The Importance of Changing Perspectives
From the Voices on Project Management Blog
by Cameron McGaughy,
Lynda Bourne, Kevin Korterud, Conrado Morlan, Peter Tarhanidis, Mario Trentim, Jen Skrabak, David Wakeman, Wanda Curlee, Christian Bisson, Ramiro Rodrigues, Soma Bhattacharya, Emily Luijbregts, Sree Rao, Yasmina Khelifi, Marat Oyvetsky, Lenka Pincot, Jorge Martin Valdes Garciatorres, cyndee miller
Voices on Project Management offers insights, tips, advice and personal stories from project managers in different regions and industries. The goal is to get you thinking, and spark a discussion. So, if you read something that you agree with--or even disagree with--leave a comment.
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by Wanda Curlee
Not long ago, neuroscience was considered something akin to science fiction. In recent years, however, it has crawled out of that genre and into practical reality. By identifying ways people can reason, it’s even making major contributions to the project management profession.
Take the functional MRI (fMRI).
The fMRI creates an image of what a person’s brain is doing when they’re working. If you’re doing math, let’s say, the fMRI shows what areas of the brain are functioning.
Through these studies, neuroscientists have said that there are three ways a person can reason:
1. The detailed-oriented person. This is someone comfortable with schedule management, risk management, budget management, issues tracking, etc. Normally, this would be someone from the project management office (PMO) or a junior project manager.
2. The person who can see the forest for the trees. This is the seasoned project manager or a junior program manager. They are savvy with integration and can see the strategy that is needed for decision making.
3. The strategic-minded individual. Think senior program managers and portfolio managers. These individuals are focused on delivering the organization’s strategic objectives. They can see what the landscape needs to be into the future.
So how does this help you as a project leader? Studies show that if you provide the opportunity for a detailed-oriented person to work in the role of seeing the forest for the trees or putting a strategic person into a detail-oriented role, these individuals become more creative and innovative.
Think about it: By putting individuals in radically different positions—with some guidance and mentorship, of course—you are forcing that person to see problems from different perspectives.
When CEOs claim they do not have creative and innovative people in their organization, I would contend that the CEO is wrong. The CEO just doesn’t nurture the creativity and innovation.
Imagine a brainstorming session where you have individuals who have switched roles. These employees can take an idea presented at the brainstorm and now see it from different perspectives. You no longer have people trapped in thinking from only their own worlds.
Are you as a project leader willing to push your team to experience the world from a different perspective? Are you willing to take a detail-oriented person and cajole him or her into seeing the forest for the trees? Will you mentor and guide the person? You will need to help with the anxiety of doing something totally foreign.
If you are willing, then you have created a more innovative and creative team!
Posted
by
Wanda Curlee
on: May 17, 2018 03:53 PM |
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Comments (26)
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Wanda Curlee
Dr. Wanda Curlee| PMI
Ferguson, NC, United States
Hello Cibin - Project management needs to involve risk and we are too risk adverse many times.
David Snead
Project Manager| CapTech Ventures
Moseley, Va, United States
Interesting thought. Is there any evidence that the fMRI has actually been employed by an organization to identify these types of reasoning in their employees and leverage the findings to assign them to roles?.
Wanda Curlee
Dr. Wanda Curlee| PMI
Ferguson, NC, United States
Hello David - There have been fMRI used in industry but I am not aware of any organization that has used it to assign roles.
Mary Jo Maralit
Program Specialist| Education
Washington, Dc, United States
Would be interesting to challenge folks to try a different role and share experiences with the team. This may build a better understanding of team the teams' needs and dynamics.
Wanda Curlee
Dr. Wanda Curlee| PMI
Ferguson, NC, United States
Mary Jo - Thank you for the comment. It would be nice to be able to conduct research actually testing the notion.
Shumaila Sadaf
Legal Advisor| Billions works SMC Pvt LTD
Karachi, Pakistan
Portfolio presentation is very important
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