PMI Global Insights

By Emily Luijbregts

PMXPO is one of the most established virtual conferences around.  This year it was brought into the #ExperiencePMI series, had over 60,000 registered attendees, and provided some great highlights and speakers.

In 2020, I took part in the Twitter Takeover for PMXPO to follow and tweet my experience of the event. This year, I was a speaker and had a different experience where I could spend time joining video chats with our participants, answer questions from my session, and participate in the After Hours Dueling Pianos session. Having so many people attend a conference can be daunting, and trying to make a presentation that can apply to many of the attendees was also incredibly difficult!

I am using this blog post to share several questions raised during my session along with my responses.

The rest of the virtual event had some great content and really made me think about my role as a project manager and leader. What did you think of PMXPO?  If you want to watch any of the presentations again, they are available on demand until 31 January 2022. Visit PMI Virtual Experience Series 2021 for more details.

By Barbara A. Trautlein, PhD

Last month, I presented at PMXPO held on 25 March. 

This was a great event with 62,000 global attendees and with featured speakers, exhibits, and networking activities.

My presentation focused on “Change Intelligent® Strategies to Lead Yourself and Your Team through Change and Crisis.” As our gut-wrenching experience with the crises of the last year demonstrates and neuroscience validates, unexpected, unwanted, and undeserved change can plunge us into fear/threat mode, causing the good stuff that feeds our brain (oxygen, glucose) to rush past our necks so we can fight/flight/freeze, robbing us of the cognitive capacity to think clearly and creatively. During the stress of change, when our IQ inevitably goes down, building our CQ® (Change Intelligence®), is like putting our oxygen mask on first. We remember to breathe, separate our knee-jerk, fear-based reaction from a more mindful, adaptive response, and remember that we have options – and the more options we have, the more power we have. Options to lead ourselves and others out of crisis to emerge stronger than before, individually and collectively. 

 Every project is a change – so every project manager is a change leader – regardless of tenure, title, or role. Leading through change and crisis is now a mission-critical competency for career success as well as organizational sustainability. By building Change Intelligence®, project managers position themselves to make a meaningful and measurable difference for the people and organizations they serve, simultaneously propelling their professional impact and constructive project outcomes. During the presentation, we learned science- and experience-based actionable insights to help yourself, your team, and your projects leverage CQ® to lead through the A.R.C.s of change – regaining Autonomy, Relationship, and Certainty and emerging more Agile, Resilient, and Capable than before. 

 Neuroscience shows that three factors affect our brain that get threatened during a crisis, but which are also levers you can positively influence as a leader-at-any-level. Taking the COVID-19 pandemic as an example, here’s a sampling of strategies we explored that you can leverage right away:

• The COVID crisis negatively impacts our sense of Autonomy, because so much is out of our control, and unwanted changes are forced upon us. As a PM, you can “enlighten the Head” by reframing conversations from fear-based to future-focused. People who are more reflective, are more effective. With the radical re-balancing of our work and life from 2020 through the present, it’s a powerful time to reflect and even reinvent our individual brand and our collective mission. Putting on our oxygen mask, we can re-breathe new life into what feeds us, and perhaps re-write the story of our own hero’s journey.     
   
• How the COVID crisis negatively impacts our sense of Relatedness is obvious, through the need for social distancing and remote working. As a PM, you can “engage the Heart” by fostering social connection and a sense of psychological safety in our new virtual workplace. There are so many ways to do this. For example, begin and end meetings strongly. At the beginning ask each person to share their intention for the meeting, and at the end what they are taking away. This provides focus on the productive work, bookended by the connection between the people on the team.
   
• Perhaps most threatening is how this crisis negatively impacts our sense of Certainty, because its short-term spread and long-term impacts are fundamentally unknowable and unpredictable. As a PM you can “equip the Hands” by remembering that agility rhymes with stability: in times of crisis, we need both, to adjust our sails, and to adjust our anchors. In fact, our habits and routines can help us cope with change and uncertainty. Stable grounding is the foundation, upon which to build agility. As a PM, you can help your team remember what they can count on, such as our continued commitment to our team members, to excellent customer service, to providing products/services that exceed expectations, etc. 

As these examples exemplify, the good news is that there are ways that we can lead through a crisis that can increase our sense of Autonomy, Relatedness, and Certainty. When we lead in this way, fear/threat reactions are reduced, so we can begin to focus less on the danger, and more on the opportunity that may be possible, to step up the second A.R.C. of change – towards greater Agility, Resilience, and Change Capability.

During my presentation, two of my tactics that were most popular with the audience were the Change Intelligent® Analysis and Action Planning Tool and the S.I.F.T. Method, so I thought I’d reinforce both for blog readers as well. 

The Change Intelligent® Analysis and Action Planning Tool: Since any project needs an effective purpose, an efficient process, and engaged people, any PM needs to focus on all three. The benefit of building and leveraging Change Intelligence® is that it helps PMs and project teams do exactly that – enlighten the Head focusing on mission, strategy, and metrics; equip the Hands focusing on processes, plans, and tools; and engage the Heart focusing on people, teams, and culture. This tool, which you can download for free from the Resources page on my website www.ChangeCatalysts.com, provides a structured process to analyze how well you are doing on all three critical components, which then enables you to plan “smarter” actions to increase the probability of success and sustainment. Moreover, it’s a great process to use with your project teams, to help move from the first “A.R.C.” of change to the second! Back to brain science, the tool promotes Autonomy, because it identifies actions on one’s control; it fosters Relatedness when done in a team context; and it increases Certainty because it results in a game plan people can own and predict. Moving toward the second A.R.C., the tool helps build Agility by identifying opportunities to pivot for greater impact, nurtures Resilience by pointing towards progress the team has made and fosters Change Capability in that its output is geared towards leading projects with greater competence and confidence, individually and collectively. 

The S.I.F.T. Method: Another powerful way to “engage the Heart” is to capitalize on the power of positivity. Research by Martin Seligman, the father of Positive Psychology, clearly demonstrates positivity is correlated with better performance in every area of our lives, including productivity at work and more satisfying relationships in life. One of the most winning ways his research reveals to adopt a more positive mindset is to refresh one’s frame – as in frame of reference – which is also an opportunity to “enlighten the Head”! How? You know to be mindful of what food you eat and what to put into your body. We also need to watch our diet of the information we ingest – what you eat may be eating you. Limit your exposure – not just to the virus, but to what’s viral. Literally, your immune system goes down under stress, so just as you limit exposure by the physical acts such as social distancing and hand washing, limit your exposure to what can damage your immune system by being a selective consumer of “news.” Leadership guru Seth Godin also advises us to curate our content. He says that “staying ‘up-to-date’ is a scam and a trap - do the work instead” – I agree. The S.I.F.T. Method, developed by Mike Caufield, is a great first step. Make the conscious choice to S.I.F.T.: Stop; Investigate the source; Find better coverage; Test for validity. Doing so also “equips the Hands” by focusing attention on a slim set of vital priorities instead of a caldron of infobesity, greatly increasing the probability of swifter and more aligned action. 

If you found this blog, this sample of tactics, and these two tools useful, I invite you to visit PMI Virtual Experience Series 2021 to view my full presentation, which will be on demand through 31 January 2022, to build Agility, Resilience, and Capability to lead through our current massive crises, and beyond. I was honored to be invited to share these important messages during these challenging times, and I would be honored to connect with you and learn how you are putting these ideas into practice, for the benefit of yourself, your team, and your projects!

By Annmarie Curley

Are you holding your team back? 

I recently published a series of articles about what I called “duct tape leadership” - the just-in-time fixes and patched-together solutions that project teams end up using when their work is out of alignment with the organization’s priorities.

I suggested lots of things that team leaders can do to create more strategic alignment, lead more intentionally, and foster a team environment that’s more conducive to sustainable success.

But the reality is that many of the challenges faced by project leaders come from gaps in leadership. They have less to do with the size and complexity of their projects and more to do with how we are leading and engaging our team, sponsors and stakeholders.

So, as we reach the end of Q1 2021, now is a good time to consider if you are setting your team up for success -- or are you contributing to the challenges they face? 

Teams Struggle When Leaders Lack Focus and Clarity

I recently ran a survey asking managers and leaders about their biggest challenges. They shared issues like: 

• Clarity on what’s needed
• Competing priorities
• Changing visions by senior management
• Moving goalposts
• Poor engagement / communication from sponsor
• Scope creep
• Unrealistic timelines
• Inadequate budget
• Accountability
• Under-resourcing
• Lack of relevant training for team members

What’s remarkable about this list is how many challenges arise from a lack of leadership clarity -- on strategy, on priorities, and on desired outcomes.

In fact, survey respondents recognized unclear leadership as a big issue.  More than 56% identified strategic planning and organizational change management as the top weaknesses of their organizations.

The good news is that getting clarity doesn’t necessarily require bigger budgets or more resources - just a commitment to choosing the most important focuses for the organization, be willing to say “no” to projects that aren’t a strategic priority and supporting your team as they do the right work at the right time.   

Doing so will enable your teams to work more efficiently, more effectively, and more successfully -- even when timelines are tight, or budgets are limited.

How to Support Your Team’s Growth and Success

In thinking about team enablement, we are often tempted to focus on the specific skills that we believe are in need of development.  We invest in leadership training, project management workshops, new methodologies, and new tools.  

All that is well and good. You should absolutely assess the opportunities on your team and provide training and enablement that’s geared to fill the existing gaps.

But it’s just as important to be conscious about creating an environment that also enables the team’s growth and success.

To do so, you’ll need to:

1. Build and nurture the relationships that enable performance and agility
2. Create the climate and the structure that serves as scaffolding to success
3. Eliminate chaos and churn that distracts the team from its core work
4. Improve team and stakeholder collaboration and engagement

Leadership has a big role to play in creating this environment. Being clear on - and supported in executing - the organizational strategy and top priorities is key to the success of every team member. 

When everyone knows the right work to do at the right times, your team can deliver the most valuable projects on time, on budget, and with better outcomes.  

As a leader, your job is to provide your team with the support, guidance, and environment they’ll need to prioritize deliberately and execute strategically.

Join the Discussion on 25 March at 10:45 a.m. ET

In my PMXPO presentation, “From Chaos to Confident: The 6 Pillars Project Leadership Framework,” I will share insights and techniques to help managers lead their teams more effectively to move from an environment that is reactive and chaotic to one that is more purposeful, setting the team up for success every step of the way. The 6 Pillars Framework outlines the power skills required to effectively lead teams and projects rather than simply manage them. You will walk away with clarity on what you need to do to boost your and your team’s performance in 2021.

Join me by registering today for PMXPO. This event is complimentary for PMI members; non-members can attend for US$29 and take advantage of the full suite of live and on-demand offerings.

By Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin

Agile and traditional PM: for most organizations, it can’t be either/or. Both/and is the way to go.

If you had been a fly on the wall during the early meetings of a team that met weekly last May to update the PM Maturity Model, you would have heard quite a bit of passionate talk about how – or if! – project management and agile can work together.

“But that’s not pure agile …”

“Oh, brother. I knew somebody was going to say ‘pure agile.’”

You’ve been there, probably. But our task on that team was to find a way to help organizations that have attempted a hybrid path to gauge how that “agile transformation” is going, alongside of measuring the more traditional process maturity. And, as they say, necessity is the mother of invention.

The impetus for this dual update/revision was twofold: we were responding partly to the needs expressed by some clients of our consulting practice, and partly to the strong trend we saw in our 2018 research study, The Adaptive Organization. That study indicated that the most successful organizations were pursuing a hybrid strategy for adding agility to their projects. It also showed that those organizations who were having the most success with agile projects also scored high in traditional PM capability. Hmm. That would seem to indicate that a marriage between these two is not only possible, but beneficial. And, given the focus in the new PMBOK Guide, 7^th Edition on results, not processes, it would seem the time is right to ramp up a dialogue about how we can use everything that works to bring home the best business outcomes.

Join the Discussion on 25 March at 10:45 a.m. ET

Are you interested in learning more about how we bridged this divide in the new maturity model? While the model itself is already in use, and the book based on it is scheduled to be released in April by CRC Press, I look forward to sharing my experience and answering your questions along with my colleague, Sydni Neptune, one of the Agile SMEs from the team. Should be fun!  Join us by registering today for PMXPO. This event is complimentary for PMI members; non-members can attend for $29 and take advantage of the full suite of live and on-demand offerings.

By Denise Hummel, CEO, RevWork, Inc.

The pandemic highlighted a tremendous need for workplace innovation and growth. Workplace trends for 2021 and beyond point to a focus on remote wellbeing, learning technology, and talent mobility. New research shows 94% of employees recognize the career benefit of learning at work and over 50% of tech enterprises are revamping skill-building approaches. The time is now to harness these trends to drive new levels of growth and engagement in daily work life.

But uncertainty still looms large. Only 37% of companies feel they have a good grasp on how the ‘future of work’ will be defined post-COVID, and just 18% have any idea of which employees will thrive in a permanently remote capacity. Companies must also address the knowledge retention curve that continues to cap the business impact of learning today.

Additionally, 80% of spend for a growing enterprise learning market is wasted due to poor learning retention. According to research, upwards of 75% of learning is forgotten within a day of training.

There are a variety of reasons for this. Relevance, timeliness, delivery, consistency, and reinforcement have all been lacking in traditional learning. On top of this, companies continue to struggle to deploy and track the progress of these initiatives with consistency and scale.

How the Workplace Learning Experience Needs to Change

Learning experiences need to focus more on soft skills.

Among L&D professionals polled on LinkedIn, skills like ‘leadership,’ ‘creative problem-solving' and ‘communication’ were the most important skills they aimed to focus on. Both companies and employees are recognizing the importance of soft skills. Companies recognize its importance in building a more agile workforce that can pivot through disruptions. Employees also recognize this benefit towards their ability to pivot to new fields and protect their long-term career prospects. 

When we transition our focus from hard skills to soft skills, we are suddenly tasked with tackling a new challenge: How do we drive behavior change and do so daily? How do we track and benchmark the benefits of these behavior changes effectively?

Learning experiences need to be efficiently deployed, scaled, and personalized.

In that same study, 80% of employees across all generations think personalization is valuable in their learning experiences. Personalization is vital to both engagement and retention of learning. Without these, we do not achieve behavior change. 

Personalization helps us achieve better results in these areas because we can:

• Meet the learner where they need to grow.
• Tap into the motivations of why the learner wants to grow.
• Deliver learning how the learner wants to digest it.
• Deliver learning when the learner wants to/has time to learn.

Technology and AI allow us to personalize a learning experience that maximizes results at the individual level and enables us to efficiently deploy said experience at a scale that is more cost-effective and impactful for organizations.

Join the Discussion on 25 March at 1:00 p.m. ET

In my PMXPO presentation, “Behavior Change Technology: Igniting Our Workplaces in 2021,” I will share insights into learning trends and address such questions as:  What are the emerging needs for professionals and organizations? What factors will power successful workplace learning experiences? And what should companies be looking for when exploring potential digital learning solutions?

Join me by registering today for PMXPO. This event is complimentary for PMI members; non-members can attend for US$29 and take advantage of the full suite of live and on-demand offerings.