Post Pandemic, Navigating through this period…

 

A couple of years ago in my last blog, right before being invaded by the pandemic, , I asked myself and the community about how to be more sustainable in this disruptive age, and answered myself that we are ready if we stick to our ethical values, as leaders.

After two years, where for some of us,  life and workstyles have changed, I have launched a discussion earlier in February 2022,   asking the community about how to navigate through the period after the pandemic.

I am sharing, in this blog, the interesting insights and ideas that were shared by the community.

Professionals and project management practitioners stated that “binding project work and deliverables with a ring of ethics is crucial to bring the value of those deliverables for the project. Regardless of the leadership styles of the project manager, upholding ethical values should be MANDATORY”.  

“With maturity and experience, basic ethical values are the key to a long term success, the power of a project manager comes from respect and trust achieved through honesty, fairness, transparency, and integrity.”

Moreover, there is an emphasis on creating a balance between the values to satisfy employers, the profession, and practitioners.

An interesting opinion to share with the readers is that what the globe is going through is not a transition, this is a long-time reality that was accelerated due to the pandemic. This is a continuation of the process of evolution. People are always transitioning while values are the only CONSTANT.

Before ending my blog, I want to share with you the story of my dear friend Albert Agbemenu:

I worked on a project last year during the peak of the pandemic. The project involved the design of some buildings and infrastructure for a new mine. Being the project manager, I initially thought it was going to be the most difficult assignment, especially so when I never had the opportunity to meet most of the team members with who I was going remotely work with.  The only platform we had to meet was virtually to review work and discuss reports. Part of the team was located in Australia whilst the others were here with me in Africa, but yet still not co-located. I was working from my small space on the dining table reaching out to the rest of the team (multicultural). One thing that was clear to every one of us from the outset was the need for having these ethical values. With that in mind, we were able to work across a time zone of 8 hours of difference. This routine continued for almost one year and the project was completed without any single conflict, due to the values we all carried along positively.

The story ends with a confirmation that living by these values is just as important in normal times as in uncertain periods.

These values should not only be dependent on a particular situation or period. They must be embedded in the sleeves of the diligent project manager. That said, these values should not be difficult to implement in a virtual project. Constantly upholding these ethical values should be a lifestyle of the project manager.

As a recap of what was said, top things to remember:

• Values and principles are constant through all times
• Values and principles start with the individual
• Values and principles are not tied to a specific profession
• Values and principles are the key to a balanced and successful journey

In light of what was said, one of the received feedback is that it is inevitable to find tools and techniques to make sure that right things are done promptly.

As an answer to this, PMI/EIT have created the PMI Practitioner Ethics Toolkit. The tool includes a rich set of resources to assist PMI practitioners understand, identify, and proactively manage ethical issues.

Finally, Honesty, trust, fairness, transparency, integrity are the values that will help us navigate through all times.

How many of us, as professionals are upholding those values? And how much the ecosystems we are operating inside are fostering the adoption of those values?