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Viewing Posts by Lung-Hung Chou
What Makes a Good Project Manager?
| I think the mark of a good project manager starts with how they manage projects. In April, the Institute of Taiwanese Project Management gave out its first 10 Outstanding Chinese Project Managers awards. The winners and candidates were examples of what defines a good project manager. In general, most of the project managers who caught the selection board's attention managed efforts that were: • Completed within budget and on time, sticking to their scope and quality • In line with the client company's business objectives or ambitions • A benefit to the economy, society or local community Good project managers also have commitment and determination -- a common characteristic of the 10 award winners. Their background, education and work history all showed they were individuals who, when they committed to doing something, would do all that was possible to get the work completed, even when others wanted to give up. I also realized during the award-selection process that good project managers are a driving force in our society. Their constant, ongoing completion of projects keeps our economy active and competitive. Whether these are large telecom projects (such as the installation of China's countrywide broadband network) or smaller ecology projects (such as reducing the carbon emissions of homes or businesses), the project managers leading these efforts are all doing important work that improves our society and our economy. It is only through their planning, execution and management skills, as well as their commitment and determination, that any project can be completed efficiently and effectively. If you know excellent project managers who deserve to be recognized, consider nominating them in next year's PMI Professional Awards. To all you project managers silently toiling away -- possibly thinking "these awards have nothing to do with me!" -- I would like to praise your work: You are the real driving force in society. Never underestimate how important your contribution is! |
Changing Taiwan's Project Management Outlook
Categories:
Leadership
Categories: Leadership
| This is a guest post from Roger Chou,
PgMP, of the Institute of Taiwan Project Management Five years ago in Taiwan, there was a general lack of awareness about project management. This led all of us in the project management community to some basic questions: How could we prove the value of professional project management teaching and qualifications to the country's leading opinion-makers? And how could we show that having as many qualified managers as possible would be good for business and therefore for society? We decided to provide free project management training to business leaders, company managers, politicians and other influential people. All of these people knew enough about management skills and practices to take such an invitation seriously--and if it was free, how could they refuse? In this way they would understand what all the Project Management Professional (PMP)® education providers were trying to achieve. This became our strategy: influence the influential. After getting first-hand experience of what it meant to be trained and to work as a professional project manager, participants started to endorse project management education and qualifications. At the same time, we also facilitated numerous newspaper reports on major successful projects, including Taipei's Tower 101. We also managed to get over 2,000 people--many of whom participated in the free training--to sign the petition for proper project management training sent to our main forum of elected politicians, the Legislative Yuan. Following this petition, we wrote an open letter to Taiwan's president about the importance of project management teaching and qualification. One of the hardest places to introduce new ideas, practices, technology or anything that requires rethinking convention is within government departments. They see their main responsibility as implementing policy--discussions about or changes to working practices could be potentially costly distractions from an already sensitive process. Despite the challenges, our efforts have paid off. As of January, all civil servants are now required to have professional project management training and qualifications. While "influencing the influential" was a business plan specifically tailored to Taiwan's situation and needs at that time, we were nevertheless following our own professional management training. As the A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) indicates, identifying your stakeholders and satisfying their needs would be the first step to successfully managing change, regardless or how big or small that change. |
Making Vision Real
| This is a guest post from Roger Chou, PgMP, of the Institute of Taiwan Project Management Leaders have vision. They put forth a dream and direction that other people want to share and follow. This "leadership vision" goes beyond a mission statement. It permeates the workplace and is manifested in the actions, beliefs, values and goals of the organization's leaders. It's also known as "charismatic leadership." A recent and famous example of leadership vision was shown by U.S. President Barack Obama in his election campaign. By offering a dream of a fairer society, he was able to mobilize people to work on his campaign without payment. The campaign was of a door-to-door nature, obtaining 13 million e-mail addresses in the process. From this, more than one billion e-mails were then sent, and in return 4 million people made donations--generating a record US$500 million, with an average donation of US$85. Why did people respond to this campaign so enthusiastically? Obama's campaign promised new possibilities; people were persuaded by this prospect of positive change for the better to help him achieve change. Therefore, for them, responding to and working for Barack Obama meant working for themselves. In helping him realize his dream, they were realizing their own dreams. What they gained was far more valuable than a day's pay. At the Institute of Taiwan Project Management, the organization I run, we rely on four key ideas to create and achieve vision leadership: 1. Continually evaluate the business environment and propose a vision. 2. Express this vision through persuasion and encouragement. 3. Gain the trust of those you want to share your vision and engage them in this vision. 4. Lead others in fulfilling this vision. With this shared zeal, we were able to quickly mobilize 300 volunteer project managers for a flood-relief operation after Typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan in August. Together, we prepared a work breakdown structure (WBS) that helped the relief operation. Since then, the WBS has been sent to the President's Office, the Executive Yuan, the Post-Flood Reconstruction Committee, the Domestic Affairs Bureau, the Major Construction Association, the Taiwan Red Cross and other charity organizations. I believe leadership vision will continue to allow our Taiwan PM Institute to thrive. How has your organization benefited from leadership vision? |