Easy in theory, difficult in practice

The reason the title of this post is in quotes is that this is a frequently asked question in both the projectmanagement.com discussion groups and PMI's LinkedIn Project, Program, and Portfolio Management group. I, along with a number of other contributors, have seen and responded to it sufficient times that I felt it would be worth sharing my thoughts with my readership.

The PMP credential is the project management designation which most recruiters and hiring managers are aware of. Savvy folks will know that it provides no guarantee of competence but does at least demonstrate that a practitioner has some basic understanding of nomenclature, tools and techniques.

While possessing it was a differentiator in the first decade or so after it was introduced, at this point it is less so, but in specific industries and geographic regions, not having it might result in a job application being rejected by the initial filtering process.

But once a practitioner has attained their PMP credential, what next? Professional development should be a life (or at least career) long pursuit, and certifications provide tangible evidence of an individual investing in their development, so it would seem to be a reasonable question.

Before asking this question, the individual should have identified a specific career or development goal. In some cases, this might be simple such as if a particular credential is required as part of the company's prerequisites for advancement.

But this is rarely the case, and that's what makes things more difficult.

The companies which develop and administer credentials will all state with confidence that their products will help you advance your career. Any why not? For every person who buys into this justification, the credential company will usually earn a healthy one-time and ongoing revenue stream.

But unless a particular role you aspire to requires that you have a specific credential, in most cases, all it will prove is that you have learned something and have passed a test. You may have done so with no hand-on practice in that domain.

Now if you have already gained experience within a domain and then wish to have visible evidence of your having acquired certain knowledge, then a credential is one way to do so. But if you want to learn a skill, you'd be better of self-study or taking a non-certification course and following that up with actual hands-on work supported by a seasoned practitioner.

So the only correct responses to the titular question is "What are your development goals?" or "Why are you seeking another certification?"

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there" - Lewis Carroll

Thanks to the most recent issue of Tom Geraghty's weekly Psychological Safety newsletter, I learned about a new model for how we consider safety and risk. He shared Eric Hollnagel's work on resiliency in which two distinct mindsets were identified: Safety-I and Safety-II.

A Safety-I perspective is a glass is half-full one - things go wrong and we can find assignable causes in people, process and tools. People are viewed as a source of risk and liability and when problems occur, the focus is on identifying root causes and addressing those. It also assumes that the system in which we work can be broken down into a discrete set of components which will either work properly or not. It supports practices such as increased governance oversight and reduced autonomy and flexibility for staff.

On the other hand, a Safety-II perspective is optimistic. The focus shifts to understanding why things go right most of the time and ensuring that people are given the flexibility to adapt to changing situations. It is better suited to complex scenarios where a reductive approach isn't sufficient to identify what could go wrong.

If we consider how project risk management is covered in many books and courses, it clearly aligns more with the Safety-I mindset than its progressive counterpart. We seek to identify and assess as many of the unknown-unknowns as we can and then put controls in place to address those we are the most concerned with. This approach works well when dealing with contexts that are simple and are similar to what we've encountered before.

But when we are faced with more challenging situations, we need to also include elements of Safety-II thinking by empowering our teams to think and act on the fly.

As Tom puts it in the newsletter, "Neither approach (I or II) is sufficient alone, but together, the two approaches can enable lower risk together with higher performance and resilience."

And this is why regardless of the life cycle or practices used to deliver a project, the project manager, team members and key stakeholders should adopt an mindset which does due diligence from a traditional risk management perspective, but also provides opportunities for learning and adaptation to deal with changing situations.

Baseball is a sport with something for everyone. Whether you are a statistician inspired by Moneyball, a foodie craving the hot dogs and popcorn, or a kid enjoying the pure sound of the ball hitting the bat's sweet spot, it is hard to not appreciate some aspect of the game.

While I haven't played baseball in more than three decades and don't watch the sport on TV, attending a couple of our local intercounty team's games recently has rekindled my interest in the game.

But what lessons could a project manager derive from the game?

Embrace diversity

While most sports teams have some degree of diversity, it is extremely visible on baseball teams.

Whether it is race, age, body size, left handed or right handed, and even gender, successful teams are a heterogeneous mix where each team member's strengths and weaknesses are understood and incorporated into their way of playing. A player might not be a fast runner so while they might not have a field position, their power might make them a great designated hitter.

While we might not always have the final say in who is on our teams, we can strive to have as diverse a team as possible, and benefit from that diversity by creating a safe, inclusive environment.

Take advantage of bench strength

While it might not appear to have the same level of explosive action as hockey or basketball, playing baseball can be a long, tiring endeavor. Even in amateur ball, it is rare for a pitcher to be able to play all nine innings without some loss of accuracy or risking an injury.

While we might try to have some backup for each of our core contributors on our project teams, how often do we call on those backup players to step in for the primaries? Doing so not only gives our first line a chance to do something else, it will help the backup line be that much more capable.

Be vigilant

One of the most interesting aspects of baseball is the act of stealing bases. For both the player on base and the pitcher, vigilance is crucial. The stealer has to pick up on cues indicating that the pitcher might be ready to spin and throw to the base player whereas the pitcher has to rely on their "Spidey-sense" tingling to inform them that a base is about to be stolen. Neither player can afford to get tunnel vision.

The same holds true for our project teams. Effective risk management requires us to regularly monitor for triggers which might be leading indicators of a risk being realized. Ignoring these clues means that we may be caught off guard.

Communication is critical

A batter hits the ball far out into the field midway between the center and right fielder. While both outfielders simultaneously start to run towards the ball, they will call out to one another to ensure that only one of the two will make the final catch. Without that coordination effort, either the ball will be dropped if neither goes for it or there will be a player collision.

While it might feel redundant, explicit, effective communication of "who's on first" can help to avoid a lot of waste on our projects.

Tommy Lasorda was speaking about baseball players with his quote, but is equally applicable to project managers: “There are three types of baseball players: those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happened.”

Like many other home-bound folks, we added a furry family member early in the pandemic. Tux is a two and a half year old Shih Tzu and, like all dogs, has managed to fully integrate into all aspects of our daily lives.

While he has completed the first level of doggy training (and graduated top dog within his cohort!), over the past two years, he has taught me a few lessons in leadership and project management which are worth sharing.

Don't squander opportunities to rest

Although Tux is a very active little dog who loves to chase his stuffed toys from one end of a room to the other, he also rests whenever he is not being actively stimulated. This gives him the ability to give 100% of his energy when something catches his attention.

Most projects and life itself is a marathon not a sprint so take the time to recharge your batteries whenever possible and encourage your team members to do likewise.

Don't hold grudges

While we've occasionally had to discipline Tux for bad behavior, once his transgression and our accompanying discipline has been delivered, he is quick to rebound to his usual sunny disposition.

Stakeholders, sponsors and your team members will sometimes let you down, and if they do, forgive and (be willing to) forget so long as this is an infrequent occurrence.

Be curious

Whether it is an open closet door, a shopping bag or an unfamiliar sound, Tux will rarely miss the opportunity to investigate it. Tux is also always ready to try a new food even though he really enjoys his regular meals.

While we might think we are correct with a given decision, that should not prevent us from considering other paths. And while we might encourage diversity in the make up of our team, a lack of curiosity leads to less inclusiveness.

The stakeholder cup is half full

Tux is not afraid of any person or other dog. Whether they play with him or not, he will wag his tail and greet them with good intent. And (with dogs, not humans!) if they bark or lunge at him, he won't take it personally but will just let them be and won't let that affect his positive reactions in the future.

Certain stakeholders might make our team members' lives miserable but that shouldn't mean that we should be suspicious about the intent of all stakeholders. Remember that you will catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

“Everything I know I learned from dogs.” – Nora Roberts

The final (pre-election) article in my series covering my election run for city councilor of Ward 4 in Welland, Ontario shares some of the key risks I've identified with this project and how I'm responding to them.

In general, most projects will have two broad categories of risks - those which relate to the delivery of the project itself and those which relate to the outcomes from the project. Delivery risks will affect the ability of the team to complete the project within normal constraints such as scope, schedule, cost, quality and team member availability. Outcome risks will impact the realization of expected benefits.

For each category, I will provide the key risks I've identified, their qualitative impact and likelihood of realization and the risk responses I've implemented or plan to implement.

Delivery Risks

Increased costs due to inflation or increased demand might cause the project to exceed its approved budget. The impact of the risk is high and the probability is moderate given the current economic conditions. I am attempting to mitigate this risk by identifying multiple suppliers for the products and services I'll be procuring to ensure I'm getting good prices and will reduce its impact (if the risk is realized) by cutting back on what I will be purchasing.

Another risk related to products and services is that supply chain delays might increase the likelihood of not receiving procured items on time before the election date. The impact of this risk is high but the probability is low as the items being procured are readily available. The same response as in the previous risk will address this risk.

Given the large number of bylaws and regulations related to the election, there is a chance that I or one of the volunteers supporting my campaign might break one of the rules resulting in fines, disqualification from the election or other penalties. The likelihood of occurrence is moderate and the impact would be high. My mitigation risk response has been to thoroughly study all the official election documentation and to seek clarification from election officials whenever I run into a scenario which is not explicitly permitted or prohibited.

Ward 4 has over 6500 residents (as per the previous 2018 election data). I'm planning to go door-to-door introducing myself to homeowners on a number of the main streets within the ward in early September once the start date for posting lawn signs has passed. I'm not planning to visit any given house more than once. As such, there is a risk that if a large number of residents are not home when I visit, the effectiveness of this activity will be reduced. The impact is high but the probability is low given both the demographics of the city and kids will be back to school which means fewer families would be out of town on vacation. I will try to reduce the likelihood of occurrence by concentrating my visits in the early evening and on weekends.

Outcome Risks

Given that under 35% of the eligible voters participated in the last municipal election, there is a high probability, high impact risk that even if I am successful in creating sufficient awareness about myself, sufficiently few residents will turn out to vote which could favor the incumbents more than a newcomer. To mitigate the likelihood of this risk being realized, a key component of my campaign is to raise awareness about the upcoming election and to encourage residents to vote.

Finally, there is the risk that in spite of my campaign, I might get insufficient votes to be one of the two winners in my ward. The impact would, of course, be high and the likelihood of realization is moderate. My entire campaign is a response to address this risk so hopefully it will be successful!