Viewing Posts by Jorge Martin Valdes Garciatorres
Why Getting Mad Can Benefit Your Projects
Categories:
Human Aspects of PM
Categories: Human Aspects of PM
| "Get mad, then get over it." --Gen. Colin Powell, USA (Ret.) Generally, people consider anger to be a negative emotion. But it doesn't have to be. Let's review the positive side of anger: Anger can benefit relationships. Many of us are told to hide our anger, but doing so could be detrimental to your relationships. For example, if you're angry because of a mistake that a project team member has made and you don't speak up, he won't know that he has done something wrong. He will probably keep doing it and enter into a vicious cycle. On the other hand -- if justifiable and aimed at finding a solution --expressing dissatisfaction can strengthen relationships. Such honest communication can help solve problems among stakeholders and build cohesiveness into your team. Anger can motivate. Anger can prove to be a powerful motivation force, helping you "go the extra mile" and keep working despite problems or barriers. For example, if you're criticized for your work, you may feel further motivated to do better because you are angry and want to prove that you can improve your level of performance. In project management, if we are able to produce what is called "positive anger" in our team, they will be more motivated to achieve results. But don't make a team member mad just for the sake of it. Find the right words to push them in the right direction. Anger can indicate an optimistic personality. Ironically, happy people have something in common with angry people. Both tend to be optimistic. Take the study of risk management, for example. Dr. J.S. Lerner, professor of public policy and management at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, found that angry people expressed optimistic risk estimates. Estimates of angry people more closely resemble those of happy people than those of fearful people. It's okay to get mad, but always behave professionally and treat people respectfully. Don't let wrong behavior undercut a right message. At the end of the day, we're all human. We all have feelings, one of which is getting mad. Use positive anger when you can. Above all, be able to communicate when you're angry in a way that doesn't undercut your message. Have you ever used anger in a positive way in your projects? Read more from Jorge. |
The Optimistic Team for Project Management Success
| "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." -- Winston Churchill About 100 years ago, Ernest Shackleton was looking for a crew for a challenging project: to produce a map of the South Pole. It is said that he published an ad in the local newspaper looking for team members with creativity, a good sense of humor and technical skills. Fast forward to the present day. Dr. Martin Seligman, director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States, is the founder of positive psychology, which focuses on the study of such things as positive emotions, strengths-based character and healthy institutions. Dr. Seligman theorizes that in order to choose people for success in a challenging job, you need to search for aptitude, motivation and optimism. This "explanatory style" theory, which indicates how people explain to themselves why they experience a particular event, can be applied to teams, too, according to Dr. Seligman. He based his hypothesis in three basic predictions: If everything else remains unchanged, the individual with a more optimistic explanatory style will succeed. This happens because he or she will try harder, particularly under bad circumstances. The same thing should hold true for teams. If a team can be classified by its level of optimism, the more optimistic team should achieve its goals, and this will be more evident under pressure. If you can change the style of the team members from pessimistic to optimistic, they will achieve more, particularly under pressure. The next time you need to pick a project team member, consider their optimism in addition to his or her technical competencies. How do you choose your team members? What characteristics do you take into account when integrating members to your team? Read more from Jorge. Read more about teams. |
6 Tips to Persuade Stakeholders to Say "Yes" to Your Project
Categories:
Human Aspects of PM
Categories: Human Aspects of PM
| "Advertising is fundamentally persuasion, and persuasion happens to be not a science, but an art." -- Bill Bernbach, founder of Doyle Dane Bernbach, an ad agency Starting a project is not always easy. It requires resources and changes the status quo, so there can be a lot of obstacles until you hear "yes" to a project. That's why you need to know how to effectively persuade your stakeholders to get on board with your project. Dr. Alan H. Monroe's motivated sequence pattern, created in the 1930s, is useful for doing so: 1. Attention: Capture your stakeholders' attention with an interesting opening statement, or share a statistic related to your project. 2. Need: Identify the need that your project will address and share it with your stakeholders. The more information you have about the business needs, the better the chance your project is approved. 3. Satisfaction: Let stakeholders know how your project will satisfy the identified business needs. In detail, describe the approach you'll use in your project to address the needs. 4. Visualize: Explain the 'perfect world' that will exist after the project has finished. Make it as vivid as possible -- explain how it looks, sounds and smells. Be very energetic and enthusiastic when you explain. 5. Action: Tell them what you need them to do. Let them know specifically what steps you are taking to achieve the vision you've just shared. The sixth element I would add is to tell a story to help you make your point. It could be real or it could be fictional, but remember that people are more likely persuaded when they hear or read a story that transports them. If a story is told well, we get swept up and are less likely to notice things that don't match up with our everyday experiences. Use your creativity -- find your own way to mix all of these elements and you can build a powerful tool to persuade even the most demanding stakeholder. How do you reach and influence your stakeholders as people, not just businesspersons? See more posts from Jorge Valdés Garciatorres. See more posts about stakeholder management. |
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by Jorge Martin Valdes Garciatorres
on: February 06, 2012 11:33 AM
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Beyond Stakeholder Management
| My mentor in this field -- Julio Matus Nakamura, a project manager -- once told me, "In any organization, there aren't just processes, projects, strategies or tools. What really matters is people." That lesson, learned long ago, taught me that no matter a person's position, he or she is a human being first. It's very important to build trust among human beings in order to believe in each other. When I realized that, I vowed to establish that type of relationship with my stakeholders -- to build that trust and try to create a more personal relationship with them. In my opinion, in some cases it's more important to have a good relationship with the sponsor or customer than the results of the project. I'm not suggesting you forget about your project's results or even the contract. Just that you should put the same emphasis in building a deeper relationship with your key stakeholders as you put in delivering good results and caring about contract issues. Here are some simple tips that I have used for a while. I hope it may help you when building a relationship with your stakeholders: 1. Use basic manners: Always say hello, goodbye, thanks, please, well done, good job and I'm sorry. These are powerful little words that can make a big difference. 2. Show respect: Often when we are in a conversation with someone, we are not 100 percent in the conversation. You must be present. No excuses. When talking with someone, pay all of your attention to what the person is saying. Avoid thinking about your response when the other party talks; just listen carefully to what's being said. 3. Learn to read body language: We communicate more with our body than with our words. Learn to "listen" to the body of your counterpart and learn to speak with your body. For example, don't cross your arms during a conversation, as this can seem standoffish. Make eye contact during conversation and always face the person to whom you're talking. 4. Share something personal: Find affinities with your stakeholder wherever possible. This could be the university where you studied, the town where you grew up, vacations you've taken, books you've read, or your favorite team and sport. Make sure to find the appropriate moment to share these commonalities. 5. Break the ice: Read the environment around your stakeholder and discover his or her interests. At the first opportunity, bring those interests into the conversation. What about you? What tools or techniques do you use to build trust with your stakeholders? |
Pancho Villa's Approach to Project Communication
Categories:
Human Aspects of PM
Categories: Human Aspects of PM
| "It is my duty to inform you that Pancho Villa is everywhere, and nowhere at the same time." Pancho Villa,1878 - 1923 Pancho Villa (1878-1923) was a revolutionary Mexican general and the subject of legends. In his time, Villa commanded the most powerful army in Latin America. Some considered him a bandit and cold-blooded killer. Others think of him as a true charismatic leader. His leadership style provides lessons that we can apply to our work as project managers -- specifically, when it comes to project communication. Historians says because of his fear, Villa would tell one member of his troop to "watch his back," and keep on an eye on suspicious behavior when he wasn't alert. Legend says that in this way, Villa braided the troops -- to keep them watching each other and "manage the risk" of being killed. I have adapted a similar approach to project management. Villa knew he couldn't supervise his troops all of the time. As we know, not everyone can be present for all meetings and working sessions during a project. Therefore, I often try to "braid" my team through a communication approach adapted from Villa's to keep information flowing. This communication technique reduces communication channels by holding one team member to be responsible for sharing important aspects of the project's journey with one or two other team members. For every two people on the project team, there should be one person updating them. In my experience, I have found this kind of communication useful with small teams between 8 to 12 people. This keeps everyone updated on the project because each team member has at least one person informing her about the project's progress and/or situations in face-to-face conversations. This allows me to avoid extensive email use. Even In some cases, fewer meetings are required and the meeting itself becomes more productive. What do you think? What communication technique you are currently using? Do you like the idea of "braiding" your project team? Do you think the braiding technique could apply to other project management aspects? Read more about project teams. Read more from Jorge. |
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by Jorge Martin Valdes Garciatorres
on: November 10, 2011 11:22 AM
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