ProjectsAtWork

Get your emotional balance right before making a big decision—on your projects and in your life.

In fifteen minutes, a project leader or team member might make a dozen or more decisions. Some will be inconsequential, while others could have immediate or long-term impact on a project outcome. Yet, many of us are unaware of our decision-making process and how it shapes our work, relationships and lives.

Your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health influence every decision you make, according to performance psychologist Dr. Jim Loehr and behavioral geneticist Dr. Sheila Ohlsson, authors of a new book, Wise Decision (Wiley, December 8, 2022), which shines a light on the factors that influence decision-making.

In their book, Loehr and Ohlsson present a research-based method for making wiser choices called Your Own Decision Advisor or Y.O.D.A. – the inner voice that guides people’s choices. “When the stories crafted by your inner voice are faulty or ill-conceived, the advice or decisions that emanate from those faulty interpretations will likely be flawed as well,” they say. 

The good news is that people can build and strengthen their Y.O.D.A. skills, just like those of any other muscle. One key characteristic of good decision-making is to align it with core values and purpose. From a personal perspective that might involve ‘warm and fuzzy” guideposts like listening to your inner voice or trusting what your heart or gut feels. But in a project context, it also requires questions like, What are the indisputable facts surrounding this decision? And, How does data inform the choice I’m making?

A person’s inner voice controls their energy investment and that energy can be positive (joyful, motivated, peaceful) or negative (fearful, angry, depressed), Ohlsson and Loehr explain. “A state of negative energy can seriously compromise your decision-making process, while wise, timeless decisions are best made in a state of positive energy."

Thus, when facing a major decision take the time you need to think it through and get as much input as you can to clarify the risk-reward. Then make the decision when you are calm, rested and mentally prepared. In other words: Get the energy balance right before big choices are made.

Stay tuned for an exclusive article from Loehr and Ohlsson on ways we can all make wiser decisions.

Power skills like communication and problem-solving play a leading role in project success. To reap rewards, organizations must prioritize these skills in hiring, training and assessment. 

Big data, AI and the metaverse may grab the headlines in a world zooming toward new ways of working and living, but when it comes to real-world projects, it takes people to deliver the results. And people with power skills often make the difference between project success and failure.

A new report from PMI — Pulse of the Profession® 2022: Power Skills, Redefining Project Success — reveals widespread consensus among project professionals that communication, problem-solving, collaborative leadership and strategic thinking are the most critical power skills in helping them fulfill organizational objectives. Eight other power skills, such as empathy and adaptability, were also considered in the survey of more than 3,500 project professionals.

The Pulse report anchors a new Power Skills Resource Hub that features FAQs; a self-assessment template; and related content, including articles, infographics and podcasts.

The research shows a clear correlation between organizations that prioritize power skills and their top drivers of project success like project management maturity, benefits realization management maturity and organizational agility.

However, despite the strong connection between power skills and project success, many organizations have not made a concerted effort to help employees develop them. Talent decision makers report spending only one-quarter of their annual budget (25%) for training and development on power skills, but more than half (51%) on technical skills.

“Technical skills are important, but so is understanding interactions between people. At the end of the day, projects are done by humans,” said Luis Revilla, chief people officer at Softtek. “We need to appreciate that. We need to work on that.”

As for project professionals, they spend almost half (46%) of their professional development hours on technical skills but less than one-third (29%) on power skills. And nearly half (47%) say their organization didn't discuss power skills when they were hired or promoted.

Clearly, there is work to be done. For one, project management leaders can help shift these perceptions through coaching, mentoring and supporting talent development programs that emphasize power skills.

Some organizations have tackled the perception problem by framing power skills training as a benefit of employment during the recruitment process and incorporating power skills into individual employee development plans and performance goals. Has your organization taken these or other steps such as formal coursework, online learning and mentoring relationships when it comes to developing power skills?

When organizations do take these types of concrete actions, they demonstrate the value they place on power skills. And as the report shows, the benefits are substantial: more successful, profitable projects — and maybe a share of that spotlight.

To read the full report and learn more, check out PMI’s new Power Skills Resource Hub.

PMI has identified “power skills” as one of the three sides of the “Talent Triangle” — a framework that helps project leaders navigate the changing world of project management. These power skills include collaborative leadership, communication and empathy, which are explored in Straight Talk: Influence Skills for Collaboration and Commitment, a new book by Rick Brandon. Brandon, founder of training firm Brandon Partners, has devoted 30-plus years to delivering leadership and professional development workshops on what he calls “influence skills.”

I recently connected with Brandon to learn more about his thoughts on several core concepts in his book, including active listening, making connections remotely and practicing constructive honesty.

COVID and the seismic shift to virtual work has made collaboration more challenging. Why do leaders with strong interpersonal skills have an advantage in this new work reality? Strong interpersonal skills give leaders a competitive advantage by curbing time drains, costly mistakes, and alienated relationships due to misunderstanding. Assertive speaking and empathic listening create commitment rather than mere compliance when forging agreements on project action steps. New managers are promoted based on their own results, but now must get results through other people–– often their friends. They’re lost without skills for gaining commitments, giving feedback, and being a sounding board for others who are wrestling problems.

Emotional intelligence (EQ) research by Daniel Goleman revealed EQ is more than twice as important to performance and advancement as intelligence and technical expertise combined. Gallup found that only 30 percent of workers are fully engaged, and a top reason given is “my manager.” Retention requires communication, not money or task issues. Wave goodbye to innovation without an open and honest free flow of ideas where suggestions aren’t stifled.

Finally, interpersonal skills that build connection can buffer remote work’s separation, social isolation, disconnection, personalization and loneliness. Harmonious, stress-free relationships foster trust, team spirit, and unity that are precursors to performance quality and quantity.

Why is active listening important for project leaders and team members? Listening skills aren’t soft “charm school” skills only applicable in your personal life, rather they are critical project performance skills. Project leaders must harness the cooperation and contribution of all team members. Active listening builds belonging, helps explore project needs and specs, shows receptivity to ideas and feedback, conveys positive regard, explores problems before providing input, and defuses emotions during disagreements. In meetings, paraphrasing draws out views, urges others to share their opinions, distills points of agreement or differences, and summarizes the status of decisions and agreed-upon next steps.

Active listening also helps team members by ensuring understanding of instructions before taking action, improving concentration, and fostering retention of a complex explanation. Paraphrasing helps everyone clarify and verify understanding, gather needed data, explore and empathize with a person’s problem when being a sounding board for a troubled teammate, stay calm before arguing, tactfully disagree or challenge, and defuse de-escalate volatile emotions during a conflict

Can you share some tips for how to improve one’s listening? First, focus on the environment—computer closed, cell on silent. Then focus on your mind and body—decide to listen, lean forward, make eye contact, nod your head. Explore with acknowledgments, open-ended questions and encouragement (e.g., “Tell me more…”). Empathize by validating and paraphrasing thoughts and feelings. Real listening isn’t merely silently hearing the other person attentively. It demands checking your understanding by paraphrasing in your own words.

How can people on dispersed teams feel more connected? Interpersonal skills by phone, text, and video can ease the pain of the remote work world’s separation and create connection. Opt for phone and video meetings (Zoom, etc.) where at least you experience visual and vocal cues absent from text or email. Studies show emotional impact of messages comes 7% from a message’s words, 38% from tone, and 55% from body language (facial expression, eyes, etc.). In video meetings, some tips for connection include:

• Start a Google docs for self-introductions including bio, photo, and fun personal facts.              
• Urge early arriving and reaching out to connect with others via chat.
• Request cameras being on to feel more together.           
• Replace excessive one-way information-sharing with use of collaboration tools like chat room, breakout groups, polling, brainstorming on the white board, etc.
• End by debriefing how the team did with its group process and communication.                             
• Organize virtual lunch gatherings with an activity, and team-building game time using various online game apps.

What are some keys to being constructively candid? You frame this as honesty vs. idiocy—can you elaborate? People often put honesty on a pedestal, and justify a hurtful, bruising statement saying, “I’m just saying…” or “Just being honest!” There is a better way, what I call “Right Stuff” guidelines for appropriate honesty.

—The Right Way. being firm rather than weak or harsh.

—The Right Time. Is the person ready to hear you? Ask permission to give feedback. Be sensitive to timing. What else was going on in the person’s life? Was there time to discuss the issues?

—The Right Place. Did you assert in a private setting to minimize distractions, reduce awkwardness, and avoid humiliation? Or was it in a group where the receiver became more defensive and resistant?

—The Right Reasons. Consider whether your honesty was based on fair and appropriate reasons to:

• help or develop the other
• make input to inform a decision
• strengthen the organization
• improve the relationship
• forge greater accountability
• set a positive tone or motivate

Or did you speak up for flawed reasons to:

• power trip
• hurt the other
• prove how smart or right you are
• hear yourself talk
• get even
• gripe and complain

—The Right Risk Level. If you’re overly trusting of everyone and always say everything on your mind without regard to power and politics, you’ll regret it. Consider the ego issues and potential risk level involved. Are you getting yourself into hot water? Is the receiver an overly political player who will exact revenge?

You also contrast fault finding and strength finding. Can you share an example of how each approach might play out on a project, and why it makes a difference? Being a “fault finder” versus a motivating “strengths finder” shows up as:

• During brainstorming, finding fault before the idea’s even fully expressed.

• Giving feedback on a presentation or report only highlighting what went wrong with “constructive criticism.”

• Jumping all over a person’s viewpoint before aligning with and absorbing it (e.g., “That’ll never work because risk management will veto it!”).

Instead, being a “strengths finder” is exemplified by:

• Regular doses of unexpected positive recognition and appreciation messages.

• Handling a mistake by exploring positive learnings for the future and by appreciating the person’s honesty in bringing the issue to the leader’s attention.

• Before expressing concerns about someone’s suggestion, first generously stating what you like about the idea–– its merits–– even if overall you don’t support it.

Thanks for sharing these insights, Rick!

Think your project has risks? Critical dependencies? Demanding stakeholders? Unrealistic expectations? Military veterans know more than most people about how these project management challenges play out in real time.

Military veterans, like few others, have truly absorbed the lessons of teamwork, commitment, planning and trust. They have embodied these principles while completing all kinds of missions under extreme conditions.

And many of these folks can also tell you that the military’s vaunted reputation for discipline is most definitely not in conflict with agility, but rather that these mindsets serve as necessary, balancing principles when working under adverse conditions with non-negotiable stakes.

That said, it is simply not acceptable that former military service members are often underemployed and undervalued, leading to unsatisfying post-military careers. Project Management Institute agrees. PMI has long recognized the benefits that military veterans can bring to the workforce as they transition to civilian life, and it has a dedicated program with resources to help.

The fact is, today’s job market demands highly qualified and skilled individuals who can get up to speed quickly and make an immediate impact on business results. And organizations know that hiring former military personnel can be a winning strategy for maintaining a competitive advantage in the marketplace. After all, they already possess the power skills and experience needed to become successful project managers, from strong leadership to strategic thinking and, yes, grace under pressure.

To this point, PMI was recently featured in the Lifetime television program Operation Career hosted by Montel Williams. Operation Career captures the stories of military veterans transitioning  into civilian life. The segment features PMI membership product manager and military spouse Kerry Brooks and PMI member and veteran Eric “Doc” Wright, who share their experiences with the military and how PMI is a valuable partner to U.S. military personnel, veterans and spouses. The show will air again October 16 at 7:30 a.m. ET.

Check out the PMI program and the show. It’s great to see this kind of win-win effort highlighted.

Your professional development is a career-long project. You should never stop seeking ways to expand and improve your skills. But you also can’t become overwhelmed or impatient with the journey.

I hear a lot about the struggle “to be heard” in an organization. Next-gen and mid-career project managers alike are looking for greater responsibilities and wider opportunities. How do you gain respect, instill trust, and earn recognition?

Well, a great place to start is to find a mentor.

A mentor can help you navigate the corporate culture, understand the bigger picture, and identify actions that will help you establish credibility within your organization.

Where are these mentors? You don’t always know. Start with people you respect and see as role models. Consider individuals who have shown interest in your work, even if it was a small gesture.

You want to find someone who is approachable, but make sure to keep your search open to people with different styles and perspectives so that you can grow and learn new ways of doing and thinking.

Most important, don’t be afraid to ask. The worst that can happen is that it’s not the right time or the right connection.

And even without an official mentor, you can still emulate the qualities of people who are succeeding.

But if you do get a “yes”, make sure that you’re already thinking about what you can do for the mentor in return.

So take action! Put together a list of potential mentors within your organization. Consider which ones would be the best fit for you, and why. Your notes might look something like this:

1. Zadie Jones — she has a great personality: nurturing, curious
2. Conrad Steele — he has lots of experience in a subject I have interest
3. Valerie Baldelli  — will be working with her on a project in few months

Next, make a plan to approach your top choice. Would an informal conversation in the halls be the best way to keep it light? Or perhaps a more carefully worded email clearly outlining your goals and reasons why you think this person would be a great mentor?

Most important, you’ve taken the initiative, and that’s a major step in itself, in growing as a professional. So make a mentor a key milestone in your most important project—YOU!