Servant Leadership: Serve to Be Great

In a recent HBR article on strategic prioritization by the current chair of PMI, Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, I read about a tool he uses aptly called Hierarchy of Purpose. This tool helps in understanding an organization’s purpose, methods of pursuing it and its strategic vision;  what is of utmost importance over the next few years; what projects should be resourced “to the hilt” that align, as well as which should be scrapped; who the best people are to involve; and, what outcome-related targets should be set.

I think this is a great tool that ties in perfectly with portfolio management, organizational [servant, I hope] leadership, stakeholder engagement and of course the programs and projects that result from the portfolio.  

But what really intrigued me was Antonio's comments about conflicting messages coming from an executive team. The example he cited, more eloquently than I could, was about an organization telling their people they had two main strategic priorities: Efficiency and Customer Satisfaction. He then related a brief story about how someone delivering a parcel was invited into their customer’s office for a chat. The person first thought “Yes! Customer Satisfaction, here I come!”, was immediately supplanted by the second thought “Oops - where is the efficiency in that?” See the conflict?  

How often do we get conflicting and unclear priorities from our leadership team and what should we as project managers and servant leaders do when that happens? I believe it is up to us to be crystal clear in OUR understanding of priorities so that WE can be crystal clear in our decision-making and in relaying the same priorities to our teams.  Would a servant leader simply accept what was said verbatim from senior members of our team? I think not.  It takes a lot of nerve to point out the need for clarity, the need for priorities that are not both number one and the need for a change in messaging.  What senior executive would not welcome such courage from a more junior leader?

So, once we understand the business priorities and have clarified where the focus should be, how do we instill this into the project team? Knowing and understanding with clarity is the first step. Communicating it clearly is the second. Communicating to the team, to the stakeholders, to the customers if applicable. Making decisions in any project becomes much easier when that shining star representing the organization's strategic and focused goals can be seen clearly and followed to a successful conclusion. Just like those three wise men who were said to have followed a star around this time of year a few thousand years ago.

How clearly does your executive teams express the strategic goals of your organization? Can you make autonomous decisions firm in the knowledge that you clearly understand both the goals and the priorities? How do you communicate this to your teams?

Food for thought.

But during this time of year, one should be clearly focusing on food for the tummy.  And with that, I wish everyone celebrating during this time a wonderful holiday season and all the best in 2017.  

As I type this , I am thinking of all the things I have to do, and how it would have been easier to try to sluff this commitment off to someone else.  But, that wouldn’t be fair, would it? Since I made a commitment to write a post for this blog, I feel I must keep it - unless disaster strikes. Especially when the blog is about leadership.

What message would I be sending my colleagues if I said no to a commitment they have all been living with for a year and which I made a year ago too? So what if I have to prepare a keynote address and a one-day workshop? So what if I am going on vacation and won’t be able to work easily while on the road? So what if I have constant demands on my time, and have an affliction in that I don’t want to say no to anyone?  

Well, as we all know, there comes a time when you do have to say no, especially if you know you are tapped out and have no more capacity. But you have to be very selective.

Should you say no to a long-held commitment like this Blog? No!

Should you say no to something that can wait for a month or two? Maybe...

Should you say no to something with a looming deadline where you run the risk of disappointing a lot of people or even embarrassing yourself or <gasp> both? No!

Should you say no to the offer of a new group membership that might pay dividends in long term, but will take some effort in the short term? Well, It depends, doesn’t it?

Should you say no to helping a family member with a critical health issue? Of course not!

Should you allow a protege to do something for you, especially when he/she may benefit by doing it for you, while freeing your time? Yes - of course!

So get your priorities straight and choose your “no's” carefully. Maintain your integrity. Know your capacity before you commit. And if sacrificing your personal time to meet important commitments is what it takes, get on with it!

When have you had to say no and wish you had said yes? When have you said yes and wished you had not (nothing personal, please!)?  What were the impacts? Tell us your story.

We’ve all been in a position of authority when we were leading a team. It’s easy to assume a sort of command and control posture, isn’t it?  “Good morning team - here are your tasks for the week.  Let me know when you have finished - and don’t forget about your weekly progress reports and timesheets. If you need me, I’ll be in my office.”  But this sort of command and control situation does very little for team building, trust, collaboration and self-management, one of the tenets of Agile.  Although it might be easier in the short term. Why is it easy? Well, you made the plan, and now you are going to work the plan, right?

You’ve all heard Dwight’s oft-misquoted maxim (of Eisenhower fame, not of Office fame), “The plan is nothing, planning is everything.”  What he actually said, according to BrainyQuotes.com was “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” Maybe that makes it a little clearer.  After all, would you look forward to going into battle with a Gantt Chart in your hip pocket? Or would you rather a fully engaged team at you back, ready to defend the agreed upon turf?  So, strangely enough, one of the most famous military commanders in history has provided us a clue insinuating he is not in favour of command and control (ironic isn’t it?), but rather is in favour of team collaboration.

People often will associate traditional project methods with command and control, and Agile methods with collaboration and teamwork, and I believe they are on to something.  Perhaps we can learn some valuable lessons from the sharp uptake of Agile methods, which emphasize self-managed teams, high visibility of the work to be done and the work accomplished, total client immersion, shared responsibility and support of each other to ensure project objectives are achieved.

So - the next time you slip into that easy command and control mode, that reliance on the plan mode and that “not really there method” of managing your project - give it a second thought.  Work with your team, be present, be visible, be helpful. Live your team’s pain and their successes. Keep your finger on the pulse, hour by hour, minute by minute, and climb down off that pedestal.  You don’t belong there - and neither does anyone else.

Have you ever been in a leadership position and ignored an important problem? This is something new leaders often do early on. Sometimes even experienced leaders can fall into that trap.

Why does it happen? Are you “cherry picking” the problems you will address, but focusing on those with easy solutions? Are you ignoring the tough problems because they involve confrontation with team members or maybe with those to whom you report? Or are you just so tied up in the day to day that things slip through the cracks because you are not paying attention?

If you are like many people, your instincts are telling you which are the important problems you need to deal with right now, but you are ignoring them and are taking the route of least resistance, dealing with other problems. Why? Maybe because it's easier that way. Maybe they are more aligned with the things you enjoy doing or the people with whom you like to work. Maybe because it's simply more fun. Important problems belong on your Get Done ASAP list, not your ever-lengthening To-Do list.

Be sure not to confuse urgency with importance – sometimes that looming deadline is not actually important, or the consequences of missing it are near zero. Is it an urgent problem with zero importance? Are you wasting your valuable energy on it when there are so many more important items on your list? Be aware and know what you are dealing with.

Good things happen when you deal with important problems you’ve been avoiding. Avoidance is often a signal that others see the same problem and don’t want to address it either due to the difficulty or absence of an easy solution. Be the leader who addresses those sticky important issues head on, taking an approach called for by the situation. You’ll be surprised how people will respect you for taking on those tough problems, and how open dialogue, if appropriate, will cause solutions to appear on the horizon where none existed before.

Brainstorm, use a “yes-anding” approach and reasonable solutions will turn up. Focus on the problem, not the people. Avoid negative words like no, but and however.  Use positive words like “yes”, “and”, and “also”. These words increase the realm of solutions instead of narrowing them. Filter out the solutions that will likely not work only after all they are all on the table. Avoid trashing before asking.

Avoidance may be a reasonable risk strategy, but it is not one for important problems. Follow those instincts, ignore the fear, and eliminate the procrastination. Deal with it now, because problems are not like red wine and cheese. They don’t get better with age. They invariably get worse… far worse.

So create a Get Done ASAP list and tackle those difficult problems. Mentor your team to do the same. You will soon feel a sense of relief in clearing an important item off your list, and most often will find that it was not as tough as you thought.  

“Either you run the day or the day runs you.  Don’t wish it was easier.  Wish you were better.”

“Don’t wish for fewer problems. Wish for more skills.  Don’t wish for less challenge.  Wish for more wisdom.”

   - Jim Rohn, Entrepreneur, 1930-2009

I’ve read many times that telling a story in a presentation is a compelling way to keep your audience focused on your every word. I suppose this is true as long as the story is, in fact, interesting, with a bit of a plot – you know – that beginning, middle and ending? Elizabeth Larson is a master at this. Her presentation “I Don’t Have Time for Requirements – My Project is Late Already” (a sort of Covey “Sharpen Your Saw” story) always gets rave reviews because she tells a story throughout the presentation.

A colleague of mine is a master at telling stories. I honestly don’t know where he gets them all, but they are usually related to the situation at hand. This particular gentleman is from Denmark, and refers to himself as a Viking. So, you know already that he has a very good sense of humour. I haven’t seen him wearing one of those helmets with the horns, and I don’t think he has asked to be buried along with his ship. But then again, nothing would surprise me!

A close Chechslovakian friend of my dear brother kindly taught me how to paddle a canoe many years ago. I was having trouble, of course, being only a young teenager. Instead of telling me “Hold your paddle like this.”, he would relate a story about how he remembered a person he was teaching who held his paddle such and such a way (strangely, just as I was holding it), and how this caused the canoe to tip, or another story would be the untold damage caused when he steered the canoe into another watercraft. Do you think I would remember what he said if he hadn’t told a story?

So, my premise is that if stories work for presentations, so too do they work for leading teams from behind. You’ve been there and done that. You have the battle scars and had the experience. Why not pass along those precious lessons learned to your colleagues by using engaging stories that will not only pass the message, but be memorable and entertaining?

Should all your stories be true and factual? Maybe. Maybe not. Sometimes facts get in the way of entertainment. But if they are focused and brief stories that make a good point, and sometimes even have a special twist at the end as a little hidden surprise… why not use them as a leadership tool?

Well… that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

What are your thoughts? Is storytelling in your toolbox?

I found the item below in response to Kristin Jones and Rebecca Braglio’s call for stories about why you love being a project manager. I thought I would repost this story here for your reading pleasure (I hope) to make it more visible. OK – full disclosure – I wrote it. ;)

-------------------------------------------------------------------
 

A Story about an Accidental Project Manager

Once upon a time, there was a young man who began his career in technology – writing computer programs, analyzing business needs, designing and implementing computer software. He worked on things called projects, as a member of a team, or sometimes as a lone ranger on a tiny project. He loved working in technology, because he could exercise his creative cleverness and amaze the town folk with technological magic.

One day, a company with whom had just started working asked if he would move 3,000 kilometers away to manage a project to create and install a computer system for court staff so they could record offences, schedule trials, record results, collect fines, and … well.. you get the picture. Never one to say no to an opportunity, this young man, who had never managed a project in his life, said, “Yes! I’d love to do it!” Some might call this attitude foolhardy. He called it good fortune - and so began his career in project management.

He and his small team worked hard to figure out client needs, design and create a system a piece at a time, confirm it with the client, and then implement it. The project was very successful, providing what was required, and maybe a little bit more (which he later learned was called “gold plating”), within the expected budget and on time.

Since then, the subject of our little story managed many projects, always successfully. Then came a time when he noticed there was a professional organization called the Project Management Institute that had a body of knowledge called the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. He realized that his past success had been a matter of common sense (not so ubiquitous he always thought for a term with such a name) and to some extent, good luck and friendly clients. He was often heard talking to himself while holding the guide close to his chest, muttering “Where have you been all my life!” [OK… not true, but added for comedic effect]

Thus began the professionalization of our friend. After managing projects for fifteen years, he immersed himself in this warm body of knowledge, researched, studied, wrote and passed the exam known as the "PMP exam". He enjoyed rubbing shoulders with other beings who also managed projects or had an interest in the same. He liked what he read and experienced so much that he decided to volunteer with the professional organization locally and globally, never looking back, even another fifteen years later. In fact, he is still volunteering today.

He has also been spreading the good PM word within his organization and far and wide. I heard about this person one day through a sort of telepathic connection. He obviously loved what he was doing. Otherwise, why would he continue? I asked him what he loved about project management, and his answer surprised me. He said, “Project management is all about people. People who are your clients, people who are your team, people who hear about the project and are want to know more, people with their own lives outside the projects, and people working to provide for their families. People. It’s all about people.” I said, “What? It’s not all about projects?” “No, he said, without people, there would be no projects. There would be no organizations. There would be no important needs being met through projects. Projects are people. Just like life – it’s all about people. And that’s why I love being a project manager. Working with people to understand what needs to be done, to bring the team together to work toward a successful conclusion in a way that makes us proud of what we have accomplished and makes the client want to work with us again.”

And so ends this brief tale of the accidental project manager. He is still out there, an accident no more. Still being successful. But now, it is not a matter of uncommon common sense or even luck. Now it is a matter of knowledge, experience, making plans, working plans and…. well… most importantly – working with people. It’s all about people!

(Originally posted on ProjectManagement.com as a reply to this item.)