Strategic Project Management

Deanne Earle (@unlikebefore) was one of the first project managers I started following with social media. Having spoken with here a couple of times, exchanged many emails, and even interviewed her as one of the very first guests on the TalkingWork podcast, I was not disappointed by her intellect and have found her to be an incredibly charming person. If I ever find my way to Italy, she is on my list of people to see.

Not too long ago she wrote a book review that has added Todd William's (@BackFromRed) new book Rescue the Problem Project: A Complete Guide to Identifying, Preventing, and Recovering from Project Failure to my reading list. I have been following Todd over the years and have found him to be a very capable and insightful project manager. Well worth following.

Like William's, over the course of her career, Deanne has become a "project fixer" who spends time bringing troubled and complex projects to completion. Her blog is syndicated on the TalkingWork website and is well worth following. She doesn't write as often as some authors, but I can't think of anything she has written about leading people and managing projects that I haven't thought was worth the read.

It is amazing to me how many truly brilliant people are available as resources on the social web. Twitter, Facebook and blogs give us access to people who are solving real-world problems every day with an incredibly successful track record—and willing to freely share their expertise with us.

Uninformed people often complain that social media is a waste of time within the enterprise. I disagree. Project managers looking for answers to problems or suggestions have a vast resource of very talented project professionals (they would otherwise pay thousands of dollars to in consulting fees) at their fingertips—who freely share of their expertise on a regular basis.

Deanne and Todd are only two of the dozens of brilliant people I follow. Who are your favorites?

If you live in the United States you more than likely have spent the last few days celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday.  Along with a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, I also took a little time this weekend to brave the cold, hop on the bike and put a few more miles on the motorcycle.

I'm not really a big fan of facing the crowds in the malls or retail stores on Black Friday, but I did take advantage of the extra time off to start a painting project in the kitchen on Saturday. And, although it was a busy weekend, I think the thing I enjoyed the most was slowing down and spending some quiet time thinking about the past year and contemplating the future.

I'm a pretty introspective guy and enjoy those times when I can slow down enough to think about the successes and failures of personal and professional projects and initiatives. I also believe it's important to celebrate successes and recharge the batteries from time to time. Long weekends help me do that.

For project teams there always seems to be so much to do and never enough time to do it. At least it seems to feel that way. Golfing great Ben Hogan said, "As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round."

Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in work and all the other things that need to get done that we forget to slow down once in a while to celebrate victories and recharge the batteries. Taking that time is critical to avoiding burnout, encouraging creativity and maximizing productivity.

Later this week our department will be spending time at a quarterly offsite to do just that. Normally, there is a working session, food and an afternoon of doing something fun together. I have come to enjoy the time to think about where we've been and where we're heading with the team (and I don't mind the little bit of organized goofing off either).

Did you enjoy the long weekend? What do you do to keep the team's batteries charged so they can perform at their best?

Every relationship between a guy and a gal seems to reach a point when someone feels like it's time to "Define the Relationship" (DTR). We never called it a DTR when I was younger, but I'm not unfamiliar with that particular relationship stage. With the exception of those times when one of the parties involved wants to take the relationship to a higher level and the other doesn't; or a needier person needs to be constantly reassured, I don't think it's a big deal. Some people seem to need a formal DTR, while others are content to just let things take their natural course. I've always been partial to the latter rather than the former. An engagement ring is probably the ultimate DTR, but I digress...

Have you ever wondered if the process we use to manage projects and lead teams ever gets in the way? I'm not suggesting that project management best practices are bad (in fact I'm a big fan of capturing best practices and leveraging them to make future projects more successful), but I have to admit that sometimes it feels like they get in the way. Not unlike a DTR can get in the way of a relationship.

When that happens, I don't think it's the process that gets in the way, but rather how we execute the process and the type of relationship we have with the members of the team.

By that I mean, the relationship between the project team, the project manager, the process and the project are sometimes challenging.

I've noticed that in some organizations, the "project manager" is often a department head or other manager who leads the team. He or she works with the same team all the time and the relationship extends far beyond any individual project. My team works this way. The team doesn't change from project to project. This allows us to learn how to work best together.

I don't believe this implies that a project manager within a matrix organization can't build those types of relationships, but in those instances where they don't, "project management" can get in the way.

In many organizations, project management has become associated with a lot of unnecessary governance, pushing edicts down the org chart and command-and-control. Of course, there are some projects where governance is a critical part of the project and how it's executed, but that doesn't mean a heavy hand is needed. With that in mind, here are three suggestions that will help project managers build a more natural and productive relationship with the team:

1. Work Together: There is a difference between working "for" someone and working "with" someone. Henry Ford said, "If everyone is moving forward together, then success will take care of itself."
2. Get Out of the Way: Those closest to the work understand it the best. Theodore Roosevelt said, "The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while the do it."
3. Share the Success: Worrying about who gets credit for project success will handicap any project relationships from the start. Harry Truman said, "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." Empower people to do great things and make sure everyone gets credit for what they do.

Building healthy relationships with the team doesn't require a DTR, but it doesn't just happen. It takes effort. Remember that it's the team and not the process that should be the focus of our efforts—it's people that actually get stuff done.

What are you doing to focus on productive relationships with your team?

I recently started reading The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. The author writes about entrepreneurship and innovation. Unlike many books on this topic, despite the title, he doesn't seem to be limiting his comments and suggestions to startups—he's also suggesting that any company can innovate like a startup does if they are willing to look at product development in the same way. I'll talk more about the book once I'm further into it, but I read something last night that struck me.

It's the boring stuff that matters.

I once worked for an online accounting school. We sold small business accounting education to entrepreneurs interested in starting a small business accounting practice. As part of my training everyone took the course. Although I passed the course and have a pretty good understanding of how to read a balance sheet, I understand what a T-account is and learned how to calculate markups, etc., I'm not nor will I probably ever be a small business accountant. My mind doesn't work that way. I'd probably end up in a padded cell mumbling if I had made that my career. Saying that, I do have a greater appreciation for what my colleagues in that department do and how the Devil really is in the details.

I think the same applies to how we manage projects.

However, maybe not in the way most people think about the details of managing projects. Although the mechanics of building a work breakdown structure or milestone path are important, there are four small (maybe even insignificant things) that need to take place for members of any project team to perform at the highest level.

1. Do individuals on the team have the opportunity to do what they do best? I know there are a lot of tasks that team members are asked to do that may or may not be part of their primary skill set. I have to deal with responsibilities that compel me to learn new skills and stretch almost daily, but I do get to spend time doing the things I'm best at and have come to love. When people are able to do what they do best, they feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that helps them deal with all the other things they have to do to help bring a project to a successful completion.
2. Does everyone on the team have the right materials and equipment to do the work? This probably sounds very obvious, but something as simple as the way the phone system works or the email server doesn't, can make it difficult for people to perform at their best. Consider the tools your team uses and make sure they have what they need to do the job well. In my garage I have a big red tool box filled with just about every tool I need for a project around the house or on the car. Reaching for and finding the right tool makes all the difference between a frustrating Saturday afternoon doing a project and an enjoyable one.
3. Does the team regularly receive recognition or praise for doing good work? Mary Kay Ash, the founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, said, "There are two things people want more than sex and money—recognition and praise." If the only time the team hears from the project manager is when there's a problem or something has fallen behind, there's a real problem. I've seen people willing to metaphorically crawl over broken glass for a leader who recognizes and is aware of their contributions. This is not about insincere platitudes, but is about being aware and sincerely acknowledging accomplishment and performance. Sometimes it's even as simple as a brief conversation in the hall on the way to a meeting. As a general rule, be specific about what your are praising. "John, the extra work you did to complete Project X really made a difference and helped push us over the finish line," is much more effective than, "Good job John."
4. Does everyone on the team understand what's expected of them? Here's another one that we often assume is happening, but isn't. I have always had the best success when I clearly define what's expected and have people report to me on how their performance compares with the expectation. Most of the time, when they're having problems, they bring them up to me—there's no need for me to do it. People generally want to do a good job—I've never known anyone who driving into work is thinking, "I really want to suck today." Most of the time, they just need to know what a good job is.

These are four little details, maybe even boring stuff, that make all the difference in whether or not your team is performing at their best. How well are you able to get into all the details—at least the ones that really matter?

On a Sunday evening my adult children often come over to the house and we play games. Sometimes it's a board game, sometimes it's a card game, but they all like playing games together. It doesn't matter how easy or complicated the game my be, they all have one thing in common—a set of rules.

The rules make it possible to measure progress, keep score and ultimately determines the winner. Have you ever wondered what would happen if in the middle of the game you suspended or changed the rules? Nobody would want to play.

How many times does that happen at work?

Over the course of my career, I have to admit that there have been many times (too many to count) when it's felt like the rules have changed in the middle of the game. Have you ever wondered why so many people love playing basketball, football or other sports? In sports (and other games) the players get a constant stream of feedback as to how they're doing. They see points on the scoreboard and can recognize just exactly what it's going to take to win the game. There is no ambiguity about what success is.

Shouldn't we be trying to foster that same kind of environment within project teams? I'm not suggesting that we ratchet up the competitive atmosphere, but we can incorporate those elements that make playing games and participating in sports enjoyable:

1. Establish the rules and don't change them mid-steam: I think everyone understands the value of sharing the desired outcome of a project with the team. I think this is a good first step. Once we've established what we want to accomplish, have a good idea of how we want to get there and a good handle of what success looks like, changing those criteria in the middle of the project is like changing the rules in the middle of the game.
2. Feedback is important: Just like the stats during a baseball game give the team the feedback they need to know exactly how their doing, project team members appreciate feedback about how they're doing, how the project is progressing and whether or not there's a need to step up performance. This is one reason why I'm such a big fan of a more social media-like approach to project communication and collaboration, feedback is a natural part of the equation. However, I'm also a fan of using a scorecard to measure performance. It's also easy for everyone on the team to understand and gives everyone instant visibility into how the team is doing. I use scorecards with my team and find it very helpful when managing to objectives. An up-to-date scorecard makes it possible for all of us to see how we are progressing at any time during the project.

Earlier this month I wrote about gamification and how it could impact how we manage projects. Although this isn't exactly the same topic, I think it speaks to some of the reasons why these techniques are effective.

Can we help our project teams be more successful at the game of work?