I'm a replacement PM on a large project of 60 people.
I am preparing a kick off meeting where I both tell people there's a new sheriff in town and I also let them know I'm a good listener who wants to learn, etc.
Current outline looks like:
1. Bio / My Core Beliefs
2. Quality
3. Respect
4. Integrity/ Ethics
5. Corporate Growth / Winning
6. Personal Growth / Training
What do you think are key important features for an introductory presentation by a new PM over a large team. At 60 staff it will take me 2 weeks to complete my 1:1s. I want this to explode with a big bang and impress everyone.
Do you have any favorite examples of such speeches online? Saving Changes...
Do not act as a "sheriff in town"
Do not let them know you a good listener - you need to do it
It is not just a speech you can find online somewhere - do not try to copy something / be authentic
Try to find out whether the team members understand the meaningful sense why they are on the prpjects and what it means to them
Once the team feels the project provides a safety envrionment from them you will get the truth of the project to the surface very fast
Your role is not to impress the team with a one big-bang explode - your role is to serve the team to improve and get impediments out of the way in order they can do their work to achieve the project target.
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1 reply by D S
Aug 15, 2017 1:35 PM
D S
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While it would be great to enter into a currently-running program without fear of subterfuge, back-stabbing, or having to replace problem employees. I already know that is not the team I just won. This project had a solid year, followed by two years of minor failures, and I'm coming on to eliminate future failures. This team has impediments, and some of the impediments are their fellow team members, so I will have to protect the team from their own or themselves.
In this case it's in no one's interest to provide bad actors with a sense of safety. I had two experiences in my career where bad actors took that sense of safety as their safety to continue to undermine the management of our companies. Of course, it could be said that if I only had two serious malcontents / saboteurs in my career that's a small number. To me, the problems they caused our companies were bad enough for me to develop a New Sheriff In Town presentation (on such topics as rigorously enforcing business ethics and product quality).
When you have a subset of employees who already feel they can ignore management, the light touch rarely impresses them.
Do not act as a "sheriff in town"
Do not let them know you a good listener - you need to do it
It is not just a speech you can find online somewhere - do not try to copy something / be authentic
Try to find out whether the team members understand the meaningful sense why they are on the prpjects and what it means to them
Once the team feels the project provides a safety envrionment from them you will get the truth of the project to the surface very fast
Your role is not to impress the team with a one big-bang explode - your role is to serve the team to improve and get impediments out of the way in order they can do their work to achieve the project target.
While it would be great to enter into a currently-running program without fear of subterfuge, back-stabbing, or having to replace problem employees. I already know that is not the team I just won. This project had a solid year, followed by two years of minor failures, and I'm coming on to eliminate future failures. This team has impediments, and some of the impediments are their fellow team members, so I will have to protect the team from their own or themselves.
In this case it's in no one's interest to provide bad actors with a sense of safety. I had two experiences in my career where bad actors took that sense of safety as their safety to continue to undermine the management of our companies. Of course, it could be said that if I only had two serious malcontents / saboteurs in my career that's a small number. To me, the problems they caused our companies were bad enough for me to develop a New Sheriff In Town presentation (on such topics as rigorously enforcing business ethics and product quality).
When you have a subset of employees who already feel they can ignore management, the light touch rarely impresses them. Saving Changes...
Deepesh RammoorthyICT Project Manager ( PMP®AgilePM®Certified ScrumMaster® (CSM®))| Australian Red Cross Blood ServiceTarneit, Vic, Australia
The essence of a Project Kick off meeting is to introduce the project to the organization or if the project is already in flight, to remind people why the project was chartered and what business benefits it is trying to achieve ;
I know your project has already been in flight and the other Project Manager has already been working , developing relationships etc. I know the people are already aware of what the project has delivered etc.
Your appointment to this project is now akin to a new Stage Gate. Now what happens at a Stage Gate? You are supposed to check the viability of the Project and whether it is still successfully catering to the fulfillment of the Business objectives and whether it has produced a deliverable to the satisfaction of the sponsor and the customer.
You know that you are new to this project or this business. It will take time for you to develop good working relationships with some key stakeholders who you have never worked with before. You are a human beings and all other people understand that. You are not there to show a pretty picture or use your SHERIFF Whip to correct Outlaws . You are out there to Problem Solve, To compromise, To smooth tensions.
You have to have a receptive ear, acknowledge that there are issues, Point to the issues in the process and under no circumstances are you supposed to point fingers at people. The sources of conflict in a project are Schedules, Project Priorities, Resources......way down the list are People.
It is extremely important for you to understand this ......You must absolutely know what each of your STAKEHOLDERS want from your project . If you don't know, never shy away from asking . If the customer wants to add scope , Never shy away from doing a Change Request.
The Project is not about YOU .....it is about THEM
You cannot be showing how YOU will make this project a success....you have to show HOW THEY Will make your project a success.....
I am sorry but you are trying very hard to IMPRESS people on your first meeting and it could antagonize your relationships with some even before you try to build them.
There is no doubt you are a good project manager and you have achieved XYZ in your life but the people do not want to know all of that
They want to know how you will run this project and make it a success
1) I have understood the business problem OR each of you need to HELP me and GUIDE me in understanding all the GOOD WORK that we have going here on this Project and what WE can do to improve.
2) This is what WE need to resolve. this is where I NEED your HELP
3) I NEED time to learn about each and every one of you and what motivates you , what drives you ....
4) I WILL HELP you help ME and make this project a success for OUR company.
5) REMEMBER that people on your project have a baggage. No matter if your Predecessor was good or bad , they will COMPARE you with them. It's the same as your intimate relationships .....you will subconsciously compare your EX with your current partner.
6) You are dealing with PEOPLE who have EMOTIONS.....you need to use EMPATHY, ACTIVE LISTENING...
Let me comment on these words you have used
"This project had a solid year, followed by two years of minor failures, and I'm coming on to eliminate future failures. "
PLEASE UNDERSTAND THIS....a Project Manager is an INTEGRATOR.....you EMPOWER and ENABLE people to eliminate future failures....YOU CANNOT eliminate these failures in Isolation.
" This team has impediments, and some of the impediments are their fellow team members, so I will have to protect the team from their own or themselves. "
You can COACH, MENTOR, INFLUENCE, COMPROMISE, NEGOTIATE, PROBLEM SOLVE.....you are not a PROTECTOR, you are not their PARENT or their Significant Other.
"When you have a subset of employees who already feel they can ignore management, the light touch rarely impresses them."
Employees never ignore Management unless Management ignores them as well . It always goes two ways.
An Influencer and a True Leader and Motivator is never LIGHT TOUCH....they are the people that really get work done from others .
If you think people at your kick off are going to be backstabbers.....PLEASE BE ASSURED....they WILL stab you in your back.
On the other hand, If you go with the confidence that you will INFLUENCE and LEAD them to work with you and your goal is EMPOWERING them to project success...you will succeed
If your team and Management does not see the good work you do here, it's time for you to pack your bags because there is another company out there who deserves and Craves your attention Saving Changes...
D S:
Why were you hire to manage this large project? Just wondering how you know that this is the right approach; did you run this past your sponsors? Every project will experience a few minor hiccups; so what will you do if no one buys into your approach? What is your Plan B? I'd rethink your approach; I'm interested in your responses. Perhaps, many others here may be in your shoes and can learn from this conversation. Saving Changes...
I have lead various large scale complex turn around and trasformational projects (teams of 200) over the years so, from experience, my sincere recommendation to you is not to do the introductry presentation (or any presentation for that matter) with an stick in hand or an intention to 'impress'. I urge you to adopt a 'learning mindset' going into this. It will help you not only grasp the situation, scope of problems, and different perspectives but build trust and rapport with your stakeholders and teams. Saving Changes...
Mikel SteadmanPMO Leader| Development Dimensions InternationalTroy, Nh, United States
Honestly, based on your initial post, I am concerned for you.
However, if you truly have a pocket of known "bad-actors" in the bunch, you may want to consider working with the senior leadership team(s) to remove them from the project. This way, you communicate thoughtfulness and experience in your Kickoff without coming out of the gate as a bulldog. Once the team notices the removal of the bad actors, it will show the team the importance of the need to change the culture, get on board, and prioritize the importance of the project. Saving Changes...
After getting so many off-track responses I met with my mentor, currently an SVP with a large integrator, who had been in Europe until yesterday. He had some youtube links to incredible introductory speeches (unfortunately I'm not able to access youtube from my current location but you can google those). There were also nice articles on Inc. and some blogs about the importance of content in these speeches. Googling "New CEO Speech" gives plenty of positive examples. Such a speech is definitely, 100%, necessary.
What he and I discussed primarily was the importance of developing oneself as the senior leader who will implement new initiatives which will carry through starting on Day One and throughout the life of the project. Both he and I feel that setting that tone that change is coming will help propel the team to change. Whether you call these new initiatives "the new sheriff in town" or not- certainly neither he nor I think that term has any negative connotations, despite some of the commentators here presuming it means something negative. To both of us, it means a change agent who comes in and changes organizational structure, communication patterns, reinforces ethics and changes all existing processes which do not actually serve the company or the project. But in this paragraph I've already started defensively responding to unrelated questions pulling us off-track rather than to just implement what I want to implement.
I appreciate the responses. The thread went off-track from my question about inspirational speech examples. That's fine if people want to run with it or if people see something that sparks their interest, but rampant hallucinations or speculation about someone else's situation which they do not know, does not really work online. Immediately the discussion becomes unrelated to the reality at hand and I wonder- am I supposed to tell you about my CEO's direct instructions? Should I discuss specifics of failed deliverables on this program? Should I just walk away from this thread entirely?
Good luck to everyone putting together New Manager Speeches! Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
I like the fact you use one-on-one. While I have found them difficult to integrate them into my projects, they were invaluable when I was a front-line manager.
At the time, I had around 30 employees and my commitment was to meet each one every month. I structured the one-on-one loosely like a performance review, though not as formal. It was a great way to see how they were progressing towards their goals, what obstacles they encountered, and areas that required refinement.
I would love to find out how you do your one-on-one meetings in your projects. Thanks. Saving Changes...
