In our jobs as project managers, we often find ourselves thrust into situations requiring us to share our knowledge to help others be successful. But that is not a problem for us: it’s an opportunity to help others become leaders - a main tenet of servant leadership. And what stronger leadership is there than a PMO formed through a mix of best practices from credible sources, collaboration and consensus among the PMs in your organization?.jpg)
enjoying the beautiful, hot, sweltering day: the sort of day that made it difficult to lick all the drips of the Cows chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cone I had just salivatingly acquired as they began their rapid trek down the cone onto my hand, threatening to turn my arm into a sticky mess and prompting me to lament the fact that I had forgotten to ask for extra serviettes.
I was privileged to present with my friend and colleague Majeed Hosseiney on May 2nd at the PMI EMEA Congress in Rome on the topic of leadership in organizations as it applies to the project environment. The gist of our presentation was that we have a tendency when a project fails to shine a light on the indicators we watch as project managers - the famous iron triangle. That is, we look within the project to find reasons for failure, and not so often outside the project. 
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Do Your Job: Then Let Go
Categories:
Human Aspects of PM
Categories: Human Aspects of PM
| A very good friend of mine, Francis Pring-Mill, with whom I spent much time teaching dozens of multi-day project management courses to groups of consultants in many cities around North America, wrote a book called "In Harmony with the Tao: A Guided Journey into the Tao Te Ching". In this analysis, he helps us read between the lines of wisdom conveyed by this ancient Chinese text, written over 2,500 years ago by Lao Tsu. We all know at least one line from Lao Tsu's book: "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Why am I talking about this here? I knew one day Francis would somehow tie together the Tao and project management and In a recent newsletter to his loyal followers, he did just that. I thought I would post the article in its entirety here for the benefit of those who practice or are interested in servant leadership, since I believe the message of the article certainly applies. Enjoy! ----------------
“If you want to accord with the Tao, just do your job, then let go.” (Lao Tzu) Let go? But what if things don’t turn out the way we want? What if others don’t notice who we are and what we’ve done? The Tao Te Ching (Chapter 24) reminds us we can either be directed by our self-image and cling to what we’ve done, or we can let go and live in harmony with the Tao. It’s our choice. Wouldn’t it be great if we always got to do a job we loved to do, the world paid us a living to do it, and we could just lose ourselves in the joy of doing our work? At the end of the day, we could let it all go knowing we could do the same again next day. The reward, as it were, would lie in the moment; it would not lie in some future payoff. Unfortunately, a lot of the time our work is not a joyful end in itself – it’s a means to an end. Often, a large part of the reason for doing our work does lie in the future. We’re striving after something we desire: more money, or more security, or the esteem of other people. It’s the results we want, and we don’t have them yet. Nonetheless we act and feel as if we own the results already. So we take our work very personally. This is why we stay close by and why we don’t “let go.” Why do we do this? I think part of the reason is because we’ve invested a lot of ourselves in doing the work. And we tend to cling to it precisely because we haven’t yet got the results. The previous sentence in Chapter 24 says “He who clings to his work will create nothing that endures.” We cling because we want to make sure we reap the rewards of our efforts. We desire the money, or the security we believe the money will bring, or the esteem of others who will notice what a great job we’ve done and think more highly of us. In a nutshell, once basic needs are met, we cling to our work because it’s the fame and fortune we’re after. The bad news is that neither fame nor fortune are certain, and both of them have a habit of hiding in the future. What’s more, if they arrive in the present, they are seldom things that “endure.” In the words of the quote, they do not accord with the Tao. So what does Lao Tzu mean when he invites us to let go and thereby “accord with the Tao”? I think he’s suggesting we let go of desiring particular future outcomes from what we do. Note this does not mean that we don’t care one way or another. Nor does it mean we have no goals. I think it simply means that when we act, we desire no particular outcome and expect no particular result. Desire and expectation are not needed. What’s more they interfere because they linger once we have acted. They are our vested interest in a particular outcome or a particular result. Desire and expectation are what prevent us from letting go. In the grand scheme of things, all we have is the opportunity to influence what is unfolding anyway with or without our help. We don’t get to control all the detailed consequences of our actions. What if we let our goal be no more than a creative intent to shape the unfolding of what is about to be? If we did this, I think we’d spend more time listening. We’d spend more time responding rather than reacting. We’d aim to create harmony. We’d forget desire and expectation. We’d act with intent and caring. Then we’d let go. Well, I certainly wish I could do that consistently on a daily basis! What would that look like for me? Suppose I was managing a project involving other people, I think it would look like getting less involved in the details of what everyone was doing, and getting more focused on building the vision of the project. I would do more letting go and trusting people to bring their skills to achieving our common goal. I like to think I wouldn’t lose sight of staying on time and on budget, but would be more open to changing our project plan if someone came up with a better way to do things. Would I be “according” with the Tao? Well, that’s a tough question. However, I think the project would flow a lot better. In short, I think I’d still “do my job” but I’d also be more open to letting go. And if I was concerned that people wouldn’t notice what a great project manager I was, I’d try to remember the Harry S. Truman quote: “It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit.” I can’t help thinking Lao Tzu would agree. What’s an example that’s true for you? Where do you think you might “cling” to your work? What would “letting go” look like for you? What aspect of your job might go better if you did some of that? If you have any thoughts you’d like to share, you can get in touch with me by:
Thanks for reading. Feel free to share this newsletter. Francis (In Harmony with the Tao: A Guided Journey into the Tao Te Ching is available as an e-book or as a paperback from your nearest independent book store, from White Cloud Press, from Amazon.com, or from Amazon.ca.) |
Strategy Formulation is not Strategy Delivery
| A recent question on Quora prompted me to spend 20 minutes writing an answer because I believe it to be a critically important question. The question was "How is strategic management used in project execution?" I didn't really want to answer that question, so I indulged myself and changed it to “How does project management fit with strategic management?” Organizations must have a strategy. If they don’t, let’s just stop the conversation here. Strategy needs to have a plan of execution. It is of no use for a bunch of executives to fly to some resort somewhere and dream up a strategy, then fly back, dispersing it to the minions, expecting that they will run off in all directions implementing it exactly as they envisioned. Strategy without execution is no more than a puff of smoke. It is where the rubber meets the sky, as we used to say at Michelin Tires. Now let’s talk about projects. This is where the rubber meets the road. Others may have said that Projects are used to execute a strategy, and therefore must be aligned with the strategy. I take a slightly different view. That is, Portfolios of Programs and Projects must align with the Strategic Intent of the organization. Portfolios are often based on business units, answering the question “To be successful, what set of Programs and Projects must my part of the organization execute over this period of time, and for which I have funding, in order to meet the business goals set out for my part of the organization, interleaving with other parts of the organization?” The period of time may be a year, three years, five years or more; or changing continuously as in Agile Organizations - another topic.) So you might ask, “What is a Program, then?”. I’m glad you asked. A Program is a series of inter-related, and possibly inter-dependent projects, all of which must be executed to achieve a business benefit or set of benefits. That is, if any one of the projects is not executed (not necessarily at the same time), the business benefit cannot be achieved. So - Projects are part of Programs (and for various reasons, if we define it this way, we must also say that a Program may contain many Projects or even only one Project). Projects deliver products, usually on time, on budget and to the desired level of quality using either traditional (predictive) or Agile (adaptive) methods. Products of projects are used to realize the benefits defined in the strategy and in this way set the stage for delivery of benefits, albeit not the actual benefits themselves. Benefits Realization Management is another topic for another day. So how does all this answer the [modified] question? Strategy is a must-have for any organization. Implementation or execution of Strategy has to be funded and planned. The best way to do this, in my view, is through Business-defined Portfolios containing Programs and Projects, that are created to be in lock-step with the Strategy, and through which executives who created the strategy cause their vision to become a reality. It goes without saying that executives who implement their Strategies this way must provide the organizational resources required: their personal support, funding, people, and careful attention to change and how it will impact the organization. This raises the specter of Organizational Change Management, also a topic for another day. I believe executives who set strategy and then empower their people to deliver it, providing the required resources and support whenever they need it, represent the epitome of Servant Leaders. Set the direction, trust your people and give them what they need to do the job. What do you think? What is happening in your organizations? Is strategy delivery baked into your DNA? Or is it an annual talk about corporate vision that does little but excite people for a few hours a year? |
The Elusive PMO
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So you are an excellent project manager and your skills have been recognized: a high success ratio in the projects you manage, high technical expertise, outstanding interpersonal skills and an ability to boil complex theory down into comprehensible, practical and applicable processes in your organization. You have been chosen. Now it is time to set up the PMO. There have been been many books and articles written on how to set up a PMO and how to make it successful. There have also been many written on why PMOs fail, the types of PMOs and whether a PMO should be a provider of good practices or a provider of PM services. You must be well aware of success metrics for your PMO. You must learn lessons from those who have tried and succeeded or tried and failed, and you must know the type of PMO you have been mandated to create. PMs are a strong-headed bunch. They are in control of their own project organizations, often have a lot of autonomy, and may (believe it not) actually be resistant to change, much like many people in a multitude of organizations. So, you will be challenged with inviting their input, collectively separating the wheat from the chaff, having them feel they have had input and have been part of gaining consensus on ways to change to improve project success rates without undue process and fanfare. There are a few things I feel require particular focus:
These are just a few items to consider, of course. A final critically important note is to set up monitoring processes to ensure your PMO has high adoption rates and a robust sustainability plan. How will you monitor its use? If it is not used, how will you fix it so it is? How will you ensure it remains fresh with continuous updating? How will you ensure PMs stay engaged in the community you collectively created?There is more, of course, and I am sure some of you will share your experiences and lessons learned here. Here’s to the establishment of your vibrant, well-adopted and fully sustainable Project Management Office! |
We Don’t Need Servant Leaders in the Volunteer Realm!
| There I was, on the Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk just outside Privateers Warehouse, My colleague and I were out for a lunch time stroll, enjoying the cloudless indigo sky and the emerald water, passing Nova Scotia’s trademark Bluenose schooner at its usual dock and dodging tourists coming from the opposite direction, likely from one of the three gargantuan cruise ships that had docked farther down the harbour that morning at Pier 21. They were undoubtedly also on their way to purchase one of those delicious Cows delicacies, firm in their knowledge that the tourist brochure held rolled up in their sweaty fist was leading them to an unusual guilty Haligonian experience. Since we both served on the same local volunteer board, we fell into a conversation about servant leadership and what it all meant. I expressed my belief that mentoring and coaching was a big part of being on any board, especially in volunteer organizations, due to the limited lifetime of a volunteer role. She conjectured that it didn’t really matter what happened after you left a volunteer organization, because you were no longer responsible, and it was up to those who stayed behind to do their part. Well, that got me going. I posited that a volunteer board is exactly like an ice cream cone in the heat. The cone is the framework of the organization and the ice cream is its volunteer base, formed of board members and committees of the board. As volunteers finish their terms and leave the organization (those drips of ice cream racing toward their next role in life) they must leave something behind - a fresh scoop of ice cream that has been formed to fit the cone, and well prepared to withstand the heat of the day. I have to confess my metaphor dwindled into indistinct mumbling at this point. After gently informing me that my example was fraught with drips, if not gaping holes, my esteemed colleague agreed that one must leave something behind. I said, “Got ya! So you agree with me after all!”. Begrudgingly, she admitted that perhaps she was somewhat hasty in her previous rather heartless assertion and agreed that volunteer board members need guidance and succession planning to keep the board alive and true to its original mandate, providing continuity of purpose. In our case, the mandate was to provide value to members through networking, professional development and certification. You probably have already guessed the organization in question. You know - the one that provides incredible value to its members and through them to the profession and many industries they serve. So are volunteer organizations really like Cows ice cream cones in the heat? Of course not, but if that playful similie coerced you into reading this article, my purpose is served. I admit it. I am a shameless snake oil salesman. But to get on with the real topic, the one that has you on the edge of your seat, seeking answers, allow me to suggest that in a volunteer organization servant leadership is indeed required. It is required in other organizations too, but in this one, because of the fluidity of the board and its committees, even more so. As a president of a volunteer board or a director of a portfolio, it is your job to develop people to fill your shoes to ensure the organization continues to live on within its original mandate. Because board roles are often quite short, as normally dictated by some fairly stringent by-laws and articles of incorporation, replacing yourself with someone who has been indoctrinated into the volunteer culture of the board has to be a main preoccupation of yours. I’m sure you will agree that bringing someone onto a board with zero experience of the organization’s inner workings is not a way to do this. So develop your replacement. Lend them a helping hand. Give them an opportunity to see how that finely tuned engine works so they can strive for the success you’ve achieved and learn from the failures you’ve experienced. Succession planning is crucial. Grooming your fellow board members for a leadership role, and encouraging them to also groom their committee members to step into their roles is one of your primary jobs as a volunteer board member. As you ponder your role, always remember that as a steward of a volunteer organization, it is your job to leave it better than you found it. And what more effective way is there to do this than by preparing those who succeed you to reach for an even higher pinnacle of success than you and your colleagues achieved? To those of you in the warm part of the globe, I wish you a fabulous summer season, and may you catch all those drips of delicious dairy confection before they leave the bottom of your cone. And to those of you who are not, enjoy your winter sports, resting in the certain knowledge that your ice cream will not melt. |
Project Failure or Organizational Failure?
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We asked the audience, "Please stand if you can say all of your projects delivered full scope, on time and within budget?" How many do you think stood up in a room of about 80 people, almost all of whom were project managers? Would you guess 50%? 20%? 10%? 5%? 1%? 0% is the correct answer. Was it because everyone was too shy to stand to receive a round of applause for such an unusual accomplishment? Or was it really because 80 projects managers had never had a successful project as measured by iron triangle factors? We then asked those who did not stand (everyone) to discuss with the person next to them what might be common reasons for such failure and to share with us. Responses included weak sponsorship, inadequate executive support, unskilled teams, and so on. You can probably add a few yourself. Or, maybe you can say that all of your projects were roaring successes. If so, please tell us what made them so. We had a great time presenting. The crux of our presentation was that project failure is often a misnomer. That is, project failures can often be attributed to organizational failure, and that failures can be reduced and even avoided by using portfolio, program, project management methods within a projectized organization. Project selection based on business goals and available budget has a much greater chance of producing successful projects. It makes decisions more transparent and more business goal-based. We were fortunate to be interviewed by Kristin Jones a few hours after our session. You can probably tell that we had a lot of fun. Have you found that external factors negatively impact your projects, sometimes more often than factors internal to your projects? Do you feel that sometimes projects are blamed for what might be a failure in leadership on the part of the organization? We'd love to hear your opinions.
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