platform with a team member on the laptop in a startup environment.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • This story goes out to all the employees out there who have accidentally eaten their words in the middle of a company meeting. Every so often, we think we know what we're talking about, only to realize that our confidence really did get the better of us. When this happens, you have two main options. The first is to come clean and acknowledge that you were mistaken. Unfortunately, depending on who you are meeting with, this could make you look incompetent. However, it could also make you look honest. After all, it's a sign of bravery to admit when you're wrong about something.

    As for the other option, well, you could try to “fake it till you make it," but this, too, can lead to middling results. Sometimes, things are just a bit too complicated for improvisation, and it can become deeply obvious when you try to make it seem like you're an expert when you most certainly are not. It seems like the project manager chose the latter of the two options, and I guess we'll have to see how things shake out for him.

  • The nice thing about that one was not what i said it was. About ten minutes in, one of the junior coordinators on my team, a very quiet guy who never speaks
    via MaujoraX
  • up in meetings, unmutes and says "sorry, i've been playing around with it this morning and i think that button does something
    via MaujoraX
  • different." I said "no, it's counterintuitive but it actually does X" in the tone of someone who has definitely used this software before.
    via MaujoraX
  • It did not do X. He was right. I had never actually used this specific platform. I had used a different one with a similar logo.
    via MaujoraX
  • The entire workflow i had been explaining for fifteen minutes was for a tool we do not use and have never used.
    via MaujoraX
  • I spent the remaining fifteen minutes of the session basically discovering the actual software live on screen in front of my whole team while quietly dismantling everything i had just said.
    via MaujoraX
  • My manager emailed me afterward to say "thanks for getting the team familiar with the interface!" I cannot tell if she knows.
    via MaujoraX
  • TL:DR Volunteered to train my team on a new software tool, confused it with a different one, spent thirty minutes confidently explaining a platform we do not
    via MaujoraX
  • use to twelve people, was corrected by the quietest person on the team, had to learn the actual tool live on screen in real time.
    via MaujoraX

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