Martin Luther King, Jr. Quote

"Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted." -- MLK Jr.

Trust But Verify (Always)

To be successful in project management and life you must be trusting, but also trustworthy. I learned a difficult lesson recently that blind trust can be a flawed strategy.

Always, always remember, trust must first be earned! Trust takes time, effort, and commitment in order to grow and and be sustaining.

We need to be trusting of others, but first we need to ensure our goals are aligned and we take the time to build a meaningful partnership. Don't rush this phase!

You can't build a long lasting relationship without trust, and you can't have a meaningful relationship with petty self-serving people that are only out to serve their own agenda.

Be trusting, but be vigilent. All that glitters is not gold.

Differences Between a Good and Bad Leader

Here are a few of my thoughts regarding good and bad leaders

Good Leaders...

need to have a vision that is different, but still able to be accepted by the masses.

step outside of their comfort zones to make change happen

take risks, make sacrifices, and sometimes pay a cost to achieve their vision

instill confidence in others because they themselves are confident

build consensus

with charisma can change organizations

are encouragers

are positive

have the interests of others above their own

attract followers

bring new perspective to problem solving

are enablers

are an inspiration

Bad Leaders...

drive wedges in between people, teams, and organizational structures

don't stand up for their peers or their subordinates

behave like children when they don't get their way

gossip and spread rumors

don't reward others for their accomplishments

use "technobabble" and jargon to confuse others

believe they are smarter than everybody else

are unaware (sometimes) that most people don't respect them

dictate policy and doctrine almost exclusively via e-mail or memo

are invisible to most of the organization

don't want rules, processes, or procedures... except for others

prescribe before diagnosing

don't solicit input from others unless it is to validate what they already believe

kill organizations through their arrogance and unwillingness to listen

are silent when they should speak

speak when they should be silent

Bad leaders are hurting our organizations, our governmental institutions, our local schools, churches, and neighborhoods.  Bad leaders poison many of those around them, run organizations into the ground, and are culture killers.

Do your part to eliminate the "cancerous" effect caused by bad leaders. Be a "good" leader by exhibiting the necessary leadership principles and ideals that inspire and motivate others. 

Don't be just another talking head. 

Be visible, don't gossip, be respectful of others, build consensus, and most of all be honest in all of your dealings.

ProjectSteps Ranked in Top 50

ProjectSteps named as one of the Top 50 Project Management Blogs

Thanks Emily!

2010 Project Management Trends?

Late last year, ESI International a surveyed a global panel of consultants and senior executives and identified the top ten project management trends in 2010.  Some of these seem a little strange, but we have to keep in mind that part of ESI International's business is delivering project management training.

According to the survey the top ten project management trends are:

1. The implementation of new Project Portfolio Management solutions will soar

2. Reliance on Requirements Metrics to measure performance will increase

3. Senior Executives will embrace the value of Project and Program Governance

4. PMOs will go to the next level with Business Analysis Centres of Excellence

5. Demand for Agile Project metrics will increase

6. Vendor management and program outsourcing will move front and center

7. Risk Management will become a Project Management obsession

8. Crisis environments will leverage Project Portfolio principles for better outcomes

9. Project management learning measurement will no longer be “a Nice to Have”

10. Project management learning will push out of the classroom

To view the rest of the article, visit here

Ten Keys to Civility

A local foundation here in Florida, USA has developed a set of "Ten Keys to Civility".  These are a perfect set of guiding principles for the project manager. Click here to view their website and find out more.

TEN KEYS TO CIVLITIY

Respect Others - Honor other people and their opinions, especially in the midst of a disagreement.

Think Positively - Keep an open mind and assume others have good intentions.

Pay Attention - Be aware and attend to the world and the people around you.

Make a Difference - Get involved.

Speak Kindly - Choose not to spread or listen to gossip.

Say Thank You - Let others know they are appreciated.

Accepts Others - Our differences are what make us interesting.

Rediscover Silence - Keep noise to a minimum.

Listen - Focus on others in order to better understand their points of view.

Keep Your Cool - Accept life's challenges with grace.

Project Managers Need to Behave

When CIOs were interviewed by ComputerWorld in 2001 regarding what skills a Project Manager should have, the consensus was the following competencies are the most important: Technology, Business, Behavior - not necessarily in that order.

I know that I have lived a sheltered project management life, but I think many project managers haven't sufficiently mastered the "Behavior" competency.   I admit my experience is limited, but I have worked with many project managers, and I believe that we all could improve our skills as they relate to the "Behavior" competency.  We should all be able to agree that in order to motivate people a project manager needs an understanding of human behavior and how to motivate teams.  How many project managers do you know have mastered these skills?  How well do you do in this area?  I can admit that I have room for improvement.

As I said, "Behavior" was listed in the top three of the most important competencies.  I find that to be interesting because other surveys of CIOs find that the number one complaint about project managers is that they are whiners and excuse makers.  How can we change that?  Collectively we must decide as project managers to exhibit the highest ethical and behavioral standards, and take responsibility for our project's results (without whining).  We must be empathic,  good listeners, be trustworthy, and not gossip and participate in destructive office politics.