Be A Fire Starter
From the pmStudent Blog
by Josh Nankivel
Ranting and raving about project management and systems engineering.
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I help new and aspiring project managers with their careers. Part of what I teach is logistics; the tools and techniques involved with project management itself, and building a career for yourself.
There's another very important piece of the puzzle I teach as well.
Mindset
A great career requires ambition. It requires the courage to take educated risks in order to create and take advantage of opportunities. It involves creating opportunities for yourself.
From time to time, students I coach come at me with language such as the following:
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“If only they would”
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“They never let me”
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“I asked but they didn't do anything”
Let's get one thing straight.
No One Owes You Anything
It's up to you to make opportunities happen for yourself. In my experience, the best way to get what you want is to help other people get what they want. Additionally, the reciprocation must not be explicit; they still don't owe you anything.
If you don't want to genuinely help other people get what they want, you won't be very successful in most cases. The stereotype of power-crazy professionals who will step on anyone to get what they want just doesn't work. You may win some short-term battles, but wars are won by people who understand the value of those around them.
When you help people enough that they WANT to help you, you are leading. You are creating the kind of social capital that is the fuel which will drive your career prospects.
So be the spark for people around you. Help them to get what they want, and your own goals will be reinforced from all of the fantastic flames you help around you. Be the one who people remember when it counts, because they genuinely appreciate the effort you expended on their behalf, time and time again.
Be a Fire Starter.
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Posted on: May 31, 2011 11:09 PM |
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Comments (18)
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Dave Garrett
PMI Team Member
Senior Advisor to the CEO| PMI
Sterling, Va, United States
...and in the end you might not get what you want, but you'll certainly get what you need.
Josh Nankivel
Engineering Project Manager| Apple
Sioux Falls, Sd, United States
Absolutely Dave. This is also a mindset of engaging with so many great people around you that what you want will be influenced by them over time. The collective intelligence and experience of all those people is going to produce ideas and results that are better than what you could dream up on your own, nine times out of ten.
Josh,
I completely agree. In my career I have been most successful (both on projects that were assigned to me and now in my own business) with the mantra of "give first". When I see an opportunity to do something "good" either for an individual or the PM community in general, then I will do it without any ulterior motive. I help people because I feel it's the right thing to do and it brings lots of goodwill my way. Everyone wins.
Naomi Caietti
Senior Project Manager | ePMO | Higher Education | Healthcare & IT| Linkedin.com/In/NaomiCaietti
...so paying it forward is meant to be a time for reflection; allow yourself time to do so. Engagement through coaching or projects or opportunities in life begins with people connecting with others to become part of a movement bigger than oneself – it feed one’s soul.
Wai Mun Koo
PMO Director| Intergraph PP&M
Singapore, Singapore
Good point Josh. Your idea of helping other people get what they want reminds me of the concept behind the book "The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea" by Bob Burg and John David Mann. The authors advocate the interesting idea of 'start by giving others as much as you can and you will get a lot more in return' by telling a fictitious story of an ambitious young salesman named Joe that learned the values of giving through the advice of an enigmatic mentor character known as Pindar.
As a lousy boss, you give people a job. As an average manager, you sell people a career. As a leader, you share your dream with people and help them realize their own dreams.
Josh Nankivel
Engineering Project Manager| Apple
Sioux Falls, Sd, United States
Thanks for the comments @Cornelius @Naomi and @Wai - I'll have to pick up that book by Burg and Mann, sounds like a good one!
Josh Nankivel,
Project Management Career Coach
Ty Kiisel
Manager Social Outreach| AtTask
Lehi, Ut, United States
Hi Josh,
I think one of the most important things you suggested is:
"When you help people enough that they WANT to help you, you are leading. You are creating the kind of social capital that is the fuel which will drive your career prospects."
Years ago, Zig Zigler said, "Give people what they want and they'll give you what you want."
As project leaders, whether we're dealing with stakeholders or team members, it's important to understand the needs and desires of everyone involved in the process. When we meet people's needs (which is really what projects are all about anyway, right?) we are able to actually do something. I read a one-page brochure the other day that mentioned the name of the company 17 times, but didn't address my needs as a potential customer once. The same is true within our project teams. If we are always telling the team or the stakeholders what we need from them, they will tune us out. However, when we start asking them what they want, asking about how we can help them, they will outline for us how we can successfully interact with them and they will be willing to help us (the political capital you were talking about).
I have a friend who used to ski on the US Ski Team. He said one time that finding out what the judges wanted was critical to scoring well. It just didn't make sense to do things that the judges didn't appreciate or looked down upon. I think this is relevant to this conversation.
It's in our nature to want to help each other. When we demonstrate that we are willing to do that, others will help us. Great post Josh.
Josh Nankivel
Engineering Project Manager| Apple
Sioux Falls, Sd, United States
Thanks for the great comment Ty!
Zig is one of the personalities I look up to, and he's certainly had an influence on me.
I really like your example of the brochure too. That example can be broadened to all communication that occurs...whether it be on a project team, with people you are networking with and meet at a local PMI chapter meeting, online, whatever.
Another mindset thing that might help with being a fire starter is that it is easier to ask forgiveness than permission. If "they" aren't letting you do something, can you go ahead and do it (or something that takes you in the right direction) and then see what the response is?
Josh Nankivel
Engineering Project Manager| Apple
Sioux Falls, Sd, United States
Perfect Elizabeth, right on!
Tim Cermak
Global Manager Business Planning and PMO -- Connected Car & Customer Experience| General Motors
Highland, Mi, United States
Thanks Josh,
Interesting, in my opinion there are a few messages as take away(s) that this discussion initiated. First, the topic touches on reaching out to those who have not yet gotten the 'PM' bug (e.g. younger workforce, transitional workforce, etc.). Next, it also exposes the value of leveraging the community for knowledge sharing and development of competencies --- perhaps a compliment to on-the-job training without actually being on the job --- learning through others and their experiences.
As the workforce becomes more and more social (and virtual), it is my opinion that the cliché of 'it's who you know' have evolved to 'who knows YOU and what YOU do'. Whether you educate through formal channels or community/social channels --- your act of sharing not only educates and inspires, but lays the foundations for connections that you may need to leverage in the future.
Josh Nankivel
Engineering Project Manager| Apple
Sioux Falls, Sd, United States
Great points Tim. Some people tend to have a negative view of the "who you know/knows you" reality of the world. But it's not about doing 'favors' for your buddies...it's about using all the information you can get your hands on when hiring.
For example, imagine you are shopping for a new kitchen appliance and trying to decide between a few different models. You will likely:
1-look at customer reviews
2-listen to referrals from people you know and trust who have experience with one of the products
3-try it out yourself in the store if at all possible
4-compare product spec sheets
All of these factors come into a decision; so why would anyone think that in the case of hiring a new employee, you should limit yourself to # 4 - and doing any of the others amounts to 'favoritism' or other nefarious motives? One could even argue that # 2 is the most important out of all the factors going into the decision.
We all tend to highly value recommendations from people we know and trust if they have experience with something we don't. Hiring is not a 'special case'.
Josh Nankivel,
Project Management Career Coach
 | senita |
Hi Josh,
For the past 2 years I''''ve been seeing the term "people management" show-up a lot in industry articles and blogs. I''''ve been reading about motivating and building and honestly could not understand why it was appearing ALL of my PM periodicals. I''''ve often felt that it''''s not my job to motivate you to do yours; have the right mindset when you get to me.
When I read your post, I flashed back to conversations I''''ve had with my clients that start with language similar to what your students have used. I begin to realize that you cannot separate the people from the project.
I flashed back to the countless after-hours conversations I''''ve had with clients and team members where I reminded them that "no one owes you anything" and "you gotta do what you gotta do get what you need to have" and "a closed mouth don''''t get fed" (I''''m kind of a old-school, shoot-from-the-hip type of gal). I was reminded of all the times my friends said, "I didn''''t call you because I knew what you would say and I just wanted to be sad for a moment."
In any event, I know that''''s not where you were going in your post, but I thank you for bridging the gap in my understanding the connection between project management and people management. :)
Josh Nankivel
Engineering Project Manager| Apple
Sioux Falls, Sd, United States
Thank you Senita. You certainly can not separate leading and managing people from the project at all. Projects are all about people....for them, by them, about them.
Ty Kiisel
Manager Social Outreach| AtTask
Lehi, Ut, United States
Josh, you''ve certainly struck a nerve here. I agree with Senita, you can''t separate managing process from leading the people on the team. You would never put a nail gun down on the table and expect it to build a piece of furniture. Projects are all about people. You are absolutely right they are "for them, by them, about them."
This is a great post and interesting discussion.
Great post! It reminds me a bit of the central tenet of Keith Ferazzi's Never Eat Alone (which is all about networking). Your perspective needs to always be about finding opportunities to assist and to serve--then what you need will be available to you when you need it.
Ian Whittingham
Managing Director| Calixo Consulting
Golden Cross, East Sussex, United Kingdom
Josh,
Sorry I didn't see this when you first posted it, but this is a great observation, & so true. To start a fire you need a spark, and that spark often comes from truly engaging with your team or with stakeholders as individuals--and not just as "resources" or as "needs & wants". And it's something you can't fake: you must genuinely feel for (empahise with) the aspirations and goals of each individual and support them in pursuit of those. I just read Michael Aucoin's current article in gannthead's Agile department (All that Jazz!). He ends the article by quoting Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: "If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” This is the spirit in which one should ignite those sparks in each indivdual, with passion and integrity.
-Ian
Josh Nankivel
Engineering Project Manager| Apple
Sioux Falls, Sd, United States
Ty, Patricia, and Ian, thanks so much for the great comments!
Thank you for the great resources pointing to the same conclusion as well. Great stuff!
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