Thrown right into the fire! Advice for managing many remote teams
Kelsey CulbertsonProject Manager| Cole ParmerCharleston, Sc, United States
I was recently promoted to PM for a division of our parent company, and am now overseeing projects for different organizations, and projects between the organizations.
I am somewhat experienced (2+ years of self study) and I have a CAPM, PMP eligible in May... but I dont think I'm qualified for this.
Any advice on communication strategies, software for tracking and collaboration, etc. Saving Changes...
Ashleigh Kennett-SmithICT Project Manager| Australian Red Cross LifebloodAdelaide, South Australia, Australia
Hi Kelsey. Some people just seem to hit the ground running with Project Management so don't sell yourself short.
But I think what would help immensely is if you have people (inside or outside) the company that you can ask to be a mentor. Or an experienced Project Manager or Progam Manager who is happy to sit down with you regularly (weekly at least) to run through what you're doing, how progress seems and what's bothering you or causing issues. This could be your direct Program Manager but might useful to be someone who has less interest in the project outcomes, and more interest in helping your steer your way (so still a mentor, but less formally).
Does your organisation have a Project Management Office that you can tap into?
And of course, post questions on PM.com or PMI.com :)
...
1 reply by Kelsey Culbertson
Aug 17, 2020 8:55 PM
Kelsey Culbertson
...
That is a very thoughtful response, thank you!
The issue is that I've essentially forged the PM department at my "primary" company and I haven't really had anyone to rely on the whole time.
Do you have any suggestions of how I might track down a mentor?
Saving Changes...
Anton OosthuizenSenior Business Analyst / Project Manager| Self EmployedPretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
If you have been promoted to PM within your own ranks then the most important thing that you need to do is to prevent us vs. them or me vs. you, which can easily happen when you were one of the team members that you will now have to manage.
Communicate openly and honestly but more importantly, communicate that you are still part of the team, just in a more supportive role.
Software is a topic as wide as the skies but what I have found is that if your company does not already have a standard you must go for something that ties everything together. You have your Trello's, slack's, zoom's and 1000 other choices out there and while they all do a pretty decent job in helping you manage, track and schedule they are sort of disconnected. I just love MS Teams because you can eliminate chair swivel almost completely and you give the team a single go to space. Even when you have existing external systems like Jira it can be easily integrated with bots. Saving Changes...
I'll double-down on Ashleigh's great recommendation to find a seasoned PM as a mentor. In addition to helping you through specific challenges you might encounter, they will also be a good sounding board to help you understand when might be the right time to say your plate is too full.
This situation will push your time management skills to the limit, so get really good at distinguishing between the important and the urgent...
Good luck!
Kiron Saving Changes...
Kelsey CulbertsonProject Manager| Cole ParmerCharleston, Sc, United States
Aug 14, 2020 7:43 AM
Replying to Maria Lekha Johnson
...
Using a dashboard for the different projects, having a list for priority items, lots of communication - these can come handy.
Thank you for your reply.
Do you have a preferred dashboard website or software you could recommend? Saving Changes...
Kelsey CulbertsonProject Manager| Cole ParmerCharleston, Sc, United States
Aug 13, 2020 11:46 PM
Replying to Ashleigh Kennett-Smith
...
Hi Kelsey. Some people just seem to hit the ground running with Project Management so don't sell yourself short.
But I think what would help immensely is if you have people (inside or outside) the company that you can ask to be a mentor. Or an experienced Project Manager or Progam Manager who is happy to sit down with you regularly (weekly at least) to run through what you're doing, how progress seems and what's bothering you or causing issues. This could be your direct Program Manager but might useful to be someone who has less interest in the project outcomes, and more interest in helping your steer your way (so still a mentor, but less formally).
Does your organisation have a Project Management Office that you can tap into?
And of course, post questions on PM.com or PMI.com :)
That is a very thoughtful response, thank you!
The issue is that I've essentially forged the PM department at my "primary" company and I haven't really had anyone to rely on the whole time.
Do you have any suggestions of how I might track down a mentor?
...
1 reply by Andrew Soswa
Aug 21, 2020 5:24 PM
Andrew Soswa
...
"When the student is ready the teacher will appear" Tao Te Chi
Are you ready to deep dive and learn? Display humility and openness? To destroy-and-build your PM preconceptions from study books? Coaching and mentoring is just like that. It usually does not help people who just need a temporary fix.
In Chicago, we have a fantastic mentoring program led by Skip Depner in PMI Chicagoland Chapter. Unfortunately, it is only for Chicagoland Chapter members and only runs twice a year. Maybe you have similar in your regional PMI chapter.
There are local organizations that help out individuals with specific business questions. They might be costly ($200-$10K) a month.
What you should look for is a trainer to teach PM-ing basics, a mentor who hand-holds you through each issue, and coach that inspire you to become better.
What I did not hear over here is a person offering you training / mentoring / coaching. None of these are highly regulated industries but they do require certain level of skills and experience. Additionally, this type of engagement has possibility to result in disagreement and a lawsuit - especially if your project failed or your company found out of such a relationship (and you did not have their blessing). This is why good coaches are worth their money.
Thus my recommendation is to reach back to your fellow project managers at your firm and get in their good graces to mentor you.
Saving Changes...
Adela TataruSenior Project Manager| Self EmployedVancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Hello Kelsey,
Congratulations for this great new role!
I'm sure it will be a great opportunity for you to consolidate all your PM skills and I'm sure you'll be able to mange it all.
It might seem scary at first, but take things one at a time and try to start with small portions of your work not to feel overwhelmed by everything.
Try to establish a few shared rules with your teams in terms of organisation so that you are all on the same page. It will help a lot to have shared ways of doing things so that you can easily see the overall picture.
In terms of tools to use, try collaboration tools such as JIRA(for tracing project demands), Teams (for co-working and specific documentation), Confluence (for a Wiki-like documentation site), Trello (for project management), Miro (for collaborative whiteboard during conference calls). Some of them can be used in a free version, some of them have some free equivalent. In the end the important thing is to set up a virtual collaborative space where things are easy to use and simple to find.
I think finding a mentor as mentioned above is a great way to have someone to turn to when you need advice. Try finding someone in your network who has some experience and not necessarily in your company. Or you can contact someone who you admire in terms of how they handle situations overall (not necessarily concerning project management) and explain that you look for some guidance. You will be surprised at how many people genuinely want to help. And you can start right here also :) I would gladly help with whatever I can and share my experience with you and I'm sure it is the case for a lot of professionals here. Saving Changes...
Virtual collaboration is the new normal so start with available collaboration tools (Webex, Slack, MS Teams), while centralizing kanban boards via Trello, Mural. This way conversation continues while updates flow in all required directions timely. Saving Changes...
Andrew SoswaTechnology leader| Leading global financial institutionElk Grove Village, Il, United States
Aug 17, 2020 8:55 PM
Replying to Kelsey Culbertson
...
That is a very thoughtful response, thank you!
The issue is that I've essentially forged the PM department at my "primary" company and I haven't really had anyone to rely on the whole time.
Do you have any suggestions of how I might track down a mentor?
"When the student is ready the teacher will appear" Tao Te Chi
Are you ready to deep dive and learn? Display humility and openness? To destroy-and-build your PM preconceptions from study books? Coaching and mentoring is just like that. It usually does not help people who just need a temporary fix.
In Chicago, we have a fantastic mentoring program led by Skip Depner in PMI Chicagoland Chapter. Unfortunately, it is only for Chicagoland Chapter members and only runs twice a year. Maybe you have similar in your regional PMI chapter.
There are local organizations that help out individuals with specific business questions. They might be costly ($200-$10K) a month.
What you should look for is a trainer to teach PM-ing basics, a mentor who hand-holds you through each issue, and coach that inspire you to become better.
What I did not hear over here is a person offering you training / mentoring / coaching. None of these are highly regulated industries but they do require certain level of skills and experience. Additionally, this type of engagement has possibility to result in disagreement and a lawsuit - especially if your project failed or your company found out of such a relationship (and you did not have their blessing). This is why good coaches are worth their money.
Thus my recommendation is to reach back to your fellow project managers at your firm and get in their good graces to mentor you. Saving Changes...
Marcus UdokangProject Manager| Aivaz ConsultingCalgary, Alberta, Canada
Congratulations on the new role.
I like the idea of Jira, Confluence, and Trello (for Kanban) as articulated by Adela, Anton, and Xavier. Another option like Miro is XMind.
As a PM do you have authority and is it legitimate (do you have a good relationship with your team). You can have authority as a PM, but if it is not legitimate, then no one will do what you want them to do. Saving Changes...
