The answer is one…

The funny thing about writing about project management is that just when you believe your creative well has run dry, an idea for another piece emerges. I wrote my last article in June 2025 and was content to let that be the last piece I wrote about project management. I’ve been retired since December 2024 and aside from keeping an eye on the occasional online community discussion I had purposely removed myself from sources of inspiration about the profession.

To quote Michael Corleone from The Godfather Part III “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in“.

A question was raised in one of the communities I follow asking what the ideal number of projects is per project manager. This question crops up once or so each year and each time I have given the usual answer that it depends on context.

In most cases, once the individual thinks through all the variables which could affect this measure they are content. In this instance, that was not the case as the questioner insisted on finding research or studies focusing on this question. I am quite sure that some one in the PM research field has looked into this but I question the applicable value of any possible derived answer to a real-life situation.

Even if we isolate the relative complexity, domain, and ways of working for the project type there are still many questions which need to be answered including:

1. How light or heavy are the organization’s standards for project management? The heavier the administrative burden, the fewer the projects which could be concurrently managed.
2. How supportive is the “system” within which the project is being managed? The less supportive, the greater the burden on the project manager.
3. Are the concurrent projects all in the same delivery stage or are they staggered? For example, if a particular type of project is being delivered following a predictive life cycle and all the projects are in the same stage, a project manager might have difficulty juggling multiple projects when each is in the midst of detailed planning activities.
4. What else is the project manager expected to do? If they are just focused on managing projects, things might be simpler than if they are playing other project or operational roles which is often the case in functional or weak matrix contexts.

One could also ask the question, ideal for whom? But that question does give me a valid answer I can provide if someone is not content with “Context counts”. For the project manager and their client, one.

(If you liked this article, why not read my book Easy in Theory, Difficult in Practice which contains 100 lessons on project leadership? It’s available on Amazon.com and on Amazon.ca as well as a number of other online book stores).

Leading Through Crisis Means Leading Through Context

I just finished reading Conquering Crisis: Ten Lessons to Learn Before You Need Them, the latest leadership book by (retired) Admiral William H. McRaven. Many of the chapter titles resonated with my own experience in issue management—especially Trust the Second Law of Thermodynamics and There Is Always Time for a Morale Check.

But one chapter title stopped me in my tracks: Micromanagement Is Not an Ugly Word.

That statement challenged me. I’ve experienced firsthand—both as a micromanager and as someone being micromanaged—the negative outcomes it can create: diminished trust, lowered morale, and the loss of skilled team members.

However, reading the chapter helped reframe my perspective. Admiral McRaven isn’t advocating for disempowerment or rigid command-and-control leadership. Instead, he emphasizes the importance of clarity—leaders must spend as much time as necessary, and often more than they think is needed, to clearly communicate expectations, boundaries, and constraints.

He also reminds us that setting expectations isn’t a one-and-done activity. As conditions evolve, so too must our guidance. While “it depends” might be the most overused phrase among project managers, perhaps “context counts” should be a close second.

Admiral McRaven’s closing line captures it perfectly: “As the conditions change, you may need to adjust your guidance to fit the situation on the ground.”

True leadership isn’t about controlling every move—it’s about knowing when to lean in, when to step back, and always keeping context at the core.

(If you liked this article, why not read my book Easy in Theory, Difficult in Practice which contains 100 lessons on project leadership? It’s available on Amazon.com and on Amazon.ca as well as a number of other online book stores).

“It’s the end. But the moment has been prepared for.” – retirement lessons from the Doctor

Born in the U.K. in the late 60s, I became a lifelong Doctor Who fan during my early years there. For many, David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor is a favorite, but for those of us who grew up watching in the 70s and 80s, Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor was the one who captured our imaginations. When his Doctor regenerated in Logopolis, it was a heart-wrenching moment. His final words (the title of this article) resonated then, and they’ve stuck with me ever since.

I retired at the end of December 2024 (and no, that is not the reason why I haven’t published any new articles in over six months). But the moment was prepared for.

Having had first-hand experience of what happens when someone retires and doesn’t have a plan, I did not want to spend my year or two of retirement hoping to come up with sufficient pastimes to fill a suddenly empty calendar.

My planning started with defining what I wanted to replace paid work with.

Retirement isn’t the end. It’s a means to a more fulfilling end. I knew I wanted to give back – both to my local community and to the project management profession. I also wanted to reconnect with hobbies I’d long neglected during my working years.

So, I ran some experiments.

Some activities resonated with me; others didn’t – and that was an expected outcome of the process.

I wanted to help a local food bank and tried sorting and boxing donations in their warehouse and helping folks address food insecurity needs at the food bank itself. While both activities were enjoyable, I preferred the warehouse work as it took greater advantage of my skills.

What helped with these preparations was that my journey to retirement was over a period of a couple of years during which I progressively replaced paid with volunteer work as well as other pursuits. This is not something which everyone might be able to do so it is important to do this planning as and when you find time as you approach your retirement date.

Planning is an ongoing activity with projects and the same is true for retirement. While I have a sufficiently varied set of activities to occupy me now, I realize that I may need to replace some of them over time, hence it is important to keep exploring what else might be of interest.

One important insight: you don’t need to replicate a 35- or 40-hour work week. In fact, one of the most valuable aspects of retirement has been the white space – the slack time that allows for reflection, rest, and appreciation.

Retirement, like any meaningful journey, requires thoughtful preparation. It’s not about filling time, but enriching it. And in doing so, I’ve discovered that the greatest freedom comes not from a blank calendar—but from one filled with purpose, flexibility, and joy. In the words of my favorite Doctor: the moment was prepared for.

(If you liked this article, why not read my book Easy in Theory, Difficult in Practice which contains 100 lessons on project leadership? It’s available on Amazon.com and on Amazon.ca as well as a number of other online book stores).