Servant Leadership: Serve to Be Great

I was fortunate to begin my career on the most expensive highway project in the United States, The Central Artery/Tunnel Project (also referred to by the Boston locals as the Big Dig).  For those that don’t know, this was a mega-project in Boston that rerouted the major Interstate from above ground to below ground.  The final costs to complete exceeded $16 Billion.  Indeed, with a project of this size there was bound to be at least some problems.  Most of these issues led to escalating costs, schedule issues, and questionable execution.  However, after all was said and done, it has led to much more enjoyable harbor front views, public parks and allowed the interstate to run underground throughout the city.  Back then, I had very little appreciation for what I was learning and what I was a part of.

When I started working, I had an eyes wide open approach to everything at all times.  However, even though this project was the most expensive in the US, I knew nothing different in the Engineering and Project Management world.  I thought this was normal and would be like the rest of the projects that I would be on.  Twenty years later, I look back and realize that I probably won’t be on such a project again and if one comes around, I probably will treat it a bit different with regards to my appreciation for it.  However, I also remember that I wanted to learn.  I wanted to get the most out of it.  So, I steered towards the people that had been on the project a long time and felt I could learn the most from them.  By definition mentoring is a process for the informal transmission of knowledge and support perceived by the recipient as relevant to work, career or professional development.  Little did I know back then that this would be my first opportunity to have many mentors.  I didn’t know what a mentor was back then.  I guess I thought that a mentor would be someone who would come to me in a graduation cap and gown, sit with me,  teach me the ropes and not let me fail.

Within my first month, I started asking more questions.  I remember sitting in my first large program level meeting and being in awe of the knowledge the team members had.  While I was nervous, I learned quickly that these people… these mentors... were all around me and wanted to help me be all I could be.  That being said, I was very fortunate to have an amazing boss at the time.  His name was Al and while I had no idea at the time what he was to me, looking back he was the first mentor to whom I always found myself turning  when I had questions or concerns and wanted to seek his approval on what I was doing.  

My first recollection of finding out that a 20-something didn’t know-it-all was on a simple task of providing a construction overview schedule for Al for an executive meeting he was going to be attending.  I was so proud of myself.  I was ecstatic that I had completed this task with little or no help and thought what I had done was perfect and required no editing.  Little did I know, that was one of Al’s first tests for me.  I handed over my printout the morning of the meeting thinking I was all set.  Al thanked me and said he would review it.  I thought to myself, “Review it?!… It’s perfect.  It shouldn’t need any review.  It’s ‘good-to-go’”.  About an hour later he called me over to his desk.  He had markings all over it.  The one comment that has stuck with me out of all of the edits was that the coloring that I had chosen was all wrong.  He then explained to me that the executives would think it was too busy and would not be forceful enough for the message that it was portraying.  Now, he didn’t make me feel bad or feel like I failed, but he made suggestions on the basis that I could improve my messaging.  For years after I left that first job, I turned to Al for direction and even approval on my career decisions.  To this day, whenever I provide a dashboard or report I think back to this comment and still try to improve upon my deliverable.

Mentoring can come in all shapes and sizes.  It can occur when you least expect it or when you have signed up for a mentoring program.  Our local PMI Chapter has a great mentoring program of which many people take advantage. When they are done they are so glad they went through it.  Many of the mentors and mentees are first timers.  They also don’t have to be mentors who are perfectly aligned with the mentee’s main line of duties.  I am currently mentoring a handful of supervisors.  I find that while they can run circles around me on many of their day to day responsibilities, I am able to provide them with some guidance, more specifically in the Project Management profession since they have no formal training or formal PM education.  They find out about things that may help  right away or even a year from now, much like Al did for me.

In conclusion, I urge any and all of you to get involved with mentoring, either with your own company, with your PM organization, or even with old colleagues.  Mentoring entails communication which we all know is usually the area of breakdown in most conflicts.

The company I work for is based in the U.S. Midwest and the magazines around the office are different than those that may be found in my living room.  This was a magazine about the outdoors and hunting. One magazine cover caught my eye.  It was a picture of a man on a horse slowly climbing a mountainside only to have his horse rear back because of a ferocious looking, growling black bear creeping around the bend towards them.  The feature article was titled, “Places of Peril: How Sporting Art Made Us Fear the Outdoors”.  It got me thinking..  In Project Management, have we been steered away from chasing our goals because of places of peril?

About Ten years ago, I was coming to the realization that my career, no matter how many twists and turns I took and how often I thought I would feel comfortable in another role, I was geared towards having Project Management be a part of my full time profession.  It just felt comfortable to me.  So, like the man on the horse, I slowly began climbing the mountainside of Project Management.  I knew I needed to start somewhere.  I joined an organization that I thought would be the best to further my career and would give me the ability to meet people that were just like me; those colleagues that shared the same drive and it was at that time when I signed up for membership with the Project Management Institute (PMI).

As the journey began, I figured the best place to start was to attend a few local Chapter meetings.  I remember the first meetings I attended and that I was very intimidated.  As I entered the conference room I looked around and convinced myself that everyone there was already well versed in this Project Management profession, they all already had created close bonds within the membership, and they weren’t looking to meet anyone new.  This was all in my head of course, but at the time I was just plain scared to leap into the fray.  I now, more than ever, felt like that man on the horse where all of the members were the bears creeping towards me just getting ready to scare me away.  Ignoring those fears as best as I could I decided to take a seat at the first open table and began introducing myself.  To my surprise, everyone was very friendly and interested in meeting new people, and sharing their own project management knowledge and support.

Months passed and by now I had felt comfortable attending these meetings and even looked forward to meeting new people.  The members were awesome, inviting, and even wanted to help a young Project Manager with finding his way.  They knew that they, too, were once like me and were similarly afraid like the man on the horse.  I also found out that the best way to fight the fear was to get more involved.  I found that I had to ignore the feelings that I was “dinner” for the black bears creeping around the bend.  At times, I even forgot about that place of peril in my mind,

Within the first year of membership, I became an active member and chairperson of a small breakfast time roundtable group.  Within four years of being a member, I was voted in as the Executive Vice President of the local Chapter and stayed on as such for four years.  And, no places of peril along the way! The first year in the organization brought me to new places within and away from the Chapter.  Specific to the Chapter, I made numerous new friends and contacts. I remembered the fear that I once had and used it as motivation to approach members who looked lost as they entered the conference room.  I made sure I headed over to a table in the conference room where I didn’t know any of the attendees.  I wanted to make these people feel welcome, just like those who did that for me ten years ago.

What I learned in my years as a member is probably what the man on the horse learned pretty quickly.  The visions that are sometimes created in our minds aren’t necessarily the truth and should not be seen as places of peril.  Sure, the artwork created in our minds can be exciting and raise our heart rates a little bit, but it’s those visions in our head that can cause us to miss some great opportunities.  What amazes me now, being closer to black bears myself in my time working in the Midwest, is that while these animals are very large and scary looking creatures, they are actually more frightened of humans than we are of them.  Next time you head into a Chapter meeting or a new group or organization, I implore you to look past the corner on the mountainside and realize that there are rewarding experiences to be found.

As I was walking through Logan Airport on one of my many monthly commutes to/from various places throughout the US, a billboard advertisement caught my eye for one reason or another.  It could be because it was 11:30 PM and I was doing everything to keep my eyes open long enough to find the nearest open Dunkin’ Donuts. Anyways, the billboard simply stated, “Arrive Curious, Leave Inspired” and in the background it showed many nice scenes of Boston to visit. In full disclosure, I do not remember the company or organization that was the advertiser, but I couldn’t get the phrase out of my head.  It made me think about how I try to handle each and every situation this way.  Sometimes I am more successful than at other times. I mean, if we weren’t curious, why would we go to most of the destinations where we end up?  

I want to share with you my experience with the Leadership Institute Master Class (LIMC), Class of 2015.  My curiosity for this amazing experience started in 2011.  A former Mass Bay Chapter president met me for lunch at a little Mexican restaurant in Dallas, Texas, immediately after his first LIMC session.  I happened to be there because I was just about to attend my first Leadership Institute Meeting (LIM) and of course wanted some comfort food.  However, instead I listened to a person who had a new appreciation for Project Management and Leadership.  He also had a new appreciation for how much he was learning about himself, and how the program enabled him to find out about so many other cultures and parts of the world!  To say I was curious at this point would be an understatement!  Due to various circumstances and timing of everything, I ended up having to wait until 2014 just to apply to be a part of the experience.

When I was accepted to be in the Class of 2015, I was amazed at how nervous I was at first.  I didn’t think I would be, but I immediately thought maybe I was under or overqualified for this type of class, or wanted to make a name for myself and only had a short few months to “rid the world of project management disaster!”  Slowly, this nervousness led to being curious about the whole process.  I reassured myself that I was qualified and ready to attend (and that I had no chance to rid the world of project management disaster in the remaining two months)!!!

When I arrived, I immediately met those same people that I was told about back in 2011.  Right away I felt connected in a way I hadn’t felt before.  I was curious again, but now a completely different type of curious.  I wanted to learn.  I wanted to ask questions.  Most importantly, I wanted to listen to everyone and soak everything in as much as I could!  I was in a place where their language was the same as mine.  It didn’t matter whether it was spoken in one of the17 different dialects in our class of 34 people from around the world.  

Over the next 12 months, my curiosity never wavered.  We had numerous phone calls, webinar sessions, weekend discussions, and three amazing in-person classroom type sessions.  I left with a lot of different feelings.  While I was sad it was over,   I was happy that I had met so many new friends and colleagues.

But, what stays with me each and every day is that I “Left Inspired”.  I knew there was never going to be a chance I could even possibly try to rid the world of project management disasters on my own, but with effort my new friends and colleagues would be putting up a heck of a fight!  Who knew a Mexican restaurant lunch, an application, and a walk through Logan Airport looking at a billboard in order to stay awake would have opened up so many thoughts and realizations!  

I leave you with one thought… go into every situation, whether at home, work, or through your project management organization with the Curiosity and open mindedness that is required to Leave Inspired.  You will be amazed at where it can lead!

You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the
teeth may be the best thing in the world for you. - Walt Disney

Adversity.  This word has been simmering in my head lately for a number of reasons both personally and professionally.  What does it mean?  What does it feel like for me when I handle it?  What do others do when they are handling adversity?  Does it make a difference if you are handling it at work or at home?  Why do some handle adversity one way while others do it differently and in some cases completely the opposite?  

A recent example happened last weekend in our office.  One person was rushed to a hospital on Friday night.  At first, we were unaware of the specific details, but we were told of the purported severity.  While, thankfully, there was no terminal danger it was thought to be serious enough that they would be out of work for at least a few weeks.  

It was amazing to watch the whole company jump into action.  Plans were discussed on how to take over their work while they were gone.  A handful of the team discussed how they would take over the travel for him during his absence.  Others talked about how they would be able to help out his family at home.  In the matter of minutes, there was a plan in place instilling a feeling of calmness in the group for the better part of 24 hours after the initial news.  

Over the next 48 hours we waited and hoped all would be OK.  In this situation, while the person had dangerous symptoms, it turned out to be nothing more serious than a scare..  As I write this article, the person is back at work and doing just fine.  

The steps we took to handle adversity were to take in the initial scare, determine the actions required, and then be satisfied with the actions to attain a sense of calmness and peace.

This type of situation is not uncommon, nor is the way we handled it.  In fact, I am sure if you replaced the health aspect of the story with some other situation at work, you would come up with similar steps for your group.  I did some research on the word adversity and what I discovered fascinated and encouraged me.  Nowadays it means misfortune or difficulties.  However, the origin of the word comes from the Latin word “advertere” which means turn toward.  

We all have been shown various ways to handle adversity and have leaned toward our favored approach to handling it.  As its etymology suggests, we should embrace adversity as leaders and project managers in our community; expect it and leverage it to turn perceived trouble into team or family strength.  As the inspiring author of The Seven Habits of Successful People advises:  

Just as we develop our physical muscles through overcoming opposition
 - such as lifting weights - we develop our character muscles by
overcoming challenges and adversity. -Stephen Covey

Over my lifetime, I have had the opportunity to learn a lot about Leadership.  I have learned what works and what doesn't.  I have been introduced to many types of leadership.   I have seen people who think they are great leaders, but are far from it, and I have seen those that are great leaders, but may not realize it yet.  As an aside, the latter of those is always awesome to witness!

Wouldn't it be nice if there was a definitive description of what leadership is and what it takes to be one?  What would the penultimate characteristics be?  Would it be trustworthiness? Humility? Someone who communicates well? Or would it be something else?  As we are all connected to Project Management in one way or another, we are handed the keys to lead.  I believe we wouldn't have wanted the keys if we didn't have someone in our lives that has been able to create that thirst and ability to want to lead.  Not necessarily the tools to immediately be a great leader because that's something that needs work and practice, but that yearning to  be a leader to other people and watch them achieve more than they ever could imagine.

I have looked up to and learned from many people .   In my case, I was very lucky to have a wonderful base layer to work with.  My parents both exuded the crucial characteristics that it takes to lead.  They  instilled in my sister and me an internal drive to be the best we can be in our leadership roles.  

As I continue in in my career and with my family, I can only hope that my wife and I raise our children with the same drive my parents gifted to me.  I have learned the base I was given many years ago is firmly ingrained in my being.  As I graduated with my PMI LIMC Class of 2015 colleagues, I anticipate that the lessons and opportunities I have had over the past year will stay with me through all of the new leadership roles I may have.  I know I have added another successful layer, but will always have that base layer to build on.

What is your base layer?  Is it strong and sturdy to handle adversity? How will you ensure it is? I hope this new blog is a start.