Archives for 1997

You don’t have to be rude, insensitive, arrogant, or a bully to avoid being too soft.

by Neal Whitten, PMP, Contributing Editor

WHAT DO I MEAN BY TOO SOFT? It is my experience that most project managers are not willing to make the tough and unpopular project-related decisions, even though their instincts warn them that they are not taking the most effective action. These managers are not leading their project teams to quickly resolve their project’s most important problems. They allow the project team frequently to operate on consensus and what seems to please the most people or please the most vocal, influential people. In order to avoid or reduce conflict, they tend to make decisions that often are not in the best overall interest of the project.

Project managers who fail, most often fail for the following reasons: weak soft skills, weak hard skills, ineffective project sponsor. This article focuses on weak soft skills.

Let’s look at some examples of project manager actions (or inactions) that are indicative of too-soft behavior. Do you recognize familiar behavior here?

• Holds back from providing constructive criticism to project members
• Avoids escalating to higher levels of management project-related problems that are at an apparent impasse for resolution
• Unwilling to passionately defend the right project plan to the project sponsor, executives, or client
• Puts off insisting on and driving good project management practices throughout the project
• Delays asking for help when needed
• Lax in holding project members accountable for their commitments and actions
• Takes on too much work instead of assigning tasks to the appropriate project members
• Remiss in seeking out and obtaining needed project management training of both hard and soft skills
• Evades taking a position on an issue rather than alienating project members
• Avoids or excessively delays making key decisions.

Project success is about results: delivering a product that satisfies the customer and offers the organization an appropriate return on investment. The project manager’s job is to lead the project’s members in the pursuit of a successful project and product. In most cases, a project’s success is directly related to the impact the project manager had on the project team throughout the project.

The most effective project managers behave as if they are running a business and that they own the business (see “Behave As If You Own the Business,” PM Network, September 1997). They believe that the buck stops here and that they are fully accountable for the project. There are many decisions they must make and be held accountable for, and they frequently and respectfully draw upon the knowledge, experiences and insights of those around them so that they make the most informed decisions. But they are careful not to place an over-reliance on consensus management; they recognize their duty to be fully accountable for the outcome of the project. This can mean that, at times, the most effective project managers will stand alone with what they believe to be the right decision.

Not being too soft doesn’t mean you have to be rude, insensitive, arrogant, or a bully. None of these attributes is acceptable—ever! On the contrary, an effective project manager must strive to demonstrate behavior for others to model. For example, make yourself available and approachable to coach and support others through their problems and setbacks, be a constructive catalyst when change or a given action is required, and demonstrate respect and dignity for all project members. It’s not about finding fault or making someone feel uncomfortable; it’s about helping the project’s members and encouraging them to help each other so that the prevailing attitude is we all are successful together.

If you believe that too-soft behavior will win friends and influence others, don’t go there! It will have the opposite effect long-term. Those around you will lose respect for you as a leader, your project’s outcome will be negatively impacted, and your career can become stagnant … or even shortened.

IF YOU HAVE DIFFICULTY making unpopular decisions … if you allow what others think to be more important than what you think about yourself … if you follow the “squeaky wheels” around you rather than your own inner compass … then you might not be ready to be an effective and successful project manager. But don’t despair. Almost all project managers who perform their roles effectively today had these challenges to overcome yesterday. You too can persevere if it is important to you.

It really is your business … so what are you waiting for?

by Neal Whitten, PMP, Contributing Editor

MANY PROJECT MANAGERS forever seem to be searching for that special tool or technique that can significantly increase their likelihood of success, both for themselves and for their projects. They spend a lot of time in the classroom learning the basic project management skills and practices. They attend seminars and read professional papers, magazines, and books to identify key soft skills that will make them better leaders. They perform apprenticeships under the supervision of experienced project managers or—more times than not—venture out on their own to make their own mistakes and pray that the damage to schedules, costs, quality and customer satisfaction will be minimal and repairable. But all the while they are seeking that special tip or motto
or tool that will help it all “click” for them.

Of the broad body of knowledge, skills, and special insights that I have acquired over the years—information that has greatly helped me become a more effective project manager—perhaps the most helpful piece of information to affect my thinking and behavior as a project manager is this: Behave as if you own the business.

The best project managers demonstrate a passion for driving their project to a successful completion. It is a passion born out of the position that the project rep-resents his or her own business—and that business has fewer than 10 employees. Why so few? Because most of us can more easily relate to a business that is small and one that we personally own. The small business model helps us to more easily understand the potential impact of our choices and behaviors on the overall outcome of the project. If it is the right thing to do for our business, then it is almost always the right thing to do for the project that we are driving.

Project managers are faced with making dozens of decisions a week. If we get in the habit of making these decisions as if we were making them for our own personal business, I assert that we not only would make better decisions overall, but that we would make them more quickly. If you have owned your own business—even if only part-time—or associate with some action or activity with which you feel personal ownership, then you are more likely to relate with this concept.

You see, something happens to most of us when we work for others. It seems the larger the company we work for, the more distant we become in truly believing and behaving as if it is our company. Our passion for making and meeting commitments, owning problems and their solutions, and demonstrating a true behavior of accountability seems to diminish proportional to the size of the company with which we work.

But if you own a small business of 10 or fewer employees—or imagine it so—most decisions that you face would seem far easier to make than if you worked for a larger company. Why? Perhaps the biggest reason is the view from which a small business per-son operates. That view associates every decision with a corresponding impact of the survival of the small business. Said another way: Every decision counts! Perhaps another benefit for thinking from the perspective of the small business model is that a small business person often feels the direct connection between each employee’s survival (mortgage payments, food on the table, saving funds for special dreams) and the overall success of the business.

Feeling ownership for something brings out the best that we each have to offer. This is why it is so important for bosses to “let go,” and drive responsibility, authority, and accountability downward. As long as the managers (versus nonmanagers, a category in which the author includes project managers) across an organization or project insist on owning the plans, processes, documents, and the like, the full potential and passion that employees have to offer will almost never be realized.

As a project manager, the next time you must make a decision—big or small—imagine making the decision from a perspective of owning the project (business). See for yourself the positive effect that this mindset has as you lead the members of a project in putting together the best plans; in staying on top of the project’s biggest risks and mitigating those risks; in running meetings more effectively; in helping project members solve their problems; in con-trolling the creep of product function, schedules and costs; in ensuring the delivery of a quality product; and, of course, in satisfying your customers.

THE YOU-OWN-THE BUSINESS mindset works not only for project managers, it works for all employees at all levels of an organization. It is a powerful concept that must be practiced. You will get out of your business what you put of yourself into it.

Are you and another project team member just unable to see eye-to-eye? After an earnest attempt to negotiate a resolution without success, you have to call on higher levels of project leadership for help.

by Neal Whitten, PMP, Contributing Editor

ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT but common situations we face in our jobs is how to resolve critical problems when we must depend on someone else-someone who chooses not to accommodate our needs.

I have often been asked to come into organizations and assess progress on a project. In every case the top problem I identify is that the most critical problems are not receiving adequate attention. I am talking about problems that, if not solved quickly, will cause significant harm-missed schedules, compromised quality, cost overruns, lost customers. If inattention to these critical problems has such an impact on an organization’s success, why aren’t we better at wrestling them to closure?

Let’s look at some reasons: We are afraid of conflict. We are afraid we will “burn bridges.” We think we will lose on the matter anyway. We don’t want someone to look bad. We don’t want to look bad. We aren’t convinced our position is correct. We don’t want to expend the time and energy. We don’t know how to resolve such conflicts professionally. We aren’t sure what is acceptable behavior in our organization.

When two parties are unable to agree on the resolution of a problem and that problem, if left unresolved, can have a significant impact on the project, it becomes an issue.

After an earnest attempt by the two parties to negotiate a resolution without success, higher levels of the project leadership must be called upon for help. This is called an escalation. Here are escalation guidelines to follow:

• Escalate only after a sincere attempt has been made to resolve the issue with the other party.
• The dissenter is responsible for escalating the issue. This means that if you are the one who needs the other party to come around, you must initiate the escalation.
• Initiate the escalation within two workdays of knowing the problem is unresolvable at its current level. Usually the escalation meeting can occur within two days. If you are escalating to high levels of management, initiate the escalation within two workdays in order to get your meeting on their busy calendars.
• Escalate the problem, not the person. Don’t make the disagreement personal. You are escalating because the issue is a business matter that must be resolved.
• Always inform your management prior to initiating an escalation. Your managers must be aware of your intent because you will need their support. They may be able to help in preparing your position, or they may wish to attend. However, if they do not support your position, management might direct you to abstain.
• Always inform involved parties before beginning the escalation. You want all parties prepared, to ensure the escalation meeting is productive and focused on facts.
• When an escalation is under way, do not stop working the plan-of-record. If some aspect of the plan is being escalated or might be affected by the outcome, don’t wait for the issue to be resolved before continuing work on the plan. No one can know for certain the outcome of the escalation; keep everyone marching together until officially decided otherwise.

Escalate is not a dirty word. Escalations are a healthy and essential part of business: they provide a check-and-balance mechanism to help ensure the proper course is taken; resolve problems early; help reduce frustration among project members; improve overall productivity by reducing rework that can result from implementing the wrong plan of record; help prioritize work activities; and encourage employee participation and ownership of problems.

There are different approaches to conducting an escalation. Some organizations insist that the next levels of management on both sides of an issue be present; others allow the dissenter to take the issue up the other chain of management with optional presence of the dissenter’s management. Be certain that you understand the approach followed in your organization.

When two parties disagree on the resolution of an issue, usually neither party is “wrong.” Both parties are correct from their own points of view and missions. Often a person with broader responsibility for the project is required to resolve the issue and weigh the options more objectively on behalf of the overall impact to the project.

After an issue is resolved, both parties should abide by the decision made. Only if significant new information becomes available that could reverse the decision should the escalation be revisited. Otherwise, consider the issue closed.

Remember, unresolved issues can bring a project to its knees. They deserve the highest priority attention.