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.
Consider a team in which all members are performing at the optimal level.
You would see them engaging internal and external staff members only when necessary. They would deliver on requirements without having to consult you every step of the way, allowing you to be the chief who oversees a big project from a higher level rather than micromanages.
When team members aren't performing at their optimal level they are often constrained by blind spots. These are the internal roadblocks specific to each team member that we often label as communication issues, team dynamics, management style, and cultural and organizational biases.
Having a blind spot means not being able to see the complete picture. When we can't see the complete picture, we make up what is hidden by using context such as our knowledge, experience, goals and motivation.
Blind spots limit us because we lack the runway length required to let our ideas take off; we impose constraints that prevent us from understanding the goal, coming up with solutions and choosing the one that works best.
To expand your runway requires a well-integrated framework of communication and teamwork based on two main principles: clearing those blind spots by empowering the team to help each other and owning your enterprise.
In part two, I will expand on the power of ownership and how to tie these principles together.
Can you think of the blind spots that you were faced with in any of your previous or current projects? What was your way of dealing with them, and what was the impact on the results you produced?
"But the fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown."
