Thoughts on Project Management

Every project launched is a change project. It may be a simple project or a complex, cross-functional project – regardless, it is change.

If project managers take a change view of every project they lead, they will do a better job engaging the stakeholders in the project and reaching a successful conclusion. That is because when a project manager keeps in mind that the project she is leading is change for someone, she can approach the project from the perspective of the individuals and how they will need to change. Let’s look at a brief example.

Carmella is leading an initiative to refine processes within accounts payable. While the goal of the process improvement project is to reduce the time for processing payment through the use of new technology, Carmella is aware of three key factors:

1. The individuals who utilize the current processes have been doing so for over five years.
2. Two of the individuals created the original process that is still in use today.
3. There is likely to be concerns around what skills and knowledge will be required to use the new process and associated technology.

With this information, Carmella meets with the stakeholders impacted by the project. She shares with them the goal of the process improvement project – to reduce time for processing payment through the use of new technology and thereby enabling stakeholders to be more efficient in their roles and reduce their manual workload. She further tells them that training will be provided before full implementation of the technology so that they are comfortable. And, she invites them to see a demo of the technology. Additionally, she schedule another meeting with them to discuss their current processes with a focus on where they think improvements exist.

Carmella is engaging these stakeholders in the project. Regardless of Carmella’s perception of the change, she understanding that the stakeholders need to be comfortable with the change if they are to embrace it. If they are not comfortable, they are likely to resist, which will cause the project to fail. Additionally, concerns among the stakeholders regarding the project and its impact on them personally may impact productivity in the group.

When project managers recognize and accept that every project they undertake represents a change for someone in the organization, they will better be able to engage stakeholders in the project. This is done by acknowledging the (potential) impact and addressing early on in the communications and throughout the project the concerns and needs of stakeholders.

Changing the Minds of Employees in Finance

I was working with a mid-size professional services firm that was implementing a new financial system.  The CFO asked me to work with him to help him manage this project with his team, with a focus on managing communications and change. He had a project manager who would be managing the day-to-day of the project.

In initial conversations with the CFO, I learned the following:

• He was fairly new to the organization, only being with the firm for 9 months.
• The current financial system was outdated and did not support the firm as well as it had in the past.
• The finance and payroll team had longevity with the firm and, in fact, 4 of the staff members in finance and payroll actually helped to select and implement the current financial system a number of years ago.
• The CEO and others on the executive team supported this project and were excited that a new financial system was being put in place.

The CFO realized that simply because the executive team supported the project and were ready to change financial systems, it was not sufficient. He needed to buy-in from the financial and payroll team in order to ensure the move to the new system was a successful one. He also noted that the project was officially kicking off within a few months and he wanted to be sure that a good number of the finance/payroll team were on board – even if not all of them were.

Further conversations with the CFO revealed the following:

• While a decision had been made on a particular financial system, no decision had been made yet on specific components/features of the system.
• The CFO wanted his staff involved in determining changes to processes and procedures to increase efficiencies within the group.
• The CFO had discuss the upcoming financial system project at a department meeting and, while people didn’t actively resist, he noticed that staff, including his leadership team, were not entirely pleased with the idea.

Initial Meetings

We scheduled an initial department meeting with finance/payroll.  Our goal was to share initial information about the project with a focus on benefits to both the organization in implementing a new financial system and to the individuals in finance/payroll. We needed the group to understand what was impacting this change and how their support was needed to ensure the initiative was successful.  We also held a product demo so that the department members could see the new system “in action.”

The initial meeting went well; feedback was positive overall. The group understood the issues faced (the problem we were solving for) and seemed interested in the demo they saw. Some great questions came from the group!

We asked the group to spend some time digesting what they saw and heard in the meeting and that we would be setting up a subsequent meeting to talk further about the project and how we would like them to be involved. We asked them to put together any questions about the initiative that we could address at the next meeting.

The Second Meeting

The second meeting with the group was well attended, everyone made time on their calendar and attended the meeting. This was a good sign! We knew we still had a few resisters, but we also knew that they were interested enough to show up!

We took the first hour of the meeting to answer questions about the product being selected which had been submitted to us after the first meeting. We also knew there would be other questions that would arise. We had the vendor in attendance so that we could be sure to provide answers to all questions at that time and need no, or little, follow up. We knew that the quicker we could get people what they needed, the sooner we could increase their comfort level and move forward on the project.

After the demo at the first meeting, it was apparent that individuals in the room were excited about the possibilities of the new financial system. Certainly it would make their job easier and that was apparent to everyone. Even the individuals who implemented the system being replaced seemed excited, though we still knew we had to win them over.

Once all questions were answered, we focused our conversation on the need for participation on the project in a number of areas:

• Helping to determine exactly how the system will work for the organization (what features and functionality would be needed)
• Providing data necessary throughout the project
• Assisting in refining processes and procedures within the finance and payroll function
• Assisting in the design of the system and testing the functionality
• Helping to roll out the system and train end users

Everyone wanted to participate in some way; although we knew that some simply wanted to participate to maintain a feeling of control. That was fine with us. As long as we could get them to participate, we knew that we could eventually get them to come along and support the project. By participating on the project, they would feel that they had some control over what was happening rather than idly sitting by and waiting for the project to be rolled out.

We set up a preliminary resource grid as follows (shows key responsibilities):

Other members of the payroll and finance functions would also be involved in the project, participating as needed in meetings and workshops related to the new system rollout and supporting the core project team members. The individuals in the table above, however, would be actively involved in the project and participating on a day-to-day basis – they were members of the core project team. They represented a variety of backgrounds, experiences and longevity with the company.

In summary – our introductory meeting with these individuals enabled of us to begin to establish a working relationship with them and get them engaged in the project. This second meeting enabled for continuing that relationship building and getting members of finance and payroll involved in the day-to-day work of the project, thereby increasing their commitment to the project. We knew that as they began to work on the project, their commitment would continue to increase and they would become our project champions – engaging others in their functions in the project and pushing to its success.

Every project has stakeholders that may be labeled as “difficult.” While I’ll acknowledge that some people just choose to be difficult and contrary; many times there is a valid reason for someone being difficult. They are just not expressing themselves in the best way possible. This is not to excuse their behavior; but, look deeper into why they are being difficult.

For example, when I am dealing with “difficult” stakeholders, I listen and ask questions to understand what is going on. Through active listening and asking questions, I have learned of legitimate concerns and worries that were not addressed, such as:

• How a project would impact a stakeholder’s job and career with the company
• Whether a stakeholder would be able to learn the new skills and obtain the knowledge required to be successful
• That there is a perception of too many unknowns and a lack of sufficient information/communications about what was happening and why
• Too much going on already within the organization (or even personally in the stakeholder’s life) that impacts his/her ability to manage through one more change
• Stakeholders feeling they are losing control
• Stakeholders feeling they cannot provide input for changes that impact them directly

These are all very valid concerns and some stakeholders, rather than having a conversation, may dig in their heels and therefore be perceived as difficult.

Let’s not just label stakeholders. Have a conversation with them to understand what is going on. You’ll be better able to address the situation if you have some specifics rather than just trying to manage a “difficult” stakeholder. Each of the issues/concerns in the bulleted list above are far more workable (able to be addressed) than just changing a difficult stakeholder. Address the (perceived) concerns and issues and manage the stakeholder.

Try it out on your next project with a “difficult” stakeholder. You’ll see a difference!

Often clients tell me that one of the major disappointments from their organizational initiatives is that behavior doesn’t change. As one client told me, “The employees just go back to the old way of working; even if the new way is so much better!”

Every change requires a change in the behavior of people. We have to change any number of things – how we get work done, how we interact with clients, how we work together, how we process payments, etc.  This requires a change in behavior. If we launch a change initiative without considering what behavior has to change, it cannot be successful. When launching a change initiative, early on, determine if changing behavior will require providing training, enabling for a transition period, or ensuring involvement in making decisions about a new process. Certainly changing behavior requires sharing a vision of the future and the value of the initiative to the organization and also to the individuals within the organization.

Let’s look at an example: Abigail is leading a change initiative that will require Accounts Payable to change how they process invoices. The individuals doing the job now have been working with the current process for the last five years. While the current process has worked well, due to increased invoices needing to be processed it is essential that the process be refined to improve workflow and speed up processing. Over time the amount of days to process invoices has gone from 30 days to 45 days. New agreements with vendors require that the processing time for invoices is at 30 days’ or less or interest will be due.

Abigail knows that simply changing the process to be more efficient is not enough to ensure success in reducing the amount of time to pay invoices. She also has to figure out how to change the behavior of the individuals using the process currently so that the new process will be accepted and utilized. Abigail took this approach:

She invited all individuals within the Accounts Payable department to a meeting to share with them the following information:

• The reasoning behind the change initiative
• The benefits to making the change for both the organization as well as each of the individuals within Accounts Payable

And she asked the following question: Will they help her to accomplish the project and share their ideas, thoughts, suggestions as well as concerns for changing the process?

She then followed up with individual meetings to answer questions, address concerns and ensure they were on board with the initiative.

She also shared that:

• Training would be provided on the new process.
• Testing of the new process would be done with those who would be using the process after they were trained in the new process.
• There would be time to actually learn and use the new process early on before the old process was removed. This would enable for making any adjustments or “tweaks” before full rollout and implementation.

This time spent by Abigail reaching out to connect with each individual within Accounts Payable enabled her to build relationships with them and to begin to build trust. By getting them involved early on – and asking for their help – Abigail makes them part-owners of the project. By telling them what will happen before the new process is implemented, they begin to feel more confident that they will gain the skills and knowledge they need to continue to be effective in their role.

In summary, in order to change behavior and ensure a successful initiative, it is essential to get stakeholders involved very early on and keep them involved throughout the project. Their feedback, input, thoughts, ideas, suggestions and concerns will enable for a better project end result.

Best Practices to Keep the Audience Engaged
The last thing we want to see when we are making a presentation is individuals in the audience “tuned out” or falling asleep in their seats! It is essential to keep the audience engaged in the presentation so that they are listening and active in the presentation and you are able to accomplish your goals.

Here are a number of suggestions on how to keep the audience engaged and listening to you during the presentation:

• Use storytelling. For example, I might share a story during a presentation and then ask an audience member to share a story of their own.

• Ask for a show of hands. For example, I might ask how many of the audience members have managed through a particularly different change initiative in their organization.

• Maintain eye contact with the audience throughout the presentation.

• Regularly “check in” to see if anyone in the audience has a question. (I prefer to enable audience members to ask their questions as they think of them rather than feeling as if they have to hold them until the end of the presentation.)

• Use appropriate humor during the presentation.

• Utilize visuals that engage the audience.

• Engage the audience through asking a question and capturing responses on a flip chart.

What are some of your techniques to keep an audience engaged during your presentations?