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The Non-Negotiables of Leadership
Categories:
Leadership
Categories: Leadership
| Project practitioners often get bogged down in the details of getting a project done at all costs. This can cause us to make decisions and take actions that we later regret, because they compromise our position as leaders within our organization. There are three leadership skills that we as project managers need to cultivate in ourselves and that should be non-negotiable, no matter how difficult the project. 1. Integrity: It is easy for a project manager to compromise and make decisions that are in the gray area between right and wrong. To be a strong project leader, it is important that you show character in your decision-making process. Even if compromising your principles makes the current project go more smoothly, in the long run you will lessen your effectiveness as a leader. And remember that your actions as a leader have a huge effect on your team -- if you are willing to cut corners or compromise your decision-making, how can you expect any more from your team? Maintain your integrity by setting clear operating principles for your team at the start of the project and always acting within those principles throughout the course of the project, even if it is difficult. 2. Adaptability: As project managers, we have really strong methodologies and standards that drive our planning, implementation and review processes. And sometimes, it's easy to allow those methodologies to hamper flexibility. To be a great leader, you have to be comfortable knowing the methodology and have faith in your understanding of the methodology and your decision-making process. At the same time, you need to be flexible enough to change with the dynamics of a project. These dynamics can play out as the project unfolds: when resources are limited after allocation; a sponsor or key stakeholder makes new demands; or even having to stop work on a project because it no longer fits into your organization's strategic goals. In these cases, rely on the solid plan that you developed earlier, but be willing and able to change or scrap that plan when it doesn't fit the new circumstances. 3. Judgment: Project managers will spend the bulk of their time acting as communicators between sponsors, stakeholders and the team. With all of this communication comes a ton of information, and a project manager must have the confidence and judgment to act on or discard that information. Beyond communication, you'll make decisions that will affect not only all stakeholders, but also your business and your organization's overall performance. Two really important points here. First, you have to be patient because big decisions don't come every day and when they do, you have to be bold enough to take action. Second, you also have to work within your organization to garner the trust necessary to make decisions and, more importantly, to make mistakes along the way. The learning curve isn't a straight line, and you need the support of your sponsors and supervisors to get the necessary experience in decision-making. Because at the end of the day, that's what judgment is all about: experience. By making these skills the core of your personal leadership development process, you can make all other project decisions with the clarity and confidence you need to move your project toward a successful conclusion. What are your must-have leadership skills? Find out what other skills you can sharpen to help your organization succeed in PMI's 2014 Pulse of the Profession®. |
The Power of Happiness
| People talk about motivation, work-life balance and developing a productive team. But only a few realize the importance of happiness within this equation. Look no further than the recent cricket matches between England and Australia for a very interesting case study of the effect of leadership and morale on sustained team performance. I'm not going to explain cricket other than to highlight that it's a team game and that each test match takes up to five days, with six hours of playing time each day. It requires sustained concentration, and outcomes are significantly influenced by the collective expectations and attitude within the team. Unlike many sports, a single star cannot make a huge difference without support from his teammates and the playing time resembles that of a normal workweek. In parts of what was once the British Empire, the game of cricket reigns supreme. One of the sport's major contests is the series of five matches between English and Australian teams every couple of years for "The Ashes." The outcome of each of the five series is of significant national importance -- defeating the "old enemy" makes headline news in both countries. Unusually, in the last nine months, there have been two series played: the first in mid-2013 and the second in the current Australian summer. England won the first series 3-0. And after losses in India and England, the Australian team was written off as "the worst ever" by the local press. But then Australia won the second series 5-0, a feat only accomplished twice before in Ashes history, and now they're national heroes. What caused the change? The difference wasn't in the skills of the players or the support staff (they were basically the same). It was the team's attitude. Prior to the start of the English series, Australia focused on peak performance at all costs. There were rules, curfews and strictly enforced discipline, which led to dissent, internal divisions and disenchantment. The Australian Cricket Board decided a change was needed and appointed Daren "Boof" Lehmann as the new team coach just 16 days before the first English test. The change was too late to make much of a difference in the England series, but by the time the Australian series started, Mr. Lehmann's philosophy had made a fundamental -- and enduring -- change in the Australian team culture. With Mr. Lehmann at the helm, every team member is committed to team excellence. And rather than training drills for the sake of drills to drive performance, players want to improve and develop. The drive is intrinsic, not extrinsic. The most often repeated comment among team members is, "Lehmann made it fun again!" The Australian team members are happy, taking genuine delight in each other's successes as well as providing support and encouragement when things don't go as planned. This transformation will undoubtedly be the subject of research in years to come, but my initial impressions of the key skills Mr. Lehmann has used are:
Applying these techniques takes courage (especially under the glare of national publicity). Building a champion team that enjoys its work and challenges is the challenge for any leader, particularly if you want your team to help you push your project through to a successful conclusion. How do you make your team's work fun when you need high performance? |
Digging Deeper into a PMO Implementation Plan
Categories:
PMO
Categories: PMO
| In my last post, we discussed the five basics of a PMO implementation plan. Here, I'll delve deeper into those five: 1. Current State Assessment When assessing the current state, it might be helpful to hire an external consultancy, as internal initiatives may lose momentum along the way. The people internal to an organization might not be able to ask the right questions or they might even resist due to a fear of change. An external consultancy can assist in overcoming political issues by adopting a structured approach. Usually, consultants force or drive change because that's what they are hired to do. In the end, a good diagnosis will point out issues and opportunities for improvement. 2. Future State Vision Based on the assessment, it is possible to design a future state vision, describing how projects, programs and portfolios should be managed in order to fulfill organizational needs. That's because when the current state is clearly understood, it is easy to compare to benchmarks. Consequently, the organization can realize what is missing or what is done but could be improved. Ultimately, the future state vision details exactly what the organization wants to become. 3. Gap Analysis The next step is to carry out a gap analysis by comparing the current state to the future vision. This analysis has to focus on three factors:
A successful gap analysis clearly identifies what is missing or what could be improved, prioritizing which features, processes and structure the PMO should have, according to effectiveness (cost x benefit), desirability (sponsorship; what the company want to implement) and feasibility (what is realistic and what is possible to do). We have to select and prioritize based on cultural and organizational feasibility, not only based on resources available. For example, imagine an organization wants to implement enterprise project management (EPM) software. There are plenty of options in the market. Some have fancy features and are more expensive. It might be desirable to have top-notch software, so we won't have to substitute or upgrade it for years. However, it is effective to choose software that offers the simplest solution and satisfies future state needs. Finally, it might be feasible to start with familiar software to overcome people's resistance and rejection to the PMO implementation. In this particular case, project professionals might desire the best EPM in the world (desirability) -- but the company could do well with a free version or simpler software (effectiveness). Finally, considering that people unfamiliar with project management practices will have to use the software, it might make sense to get something familiar or similar to other software they already use (feasibility). 4. Implementation Strategy After the gap analysis, introduce stakeholder requirements to define the implementation strategy. I recommend thinking of the PMO like a new business unit or a small new company. The PMO should have its own mission, vision and goals. We have to identify who are its stakeholders and customers, so we can define its value proposition and its services. Personally, I use the Business Model Generation canvas to do that. The implementation strategy defines the approach to implement a PMO, major expected results and the overall framework, considering organizational strategy and corporate project management governance. Consequently, the PMO business model must support and enhance strategic alignment by selecting, prioritizing and managing portfolios of projects that sustain and boost organizational strategy. 5. Implementation Plan Finally, the implementation plan is the detailed project management plan for implementing the PMO. While the implementation strategy is the approach chosen to implement the PMO, the implementation plan puts that strategy into action. We start by defining its scope and work breakdown structure. Then we create a schedule of tasks to deliver the project scope. Resource needs are identified and a budget is set. Other subsidiary plans are created to manage integration, scope, time, cost, quality, communications, human resources, risks, procurement and stakeholders. The implementation plan should be as detailed as you need. I want to emphasize the importance of defining a business model for your PMO, allowing for performance measurement and improvement after the implementation. In my next post, I'll provide a framework for sustaining and improving your PMO, once it is set up and running. Do you have any tips or examples of PMO implementation plans? For more on PMOs, check out the PMI® Thought Leadership Series: Strategic Initiative Management - The PMO Imperative. |
Keep the Schedule Plan Strong -- and Constraint-Free
Categories:
Project Planning
Categories: Project Planning
| The project schedule plan is probably one of the most important project management assets a project manager has to develop, maintain and manage throughout a project. Why? Because compared to other planning documents -- such as the resources plan, costs plan or risk management plan -- a project schedule will generally have widespread visibility within the project's environment and among stakeholders. For instance, your project sponsors will want to see your project schedule and understand whether you are on track to deliver it on time. The beneficiaries of your project will want to see it to understand your next deliverables or key milestones. Your core project team will seek it out to find out how work activities are planned and relate to one another, and how resources are allocated. And, probably most important, you as the project manager will need it to be your map throughout the project, guiding you to drive the project to its target. Now, if your project schedule is incomplete or flawed -- for example, it's missing work tasks or it features wrong dependencies between project tasks -- you will most likely steer your project into a wall. And even if you put everything right into it (i.e., all work activities, the right durations, right resources assigned, right dependencies), that still might not be sufficient for a successful delivery. That's because, as you know, a project schedule is not a linear sequencing of work tasks that perform exactly as initially planned. In addition, your project schedule will be subject to the project's challenges and constraints, such as resources scarcity, work overload, aggressive milestones or delays. It's these unexpected or imposed factors that will constrain your project schedule and demand that you react quickly, applying various tactics and techniques, to adapt the project schedule and make it ultimately work. There are several techniques that can help in analyzing, adapting and improving a constrained project schedule. Among these, three stand out for their effectiveness:
In my next post, I'll dive deeper into what these three techniques are, when to apply them and how to do so. How do you manage constraints to your project schedule? |
Procurement: A Project Manager's Best Friend
Categories:
Procurement Management
Categories: Procurement Management
| We all agree that projects need things. These things can run the gamut, from pencils to gas turbines. In the past, the corporate function that acquired things for projects was called "purchasing." Its sole role was to do what the title implies — purchase things. As corporate governance evolved, so did the purchasing department into what we now know as procurement. Today, procurement has to orchestrate the acquisition of hundreds, if not thousands, of things for projects on a daily basis. In addition, this department puts in place policies that keep project managers from purchasing a gas turbine when they need only a pencil. Traditionally, project managers have viewed procurement departments as a barrier to progress and a constant source of frustration. However, this friction can sometimes be the fault of the project manager, who's not practicing good stakeholder management with procurement team members. As with any other stakeholder, team members from procurement need to be an integral part of the project team. Let's look at ways to make this happen, as well as the benefits of doing so:
By adopting these practices, you can better leverage the specialized skills of procurement team members — and you just might be able to acquire both pencils and turbines in a manner that will keep your project on schedule. What methods can you recommend to help integrate procurement into your project team? Find out more about procurement in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)—Fifth Edition. |