Acting vs. Considering [Mindset of an Effective Project Leader – looking for a pattern - follow-up]
Michal GalazkaPM Coach & Mindsonar Consulant| I help Project Managers deliver projects more effectively & with a smile :-)Poland
Acting vs. Considering
When you think back to the situation in which, as a leader, you run your most effective project, how often: a. you make decisions and act quickly based on the moment or individual information, or rather b. you need time to gather a lot of information and consider it before acting or deciding?
Please assign 100 points to item a. Or b., E.g. a = 10, b = 90. Other comments are also welcome. Grateful for your reply MG
Ps. If you want to know the full profile of thinking styles - yours or your team's, and how it can support you in better cooperation and communication - please contact me directly. Saving Changes...
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Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
I would say I run the whole gamut, Michal. Interestingly, you typically have either all the time necessary to get the information or you have none. Left to my own devices, I might land somewhere in the middle but my work priorities and time are not not always mine to control.
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1 reply by Michal Galazka
Sep 24, 2019 6:20 AM
Michal Galazka
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Thank you Stéphane! I will record 50/50 then. As you're saying "you typically have either all the time necessary to get the information or you have none", I would ask if there were ever anything between, ie.: more than "none" and less than "all the time necessary"?
I share Stéphane's experience. Sometimes it's dependent on the project phase. In the early stages we have lots of time to plan and carefully consider our options. At other times, the critical path points over a cliff and we have an urgent need to do something immediately, and deal with the risks of an imperfect decision later.
I've heard engineering described as "The Art of Good Enough" and often being a PM is the same way.
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1 reply by Michal Galazka
Sep 24, 2019 6:32 AM
Michal Galazka
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Thank you Keith! However I guess we all know people who drive for acting, and others who need to consider first, no matter the amount of time they have. What if you have plenty of time, what is the optimum balance then for you?
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Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
I would say:
It depends on the project or the phase in which the project is
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1 reply by Michal Galazka
Sep 24, 2019 6:23 AM
Michal Galazka
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Luis, thank you! How is it in your case&opinion, ie. how relation "Act vs. Consider" looks in particular project phases?
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Michal GalazkaPM Coach & Mindsonar Consulant| I help Project Managers deliver projects more effectively & with a smile :-)Poland
Sep 23, 2019 11:44 AM
Replying to Stéphane Parent
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I would say I run the whole gamut, Michal. Interestingly, you typically have either all the time necessary to get the information or you have none. Left to my own devices, I might land somewhere in the middle but my work priorities and time are not not always mine to control.
Thank you Stéphane! I will record 50/50 then. As you're saying "you typically have either all the time necessary to get the information or you have none", I would ask if there were ever anything between, ie.: more than "none" and less than "all the time necessary"? Saving Changes...
Michal GalazkaPM Coach & Mindsonar Consulant| I help Project Managers deliver projects more effectively & with a smile :-)Poland
Sep 23, 2019 1:28 PM
Replying to Luis Branco
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I would say:
It depends on the project or the phase in which the project is
Luis, thank you! How is it in your case&opinion, ie. how relation "Act vs. Consider" looks in particular project phases? Saving Changes...
Michal GalazkaPM Coach & Mindsonar Consulant| I help Project Managers deliver projects more effectively & with a smile :-)Poland
Sep 23, 2019 12:08 PM
Replying to Keith Novak
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I share Stéphane's experience. Sometimes it's dependent on the project phase. In the early stages we have lots of time to plan and carefully consider our options. At other times, the critical path points over a cliff and we have an urgent need to do something immediately, and deal with the risks of an imperfect decision later.
I've heard engineering described as "The Art of Good Enough" and often being a PM is the same way.
Thank you Keith! However I guess we all know people who drive for acting, and others who need to consider first, no matter the amount of time they have. What if you have plenty of time, what is the optimum balance then for you? Saving Changes...
If I have plenty of time, I will tend to consider before acting (80/20).
In the largely predictive environment in which I work, cost of change escalates rapidly during a project. The earliest decisions lock in a lot of future costs because everything else builds on those decisions, and going back requires a lot of rework which equals waste.
If there are things that can be handled in a more agile way, I would care less about getting it right the first time but unless a later change radically simplifies the most costly and critical deliverables on the project, once those decisions are made, changing the plan can obliterate the whole business case. Saving Changes...
Michal GalazkaPM Coach & Mindsonar Consulant| I help Project Managers deliver projects more effectively & with a smile :-)Poland
Thank you Keith! This reminds me about Covey's "Start with the End in Mind", which he specifies that everything is created twice: once designed in mind, second executed in real :-) The art of design requires time :-) Saving Changes...
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