The Project Manager as Planner (Revisited)

I think everyone agrees that one of the primary responsibilities of the project manager is planning.  As part of the planning process, the project manager's main responsibility is to build the high-level plan.  However, it is the responsibility of the line/functional managers to build in or provide the details of the plan.  We know that the project manager does not or should not control the resources that will ultimately do the work, but the project manager is responsible to see that that work is done right, on time, and on budget with expected quality....and the customer is satisfied with the project results.  

Some items to consider when starting the planning process are:

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  Define your tasks using non-technical language, and include descriptions or notes detailing the work involved
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  Create milestones in your schedule to help track progress and use them as quality gates
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  Ensure you have agreement with the line managers about the skill sets required of his or her resources
  Ensure that key stakeholders assisted in building the Scope Statement, Project Objectives and the Project Plan.
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  Define up front how you will measure performance
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  Define up front how you will measure quality
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  Ensure you have a strong project sponsor that is engaged and supportive
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  Use Communication plans to keep everyone informed
  
  
  While there are many other things that will go into the planning process, I believe the above list is a good start.  
  
  
  Do you have a comment?  Leave it here.

Project Bottlenecks

Gary Hamel writes in the article “Strategy or Revolution”/Harvard Business Review - “Where are you likely to find people with the least diversity of experience, the largest investment in the past, and the greatest reverence for industry dogma? At the top!”

What is the message here?  Manage the people at the top to ensure project success!

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

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