PM-Interface

By Mike Adams, PMP® 
President Elect - PMI Otowi Bridge 
@MichaelAdamsPMP

Well, this has been an amazing few days. The speakers have been fantastic, the workshops have been worth while and the people have been...

wait for it...

amazing! Yes I said it again. I love PMI volunteers, they're some of the coolest folks you could ever hope to meet.

This morning brought my LIM experience full circle. I've been walking around a bit upset about my experience with Southwest Airlines on the way out, and this morning's speaker was a guy named, Jason Young, author of a book named Culturetopia. He got his start as a customer service manager for Southwest Airlines, and he talked about the values that were so important to the organization and that have pushed it to the success it now enjoys.

My reaction to this was mixed. I had a good flight and the crew were fantastic, I was unhappy with how the gate personnel acted, and at the lack of care for giving my seat away when I ran to the restroom. My twitter interaction wasn't helpful either. I guess I'd have to say, "yeah fly Southwest Airlines, BUT #DontGoToTheRestRoom"

Later, I attended the PMI award Gala, where I met PMI region mentors from around the world, don't ask my how I ended up at that table...I just saw the outgoing Region 7 mentor, Tony Appleby and asked if I could join him. Tony's a good guy to sit with, not only because he is fun, but because he sits with people you want to know!

The award ceremony was really fun too, I love seeing people receive awards. I love how their faces light up and I appreciate hearing about their accomplishments. It was a great evening.

I'll throw a shout out to my new friend, Mike Frennete, whom I've known on here on ProjectManagement.com, but whom I met in person at the LIM in Orlando. Mike is a great guy, and a new graduate of PMI's Leadership Institute Masters Class, where he spent the last year developing his leadership skills and honing his servant leadership abilities. Canada is lucky to have him!

I also got to see my original PM mentor, and a previous manager of mine, Mr. "Skippy" John Jones graduate from the Masters Class. It was invigorating. Congratulations John, and best wishes as you progress in your career and life!

My blogs for the rest of this week, will be about the PMI Congress. The LIM is over and now I enter into a new adventure, as an "expert"  for ProjectManagement.com. If you are here at congress, please say hi if you see me, also, feel free to sign up for an "ask an expert session." They should be interesting, and I'm looking forward to them!

Thanks PMI for a great 2015 LIM, I'm looking forward to the PMI Global Congress, and I'm looking forward to getting some sleep too.

By Mike Adams, PMP® 
President Elect - PMI Otowi Bridge 
@MichaelAdamsPMP

Another fantastic speaker this morning...I mean wow!

Jeff Tobe talked to us about "Coloring Outside the Lines." Jeff was fantastic, and I thoroughly enjoyed his presentation. I had to stop and think, "As a chapter leader, have I elevated myself to the status of leadership mentor?" That question is distinct from "am I mentoring people?" The second question asked what I'm doing, it is an inquiry into what I'm passing on to others, or if I'm passing anything on. The first question has less to do with others and more to do with how I'm viewing myself and how much time I'm spending nursing my fragile ego...and it is fragile!

The answer, *blush* yes, I have 'elevated' myself to some heightened status. The problem is that in that position of being "Mr. Mentor," I am unable to listen as well as when I'm being a team player. I'm busy passing on what I know, and impressing others myself.

At lunch, I sat down with two new board members and asked them what we, as a board, are doing wrong. We didn't get to finish the conversation, but I can't wait to hear the rest of what they have to say. I'm so excited about this coming year in PMI. I have a feeling it is going to be great. I'm looking forward to serving as President of the Otowi Bridge Chapter, and I'm really excited about my own career and the trajectory it is on. Finally, I can't wait to see what happens in my family. My wife is returning to school, and my kids are pursuing their own passions.

In the afternoon, I attended several workshops. One had to do with using ProjectManagement.com to add value to my chapter members. I have to tell you, there are some really interesting things in the works. Thanks to Dave Garret, and Dani Ritter for a truly engaging workshop. For the rest of you, look for the chapter library to come online. In it, you will find chapter produced webinars that are only available to people who are members of chapters. So your chapter members will have exclusive access to a library of PM content produced and shared by other chapters from around the world. For $25 a year, this is a great deal!

I attended another presentation on how to effectively get chapter sponsors, and I can't wait to explore with my board, how we might get some sponsors for our events. I think we offer something valuable and could attract some sponsors, who want to take advantage of what we offer.

Finally, I talked up the Otowi Bridge International Project Management Day event in Santa Fe on November 4. I'm really excited about that. We have some world class speakers visiting Santa Fe, and some really interesting workshops to offer. If you have always wanted to visit Santa Fe, come this November 4.

I'll write a post about that soon, with details of the speakers, but for now, you should know that they are top notch, and they're coming to us from all across the country. I promise it will be worth your while.

So here is my plug for volunteering with PMI. Do it! Just go ahead and jump in. These are amazing people, the experience you get is amazing, and since starting my volunteer career with PMI, my business career has taken on a whole new trajectory, which is more enticing than anything I would have thought available to me even one year ago. I love PMI, and I love volunteering for PMI. You will love it too.

By Mike Adams, PMP® 
President Elect - PMI Otowi Bridge 
@MichaelAdamsPMP

So this whole thing got off wrong! Southwest Air gave my seat away while I was at the restroom. I didn't plan on having to run to the facility, but I had to, and by the time I returned to the gate, my seat was GONE! I've asked them to try and make it right, and we'll see if they do anything or not. #DontGoToTheRestRoom

Anyway, that had me arrive last night at 2:00 am (local Florida time). That's right, 2:00 am! Obviously, I had a rough time waking this morning. When finally I dragged myself from bed and out of my room, I was treated to a pretty good breakfast, and a fantastic speaker, Captain Sully, who successfully landed a passenger jet in the Hudson river less than three minutes after lift-off. There were no fatalities.

His talk was incredible and uplifting. The image I'll never forget is when he described one parent on the plane, who thought no one would survive. This parent wrote a quick note on a business card, letting his wife and kids know how much he loved them, and shoved the card deep into his pocket, so it would be found when his body was recovered. I held back a tear, as I imagined what it would be like to write that note to my wife and kids. That aside, his talk was engaging, uplifting, full of useful information about being a leader, and creating a high performing team.

Thanks Captain Sully for a great talk on providing essential leadership even under high stress circumstances!

I attended a workshop on engaging chapter volunteers, another on practicing servant leadership, and a talk detailing the history of PMI, and its growth from being a mere possibility to an organization with fewer than 100 members to its explosion into the organization it is today. Despite incredible growth and reach, PMI is essentially the same as it has always been. It is volunteer powered, infused with member passion, and aimed at empowering people to make things happen in the world.

I've also met some incredible people here. One couple, who arrived last night at 2:00 with me. They were quite impressive. We're going to explore creation of a program where chapter leaders can learn about their fiduciary responsibilities, and the technical aspects of how they can fulfill on those responsibilities.

They say that the North American LIM is like a family reunion, and I have to agree, it is incredible, and though this one isn't even half way over, I already can't wait for next year!

By Mike Adams, PMP® 
President Elect - PMI Otowi Bridge 
@MichaelAdamsPMP

Hi Everyone, who is excited for the LIM and/or global congress?

I am! My chapter offered to send every board member to the LIM and more than half of us are going, which is great.

Shortly after booking that event, I was contacted by ProjectManagement.com. They are sending me to the PMI Global Congress as an expert, and representative of ProjectManagement.com. I couldn't be more excited!

Check out the expert profiles: http://bit.ly/1KQVAm0

I'll write an article about my experiences at the LIM and at PMI Global Congress. If you are attending either event, please look for me. I'd love to meet you in person!

By Mike Adams, PMP® 
President Elect - PMI Otowi Bridge 
@MichaelAdamsPMP

Sitting in the parking lot of the Blue Corn Tortilla, my wife turned to me and said, “Oh thank heavens we’re here, I’m so hungry.” I nodded my agreement, stepped from our mini-van, and staggered towards the entrance. She said, “you HAVE to stop walking like that.” But I still wasn’t accustomed to walking, or even standing on solid ground. I had never taken a cruise, so I jumped at the opportunity to get trained and developed as a leader, while my wife enjoyed a great vacation.

We had a great New Mexican meal in Santa Fe, and headed for home, where my mother-in-law and our nine year old welcomed us home. He had prepared a surprise violin concert, featuring “The Hall of the Mountain King,” a song he had worked on furiously since our departure only four days earlier. Those four days had been intense for me too. I had spent countless hours in conversations, attending presentations, and collaborating in workshops as part of the 2015 PMI Region 7 Leadership Summit @ Sea.

In this article, I’ll try to paint a picture of this year’s PMI® Region 7 Leadership Summit experience, and I’ll begin exploring some of what was learned and discussed. For those of you who don’t know, a PMI® Leadership Summit is an opportunity for people who volunteer as chapter leaders to meet the PMI® staff, who support their chapter, as well as to meet their counterparts in other chapters, and share ideas. This was my first experience of this sort, and it is something I plan to participate in whenever I can. The mix of presentations, workshops, discussions and networking at dinner and in fun settings was invaluable, and something I want to see my whole board take advantage of in the future.

If you’ve read my first ever PM article, “PMI Volunteering: A Chance to Learn and Grow,” you’ll know that I credit my PMI volunteer experience with pushing me across the PMP® certification finish line. What you don’t know is the degree to which I attribute my subsequent professional development to volunteer experiences with PMI. As the VP of Education, I had the opportunity to manage projects that I would never have been accountable for as an IT Technician. As a board member, I’ve had the opportunity to think strategically as an organizational leader, to brainstorm and implement strategic initiatives, and to develop my “soft skills,” particularly relating to conflict-management, public speaking, creating buy-in, and negotiation. In short, volunteering for PMI has been a bonanza of development and training for me personally and professionally. I can’t recommend, highly enough, that you take a position on your local PMI® chapter.

Now, back to painting a picture of the 2015 PMI® Region 7 Summit @ Sea. First, Region 7 includes chapters from Hawaii, California, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. We have some very small chapters, like mine, with less than two hundred members, and some very large chapters with more than three thousand members. That being the case, leadership challenges may vary in terms of specifics, for example, a small chapter may have a difficult time finding volunteers, while a large chapter might struggle with internal conflict, or with keeping an eye on strategic initiatives. All of that aside, successful leadership seems to rely on similar traits, and those were eloquently addressed by Darryl Jackson, our PMI Chapter Development specialist, during the Summit’s opening ceremony.

Darryl touched on a shift in PMI focus from concentrating on the technical abilities needed to manage projects, to development of leadership qualities, and soft skills. Apparently, organizations are experiencing a need for leaders, who can think strategically, and see how their project fits into the success of the organization, or the program. A variety of Industry leaders have asked PMI to develop these critical soft skills, and PMI is pushing that concentration out to chapters.

This focus on developing leaders, with strategic vision really guided my conversations for the rest of this summit, and caused me to really consider how vital my volunteer experience with PMI has been to my career. One of my favorite workshops was a discussion among chapter leaders for how we could work together as a Region 7 Leadership body to support smaller chapters and create opportunities for volunteers to grow, and gain a high value of return on their time as volunteers.

We agreed to pilot a project where chapters with strong monthly programming will make available, via webinar, their monthly speakers for other chapters. This will allow all chapters to offer more resources for earning PDUs and for personal/professional development. Additionally, we’re going to explore creation of Region 7 Leadership groups based on roles, so that on a monthly or quarterly basis, Region 7 leaders can meet virtually with others who have the same role(s) in other chapters to discuss problems, share solutions, and brainstorm ideas. Finally, we are exploring how to create a regional speaker board, where we can both assess speakers for inclusion in Region 7 webinars, but also provide mentorship and development to potential speakers, who may need some development prior to addressing an audience of potentially several thousand.

There were many other presentations, workshops and discussions, which I’ll explore in future articles. I’ll also ask my fellow board-members to write some articles about the workshops and presentations they attended. I also promise to publish an article based on the presentation I gave Sunday, “Chapter Marketing through Education: Good Education Gives You a Good Name.”

If you have any questions, please post them below. Also, your comments and thoughts are, as always, welcome.