Teachable Moments: Stay Ahead of the Curve

Kevan Gray, PMP is a Technical Project Manager for Buckle in Kearney, NE. He has earned the PMP from PMI and is a CSM and has over four years of experience as a project manager and has an MA in Writing Studies from Saint Joseph's University and an MBA from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. His current professional interests are growing in his knowledge of integrating agile software development practices within waterfall project frameworks, developing high-performing teams and continuing to learn and practice characteristics that are exhibited by great leaders. He is also an avid runner.

 

Teachable moments are formed when you have done something--regardless of the outcome--and learned from the experience. Learning makes us better at what we do and provides a great opportunity to develop others and sharpen skills. We’ve compiled our best Teachable Moments from our community members for you to learn from and share with other project managers.

My teachable moment came the first time I submitted a major project update after a highly visible initiative started to get behind. I noted that the project shifted from green to yellow in the areas where the project was behind. Unfortunately, the team found out that I was moving the project to yellow at the same time as those who received the update. There was a backlash. A number of the participants were upset that they were not told in advance or given the chance to course correct first. I had been holding meetings and they knew they were behind, but they didn't know the transparency was going to be coming that quickly to the rest of the organization.

After listening to the team’s frustrations, I learned to be a bit ahead of the notification curve. I now let the team know in advance that if course corrections are not made by the next status update, I will update the status and notify the organization. I also now make them aware of the specific items I will highlight as causing our delays. This …

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