Work Jerks and your Project (Revisited)

A book was written not long back entitled "The No A**holes Rule". In it, the author - Robert Sutton -discusses how "A**holes" a.k.a. "work jerks" can cause major disruptions in the workplace. The author  defines work jerks as "people who pick on those beneath them and leave others feeling belittled and sapped of energy. They use their power to schmooze those above them and beat down those beneath them. Much of the rest of their time can be spent bullying their peers".
My takeaway from the book is that jerks at work have a negative impact on the bottom line. They always cost organizations more than they are worth, and they cause upheaval that is harmful to individuals as well as the organization they work for.
What can we do when confronted with jerks on our projects? When possible we should avoid and ignore them. We can also look for ways to work around their influence and create partnerships with others that are willing to help. If somebody believes falsely that being a jerk will get them to the top quicker, there isn't much you and I can do about it. One thing is certain, we don't ever want to emulate their behavior. Jerks are poisonous, they are detrimental to project progress, and the value they sometimes create is erased by the disruption they cause.
Jerks almost always know they are jerks. They don't believe in Win/Win, they believe in Win/Lose (they must win, others must lose). Jerks are self centered, have large egos, and we aren't going to change them.
Project Management Rule: Project managers have to get the job done in spite of work jerks.
As project managers, we must learn to work with all types of people and get our projects completed on time and on budget in spite of them and their behaviors.
Remember, when confronted by a jerk be patient and respectful. Kill them with kindness. Don't forget that jerks can have influence over your project and career, and they occasionally have good ideas. There biggest flaw is they lack good character.
Project Management Rule: Work jerks don't subscribe to lofty ideas like fairness, cooperation, self-discipline, or integrity. They are reactive, many times "enemy-centered", and concerned about defending their desires and rights.
The bottom line is that work jerks lack emotional maturity. One definition of maturity is the balance between courage and consideration. Companies and organizations need to do a better job of screening for jerks during the hiring process. They need to know that studies have shown work jerks cost them more then they produce. Organizations don't need people in a leadership or any position for that matter that have questionable character, a win/lose work ethic, and a Scarcity Mentality.
Project managers need to have conduct that is based upon principles, high ethical standards, and show integrity in everything they do. If we practice these things we will ensure that we are focused on building and maintaining Win/Win relationships, which is what is required to be a successful project manager.
Work jerks rarely have staying power. They will be here today and gone tomorrow because eventually their conduct will catch up with them. Take heart and fight the good fight. It will pay off in the end.

Traits and Attributes of a Good Leader

I found this article in my archive of documents and thought it was important to post it now. If you have been following this blog for any length of time you know I focus a lot of time and energy on leadership and project management. My favorite authors are Dr. Stephen Covey and Tom Peters. Both have a lot to say on the subject of leadership.

I believe the text below is solely attributable to the Santa Clara University and the Tom Peters Group.

Hopefully someone that is leadership challenged will receive value from reading this.

Traits of a Good Leader

• Honesty - Display sincerity, integrity, and candor in all your actions. Deceptive behavior will not inspire trust.

• Competent - Your actions should be based on reason and moral principles. Do not make decisions based on childlike emotional desires or feelings.

• Forward-looking Set goals and have a vision of the future. The vision must be owned throughout the organization. Effective leaders envision what they want and how to get it. They habitually pick priorities stemming from their basic values.

• Inspiring - Display confidence in all that you do. By showing endurance in mental, physical, and spiritual stamina, you will inspire others to reach for new heights. Take charge when necessary.

• Intelligent - Read, study, and seek challenging assignments.

• Fair-minded - Show fair treatment to all people. Prejudice is the enemy of justice. Display empathy by being sensitive to the feelings, values, interests, and well-being of others.

• Broad-minded - Seek out diversity.

• Courageous - Have the perseverance to accomplish a goal, regardless of the seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Display a confident calmness when under stress.

• Straightforward - Use sound judgment to make a good decisions at the right time.

• Imaginative - Make timely and appropriate changes in your thinking, plans, and methods. Show creativity by thinking of new and better goals, ideas, and solutions to problems. Be innovative!

Attributes

Attributes establish what leaders are, and every leader needs at least three of them:

Standard Bearers

Establish the ethical framework within an organization. This demands a commitment to live and defend the climate and culture that you want to permeate your organization. What you set as an example will soon become the rule as unlike knowledge, ethical behavior is learned more by observing that by listening. And in fast moving situations, examples become certainty. Being a standard bearer creates trust and openness in your employees, who in turn, fulfill your visions.

Developers

Help others learn through teaching, training, and coaching. This creates an exciting place to work and learn. Never miss an opportunity to teach or learn something new yourself. Coaching suggests someone who cares enough to get involved by encouraging and developing others who are less experienced. Employees who work for developers know that they can take risks, learn by making mistakes, and winning in the end.

Integrators

Orchestrate the many activities that take place throughout an organization by providing a view of the future and the ability to obtain it. Success can only be achieved when there is a unity of effort. Integrators have a sixth sense about where problems will occur and make their presence felt during critical times. They know that their employees do their best when they are left to work within a vision-based framework.

Organizational Project Management Best Practices

The term "best practice" is thrown around a lot these days. Many times there is no documented evidence for a practice to be recognized as "best". In the world of project management best practices can be difficult to quantify, and because of this, it makes it difficult to determine which of these practices might work in your organization. Project management best practices exist, however you need to look at the data closely to determine what is best for your organization.

Proven practices that can help an organization improve project management results are:

Establish a formal project management structure

Create measurable, repeatable processes created to form a project management methodology tailored to the organizations needs that is aligned with the Guide to the PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge).

Identify best of breed project management tools and technology

Get buy-in and executive involvement in project management

Hire experienced project management practitioners

Develop a formal project management training program

Develop a process to ensure alignment of projects to organizational strategy

Develop a clear strategy for oversight, ownership, and prioritization of projects, programs, and portfolios

If one of the practices above is missing or neglected an organization won't have an effective or efficient project management program. It is clear from readily available data that most organizations do a poor job of ensuring that strategic goals and objectives are aligned with the operational work, programs, and projects. To bridge this gap a Program Management Office, Project Support office, or a similar named organization is required. A properly run project management office can ensure that project management processes and projects/programs are aligned with organizational strategies.

Some areas that organizations need the most help with regarding enterprise project management are:

Organizational project reporting

Project coordination among various groups, departments, and divisions

Resource alignment among various departments and projects

Project process development and management

Project management training

Management of project management tools, templates and processes

To build organizational project management maturity your organization will need to determine:

The current project management maturity level (an assessment)

Determine how and what a new project management organization will function and be measured

Develop or refine project, program and portfolio/strategic management processes

In closing, to develop a high-performing enterprise project management office, an organization requires courageous leadership at the highest levels of the organization. It requires leaders with vision, not personal agendas of building empires.

Finally, don't follow the proven failed strategy of having a Project Management office report to a particular functional group. This model has been tried and has failed to many times, especially in the IT environment. Studies and surveys have shown that the most effective project management groups are independent of functional groups.

Are You Adding Value and Making a Positive Impact at Work?

How are you conducting yourself at work? Personal conduct flows directly from your character. Your character is radiated to others by what you say and do. What you say and do, and more importantly, what you have said and done in the past forms the basis of how others perceive you. Have you lied or used your power or influence to the detriment of others? Have you put personal relationships or interests above the interests of the organization? Have you used your position to get your way by means that were perceived by others to be unprofessional or unethical? If you answered yes, to any of the above, then you are damaged goods in your organization.

Quote: Unless you have deep roots, you won't bear much fruit – Author Unknown

The workplace demands responsible behaviors from all employees, but especially from its leaders. Leaders must be held accountable to what I call the Leadership Accountability Triangle. The three legs of the triangle are: Process, Communications, and Results. When measuring a leader's performance the three legs should be weighted equally.

One of the legs I will focus on today is Communications. It is irresponsible behavior for project managers and organizational leaders to communicate important topics exclusively using e-mail. When this happens, what they are saying is you and/or your group isn't worth their time.

EMOTIONAL OUTBURST: E-mail is a poor choice to use when relaying important project and/or critical organizational communications. Using e-mail exclusively to relay vital information shows a true lack of leadership and poor management skills.

My opinion is, ditch the e-mail when you need to communicate something important. You aren't so important that you can't take the time to pick up the phone or make a personal visit to communicate an important message. To put this in a real-world light, I have seen multiple situations where departments/divisions were radically reorganized and the leader(s) decided to communicate the change via e-mail. This was a cowardly act, and a horrible example of leadership. I call it Absentee Management by Design.

PERSONAL RANT #1: If you have something important to convey, make a personal visit, or at a minimum pick up the phone. Also, if it isn't worth your time to visit or call, then it probably wasn't that important. If I'm not worth some of your time, your message isn't worth much to me.

Organizations that are successful find ways to communicate effectively and inspire their staff. One way to do this is to create and live by Win/Win Agreements and relationships.

To have a Win/Win relationship you must have:

Desired Results: what will be done and when will it be done (negotiated)

Resources: people, money, organizational

Accountability: performance standards, measures

Consequences: good and bad

Win/Win agreements are about mutual understanding. If you want to understand others, you must listen to them. Not hear them, but listen to them. We can't communicate effectively unless we are listening to each other. If you dictate to me, I stop listening to you. Acknowledge me and validate my feelings, and I will listen to you.

PERSONAL RANT #2: E-mail isn't an effective two-way communication tool. I can't "hear" you and you can't "hear" me because were not talking.

Win/Win agreements require mutual respect. Organizational and personal wisdom are also an important part of crafting effective Win/Win agreements.

I'm sure we can agree (or maybe not) there are lots of "smart" people in our organizations; however smart people don't usually do the hard work. In fact, my experience has been that intelligence rarely equals wisdom. Wisdom is what we must seek when crafting Win/Win agreements. Wise people are your organization's greatest assets; because they are great listeners and are open to new ideas. To quote from Wikipedia.com, "wisdom is the ability, developed through experience, insight and reflection, to discern truth and exercise good judgment. Wisdom is sometimes conceptualized as an especially well developed form of common sense".

In closing, be wary of what I will call the e-mail preacher. E-mail preachers use the computer as their pulpit to preach their sermons. Remember an effective preacher is a great teacher. Effective teaching doesn't come from a keyboard. It comes from human interaction, a shared learning experience, where there is a feedback loop and an opportunity for face-to-fact dialogue and debate.

PERSONAL NOTE #3: I'm not impressed by the e-mail preachers. If I want to hear a speech (one way conversation) I will attend a political rally.

A visible leader that inspires by example and is available, engaged, and is aligned with the organization's mission and interested in the well-being of his/her subordinates is a rare commodity, but is still sorely needed in today's organizations.

As Stephen Covey says "If you can't inspire others than you are an impediment to progress. Satisfied needs do no motivate. It's only the unsatisfied need that motivates. Next to physical survival, the greatest need of a human being is psychological survival – to be understood, to be affirmed, to validated, to be appreciated".

PERSONAL RANT #4: You can't get validation or inspiration from leaders that communicate important messages via e-mail. Those that aren't seen aren't relevant.

FREE ADVICE TIP # 1: Ensure your behavior is driven by principles not expanding your powerbase. Make commitments, make promises, and then keep them. Acknowledge mistakes quickly and make amends. These are the signs of a true leader. Once done, you can effectively enter into Win/Win agreements.

Lastly, weak leaders, whiners, blame agents, and chronic complainers are commonplace in today's organizations. However, you can choose to take a higher road and make a difference. You can always find something wrong with something or someone; instead, reward somebody for doing something right.

Be an inspiration, not an empty suit or just another talking head.

Wimps are Killing Your Large Project!

Do your organization's senior managers and executives understand the benefits of project management? How do you know?

Do your organization's senior managers and executives have formal training in project management?

Are large projects sponsored by and continually reviewed by senior management and /or executives? What is reviewed, and how often?

Do your senior managers and executives have their business processes mapped for their areas of responsibility?

It is a fact that good, proven, measurable business processes are critical to running an efficient organization, and also assist the project manager to deliver beneficial project results. It is also a sad fact that most senior managers and executives don't want to deal with things like business processes, yet it is the business processes that make or break organizations and projects, and bad business processes can cause an organization to waste time and money.

EMOTIONAL OUTBURST - If senior management isn't involved in reviewing their business processes to ensure they are delivering efficient results then they are either lazy or incompetent.
END OF EMOTIONAL OUTBURST

We can all agree that if senior managers and executives aren't regularly reviewing the performance of their organization (including the effectiveness of their business processes) they are not acting as responsible leaders. We have all heard them say that they just want somebody to figure out the problems and fix them, but many times that is where their participation ends. There is often no follow-up and no personal accountability for results. While problems need to be found and fixed, the "find them and fix them" mentality doesn't work for large projects. In fact, it can prove disastrous.

Project management is about delivering change. Executives and senior management have to drive the change, monitor the change, and ensure the change takes place. Change that isn't driven and monitored by senior management won't be accepted by the organization.

Don't get me wrong, we all need to have a "get it done" mindset, however on its own a get it done attitude isn't effective when dealing with today's enterprise problems and projects. Large projects create large change. Many times change creates, fear, panic, and chaos. Project managers can't implement change or change organizations alone. In fact, I would argue that for the most part they can't change organizations at all.

If you want organizational change and you want large project results at the same time then your organization's executives and senior management must be involved from the start, they must be continuously engaged, and the must be out front and visibly leading the change. Additionally, they need to be able to clearly and effectively communicate the value of the enterprise project's deliverables to their organizations. If they are unwilling to do these things, then your large project may need to be altered, deferred, or killed.

PERSONAL RANT: It is unacceptable for an organization to spend large sums of money on a project if senior management isn't prepared to roll up their sleeves and understand what is being delivered, understand the benefits of the deliverables, willing to hold others accountable for results, have an enthusiastic attitude, and have personal accountability tied to the project's success.

Project managers and team members can't afford to work on projects where ignorance and indifference is prevalent. Also, project teams can't afford to have "Teflon" managers" managing resources on the external resource teams, or in the positions of power or influence over their projects. Teflon" managers are never personally accountable for any project results because they choose ignorance over engagement. Shame on them, and guess what, the project manager and the project team pays the price of failure.
END OF PERSONAL RANT

What happens when senior management isn't involved with projects from the beginning to the end? Things like those below, which if left unchecked will ensure you project is a failure or delivers less than desirable results.

There is no organizational commitment to the project's objectives (you have project objectives that were created by senior management, right?)

Project teams are left with the job of trying to change the organization's bad habits and culture (not possible without senior management buy-in and support)

Divisions and departments fight the change the project is creating

Mid-level managers, supervisors, and line workers refuse to get involved and often work to sabotage the project

To summarize, large projects require senior management commitment, involvement, and follow through. Without senior management involvement your large project is almost certain to fail. Project managers and project teams can't be successful, nor will project management deliver results in organizations where fear is pervasive. Senior management can do more to create fear and remove fear than any project manager ever could.

Finally, I will say what most of us know, many senior managers and executives are wimps, however, this doesn't need to be the case when it comes to large projects. They can speak out up front while the project is being initiated and demand to see a business case. They can and must be involved in setting the project's measurable objectives. Once they have bought-in to the project they can and must insist that their direct reports support the project and keep them appraised of project progress. Finally, they can and must hold their staff accountable for project results.

When it comes to large projects senior managers and executives can be engaged, involved, and act as leaders, or they can be wimps.

Executive Apathy and Project Failure

Ever had a project that begins with strong executive/senior management support and over time that support fades?

The symptoms are:

Executives/senior management remain silent during status meetings

Executives/senior management stop coming to status meetings and don't ask for meeting minutes

Executives/senior management lack a sense of urgency regarding "your" project

Executives/senior management become more confused and less supportive over time regarding project goals and objectives

Executives/senior management begin to focus on what has been "installed" vs. what business results have been realized

The project sponsor(s) becomes detached and less available for project updates

Executives, sponsors, and stakeholders start to forget the culture and try to force solutions to meet deadlines

I know first hand that executives/senior management will tell you they support your project, and then turnaround and encourage resistance in their departments, and allow or ignore passive-aggressive behaviors of key staff members regarding the project's goals and objectives. What can be done? Here are some ideas; however you must realize that your project is in serious trouble if you have observed the behaviors listed above.

Calculate the costs of the project so far. Consider scaling back the project or killing it all together. I know from experience that this is much easier said than done.

Identify key executives and stakeholders and meet with them personally and restate the projects benefits. If they still aren't sold or supportive, move on to the next group. Ensure you create a Scope Change and de-scope portions of the project that aren't getting support.

Reevaluate the project team. Do you need new people? Are they really focused on meeting the project's objectives and scope? Are the project's objectives and scope still realistic, attainable and relevant?

Reevaluate the organization's culture and re-plan the project if needed. Reset expectations, and identify sources of resistance. If the culture can't be changed quickly, perhaps the project's objectives, goals, and/or scope need to be adjusted.

Remember, project failure rests on the project manager's shoulders. Sometimes senior management is too busy to get or stay involved, however that doesn't release them from their responsibility to support your project. Determine if they are too busy or just too lazy to support your project. Not easy to do, but absolutely necessary.

Remember what Dr. Stephen Covey says is the 4th Discipline (The 4 Disciplines of Execution) - "Hold Each Other Accountable - All of the Time". If you are a project manager it is your job to hold all levels of the organization accountable for project success. Having said that, you must proceed with caution if you plan to do this with executives. Be tactful and respectful; however, don't let them off the hook.

A recent survey found that only 39 percent of workers feel highly energized and committed to their organization's most important goals. This survey includes executives and senior managers. Just because they have the title doesn't mean they will behave responsibly or be focused on doing the right things right!

Executives, senior management, and your project sponsor(s) may say they support you and your project, but it is up to you to figure out if they really are being supportive. Silence is not acceptance when it comes to dealing with the decision makers. When they stop asking questions, you are in deep trouble.

No Involvement = No Commitment.

One Tough Project!

Like millions of others, I began the year with a resolution to lose weight and "get in shape" by years end. I took this resolution and determined that a "project" was required.

As everybody knows, weight loss projects have a high probability of failure. These types of projects are full of risks and obstacles. Thankfully, there lots of people that have had "project" success in regards to losing weight and getting into better physical condition. The success of others gives us historical data, which is the best kind of data to use when planning a project.

As with any project, we need ways to measure progress. If we don't measure progress we don't know if we are doing the right things. Measures and objectives are normally set in the Project Initiation phase.

Some measures of project progress that I'm using are:

Weight Loss

Losing Inches

Losing Fat – Body Mass Index

Lower Cholesterol

A project must have measurable objectives (goals) so we know at the end of the project if we were successful. The objectives I set for the project are:

Lose twenty pounds (minimum)

Lower Cholesterol by 20%

Lose three inches off waist

Run a 5K and a 10K by years end

Run 300 miles or more during the year

Ride bike over 1000 miles

Again, all objectives are measurable, so they will be used at end of the year to help determine project success or failure.

After the objectives and measures were set, planning began. Some equipment was required like new running shoes, and some equipment was just cool to have like a Nike+ iPod kit to wirelessly connect the new Nike running shoes to my existing iPod Nano.

Briefly, a Nike+ iPod kit helps a runner measure a number of items like distance traveled (miles), calories burned, pace, time spent running/walking, and additionally uploads exercise data to the nikeplus.com website to help you track your goals and visually see your progress over time. The information on the nikeplus website can be shared with others, and you can setup your personal goals and issue challenges to other nikeplus users. I think this is all very cool, and in the end is a very usable tool. One last note on this subject, since you are carrying an iPod when you run/walk you can bring along your favorite music for additional motivation and inspiration. Who can resist running while listening to the likes of Green Day, Big & Rich, or Skillet!

Remember, measuring progress helps us to see our accomplishments, and the historical data we collected from other weight loss projects tells us that tools like the Nike+ iPod product can motivate us by giving us feedback of our progress. One disclaimer is needed, I'm not endorsing any products here, I'm just sharing what works for me.

While planning my project I also determined I should purchase a heart rate monitor. While not a required item, it is an important project monitoring tool since I am turning 50 (ouch) this year and want to monitor (Project Controlling) my heart rate to ensure I don't overdo my workouts. The heart rate monitor has an additional benefit of helping to ensure I stay in the best fat burning target zone during my workouts. Again, we can't manage what we don't measure.

Once the objectives were set and procurement was complete, it was time to begin the hard work of getting started (Project Execution). While getting started is important, it is also important that the scope of the project doesn't exceed the capabilities of your resources (heart, lungs, legs, willpower). To mitigate the issue of exceeding my resources and quitting after a few weeks or months because of injury or burnout, which happens to the majority of folks starting this type of project, I have made sure that I start slow and have small measurable goals.

One final thing I did to help achieve success was I downloaded a running plan from the internet entitled "From Couch Potato to Runner in Nine Weeks". I did modify the plan because I think it was designed for someone younger than I who was also in better shape; however it is a written plan that again helps me to measure progress.

ProjectSteps Rule: A plan that isn't in writing isn't a plan.

As far as a interim status report goes, I set a goal to run twenty miles in January and made the goal. Overall, I am pleased with my progress so far. Since January 3rd, I have lost 11 pounds. I have also changed my eating habits, walked more during the day, and generally feel better.

The bottom line, using project management techniques in your personal life can help you achieve your goals.

If you have experiences or tips let me know by sending a comment and I will publish them here.

What is your Project Management Process?

Over the next few weeks I will discuss several Project Management product offerings available to help the Project Manager get their projects or programs organized. Most of these products are referred to as project management frameworks. A project management framework is a set of processes, tools and templates designed to be used together to manage a project through its lifecycle. It is important to know that a process isn't a framework, however a framework does include one or more processes.

The first set of products I will cover are from TenStep.com

There are several highly polished Project Management process offerings available from this vendor. The ones I either own and use or have reviewed are TenStep, PortfolioStep, PMOStep, SupportStep, and LifeCycleStep.

TenStep.com has been around for several years and I was an early adopter of the TenStep process. Over the years the TenStep process has grown into a sophisticated framework that contains dozens and dozens of templates, support documents and clear steps on how to manage a project effectively. From the original TenStep process the vendor has added many new process/frameworks to assist the project manager to manage and support programs, portfolios, project management offices, etc. To summarize, the processes are clearly written using plain English (not jargon), include plenty of useful templates, and each process include many helpful hints to help you use each of the process steps effectively. What more could you ask for?

The TenStep web site has free templates and examples of each process for you to review prior to making a purchase decision, and additionally each of TenSteps processes are updated on a regular basis throughout the year. Take a look and form your own opinion by visiting their website.

As taken from the TenStep.com website, the TenStep Project Management Process is a methodology for managing work as a project. It is designed to be as flexible as you need to manage your project."


"For instance, it may not make sense to spend a lot of time on risk management for a project that requires 500 hours of effort and is similar to many projects that were done before. That does not imply that you ignore potential risks - just that you do not spend as much time as you might on another project (for instance, one where you were implementing new technology). This flexible and scalable approach is visible throughout the TenStep process and is one area that differentiates this methodology from others."

I personally own and use TenStep, PMOStep, and SupportStep. I highly recommend them all. Tom Mochal the owner of TenStep and his staff do a great job of regularly updating each Framework and the accompanying templates. I have been using TenStep processes for almost four years and their products have always exceeded my expectations.

Bottom line: an outstanding suite of products used by over 5000 companies and individuals. Highly recommended.

Emotional Bank Accounts and Projects

Dr Stephen Covey talks about "The Emotional Bank Account" in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The emotional bank account is simply a metaphor for defining the amount of trust that has been built up in a relationship. Project managers need to be trusted in order to be effective.

An emotional bank account works just like a regular bank account. There are deposits and withdrawals. Deposits are made through acts of kindness, keeping your word, meeting commitments, being truthful, trustworthy, etc. When the emotional bank account has a positive balance, communication is much easier because trust is high. If on the other hand you show negative behaviors like disrespect, threatening words, being judgmental, harsh, or distant and detached the trust level (account balance) becomes overdrawn. This overdrawn account severely limits your options to communicate effectively.

If a positive balance isn't maintained in your emotional bank accounts your relationships will deteriorate. Remember, you have many different emotional bank accounts. One for everyone you deal with. Do you know which accounts are overdrawn?

Some quick concepts from Dr. Covey's book when talking about major deposits to the emotional bank account are:

Understand the Individual

Really seek to understand. What is important to them? Make that thing important to you.

Attend to the Little Things

Perform small acts of courtesy and kindness.

Keeping Commitments

Keeping them is a major deposit. Breaking them is a major withdrawal. People put hope in promises.

Clarifying Expectations

Ensure understanding takes place when dealing with expectations. This takes time and good listening skills to accomplish.

Show Personal Integrity

This generates trust. Trust is the basis of good relations. Having integrity doesn't just mean telling the truth, it means keeping our promises and meeting expectations. It also means "respect for the absent". Defend the absent and gain the respect of those present.

Apologize Sincerely When You Make a Withdrawal

Apologize from the heart. Be sincere and let the other person know how bad you feel.

What are you saying?

As project managers, it is important that we communicate in a way that inspires and motivates others. What you say, and more importantly how you say it through your body language can help or hurt you in ways you may not fully understand.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Project managers will fail if they can not communicate effectively.

Some questions to consider are:

How are our words and especially our body language interpreted by others?

How will we know if our message is accepted?

What are the things we need to be aware of in regards to our body language when communicating with others?

It is said that there are eight subconscious impressions that people make about you within the first ten seconds of meeting you. They are:

How smart you are

Your education level

Your trustworthiness

Your personality style

Your self-confidence

Your work ethic

How dependability

Your level of income

How can somebody do that? Isn't this unfair? You do it, but may not realize it. Just think about someone you have met recently and see if you have formulated opinions around the eight statements listed above.

To help you avoid some negative sterotypes when meeting others, here are some tips:

Stand up straight and hold your head up high – You will look and feel confident

Walk confidently and with a purpose

Keep your hands where people can see them (not in your pockets)

Shake hands confidently, but with sincerity

Have enthusiasm

Smile strategically – Try smiling slowly as you shake their hand

Most importantly, maintain eye contact for 3-5 seconds

When meeting people show a genuine interest in them, and remember over half your communication is sent via your body language. Also, project managers need to instill confidence and inspire others in order to be effective.

What does your body language say about you?

Project Management and the Circle of Concern

Project managers make mistakes. If you are a project manager and don't make mistakes then you are either lying to yourself or you are totally ineffective. Dr. Covey talks about two things we need to consider regarding what he calls our "Circle of Concern". As project managers it is critical that we embrace and understand these concepts which are, consequences and mistakes.

As Dr. Covey states, "While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequence of those actions. Consequences are governed by natural law. They are out in the Circle of Concern. We can decide to step in front of a fast-moving train (project selection), be we cannot decide what will happen when the train hits us".

To take this further, Dr. Covey says, "We can decide to be dishonest in our business dealings. While the social consequences of that decision may vary depending on whether or not we are found out, the natural consequences to our basic character are a fixed result."

"Our behavior is governed by principles. Living in harmony with them brings positive consequences: violating them brings negative consequences. We are free to choose our response in any situation, but in doing so we choose the attendant consequence. When we pick up one in of the stick, we pick up the other".

What does this mean? As project managers we have the capability to motivate and empower members of our team by being honest and ethical. We also can send our projects quickly off-track if we are dishonest in our dealings.

To quote Dr. Covey again, "Our response to mistakes affects the quality of our next moment. It is important to immediately admit and correct our mistakes so that they have no power over that next moment and we are empowered again. It is not what others do or even our mistakes that hurt us the most; it is our response to those things".

We all make mistakes. We must atone for and make amends for those mistakes quickly. In my opinion, our unwillingness to admit our mistakes is the biggest obstacle to personal growth and strong relationships. The Circle of Influence is all about our capability to make and keep our promises. Keeping our promises and commitments is a core value of integrity.

As Dr. Convey says, "By making and keeping promises to ourselves and others, little by little, our honor becomes greater then our moods.

Have high integrity and make and keep promises, and your projects (and your life) will be the better for it.

The Circle of Influence and the Project Manager

(Exerpts from Habit 1: Be Proactive, in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey)

I'm a big fan of Dr. Stephen Covey. His book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a must read for anyone seeking to be highly effective. One of the concepts Dr. Covey talks about in his books is the "Circle of Concern" and the "Circle of Influence". The basic concept is that we need to focus our time and energy on the important things that we can control. Inside the Circle of Concern there is a smaller circle in the middle called the Circle of Influence. We should spend most of our time and efforts focused on the things in this Circle of Influence.

As Dr. Covey states "proactive people focus their efforts in the Circle of Influence. They work on the things they can do something about. The nature of their energy is positive, enlarging and magnifying, causing their Circle of Influence to increase." "Reactive people on the other hand, focus their efforts in the "Circle of Concern. They focus on the weakness of other people, the problems in the environment, and circumstances over which they have no control. Their focus results in blaming and accusing attitudes, reactive language, and increased feelings of victimization. The negative energy generated by that focus, combined with neglect in areas they could do something about, causes their Circle of Influence to shrink."

Key point – Focus on important things that you can control. Work to enlarge your Circle of Influence and you will automatically reduce the Circle of Concerns area.

Dr. Covey goes on to say:
One way to notice where our energy and focus is located is to distinguish between the have's and the be's. The Circle of Concern is filled with the have's:
· 'I'll be happy when I have my house paid off.'
· 'If only I had a more patient spouse...'
· 'If only I had better employees/co-workers...'
· 'If only I had a boss who wasn't so demanding...'

The Circle of Influence is filled with the be's:
· 'I can be more patient...'
· 'I can be a better employee...'
· 'I can be more wise...'

It's a character focus. Any time we think the problem is 'out there,' that thought is the problem. We empower what's out there to control us. The change paradigm is 'outside-in'--what's out there has to change before we can change.
The proactive approach is to change from the inside-out; to be different, and by being different to effect positive change in what's out there--I can be more resourceful, I can be more diligent, I can be a better listener, I can be a better leader.

Buy Dr. Stephen Covey's book or check it out from your local library. It is one of the best books you will ever read.

Project Roles and Responsibilities

Happy New Year!

Hopefully, you can use this list to educate your team members about the various roles on a project team.

Executive Steering Committee
Sets the strategic vision and objectives for a given program or project. The team leads efforts to build consensus through the organization to support the project or program’s objectives.

Governance Board
Formal team of executives from across the organization that ensure projects will meet/are meeting enterprise goals.

Project Sponsor
Provides clarity of the project vision, and directs the activities of the project team. Allocates funding and resources to the project. Provides executive authority necessary to overcome organizational obstacles and barriers. The guardian of the business case, and ultimately responsible for project success.

Performing Organization
The organization whose personnel are most directly involved in doing the work of the project. This organization usually provides sponsorship for the project.

Project Management Office
An organizational body or entity assigned various responsibilities related to the centralized and coordinated management of those programs/projects under its domain.

Project Stakeholders
Persons or organizations (customers, sponsors, performers, public) that are actively involved in the project or whose interests may be positively or negatively impacted by executing or implementation of the project.

Program Manager
Person responsible for the centralized, coordinated management of a program (group of related projects) to achieve the program’s strategic objectives and benefits.

Project Manager
The person assigned by the performing organization to achieve the project objectives. The project manager is responsible for coordinating and integrating activities across multiple functional lines, and managing stakeholder communications. The project manager accomplishes the above by managing project scope, time, cost, and quality. Finally, the project manager applies project management, general management and technical skills, as well as team management, negotiation, financial and business acumen, combined with an understanding of organizational politics to meet project objectives and to meet or exceed stakeholder expectations.

Project Team
All the project team members, including the project management team, the project manager, and for some projects, the project sponsor.

Functional Manager
On projects, the person responsible for ensuring agreed-upon project tasks are completed using pre-defined resources under the manager’s control within scope, time, budget and quality constraints.

Project Team Leader
Responsible for ensuring that agreed-upon project tasks and assignments are completed on time, on budget, and within quality standards for personnel under their realm of control or influence. The team leader should be knowledgeable of the principles and practices of project management and understand the business unit’s strategic and operational issues.

Technical Manager/Liaison
Responsible for the technical implementation of the project as measured against the project requirements, quality targets, and budgetary constraints, and timelines. Ensures technical deliverables are consistent with the overall technical strategy of the enterprise.

Business Analyst
Primary interface between projects and business partners. Responsible for understanding current and future processes, including processes for the entire enterprise. Documents business requirements, generate business cases, assists in defining project benefits/ costs, and participates in project reviews

Projectsteps End of Year Tips, Hints, and Free Advice

Projectsteps End of Year Tips, Hints, and Free Advice

Buy at least one share of Apple Computer stock (AAPL)

Tell somebody you care, and how much they really mean to you. Let them know how they have changed your life.

If you have children, encourage them with love, and let them know they are a blessing to you.

If you live to make more money, get a (new) life!

If you aren't having fun doing your job, move on to something new.

Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes - Tom Peters! (Are you listening BH?).

Embrace change and do all you can to expose unethical behavior.

Don't allow deadbeat managers and/or lazy executives to ruin your career or influence your project.

Gossiping is for children and old women. Don't be a part of the office gossip loop.

Great leaders with ethics and a solid morale center are rare. I have never met one; however I'm sure they exist. Seek them out with everything you have.

Executives have forgotten how to be leaders. Because of this, we have a 200 billion dollar trade deficit, stock option scandals, CEOs going to prison, massive layoffs, outsourcing to India, disloyal workers, and a plethora of corrupt politicians. Make sure before you go to work for an organization you know who is running the show.

Love the unlovable.

Be nutty at work. Somebody will appreciate the break in the monotony.

Find a manager in your company that is doing a bad job and ask them about the middle management shake up that is eminent. Walk away quickly before they can respond.

Look at yourself in the mirror closely for 60 seconds. Feel really bad that you look so old, then remember that life is precious and be thankful to God that tomorrow is a new day.

Challenge authority when it makes sense. Project managers can't be wimps.

Don't respect unrespectable people. Avoid them, workaround them, go through them. They are career killers.

If you like to solve problems and make a difference, work for a non-profit or charity.

Be a blessing to somebody.

Thanks for listening.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Stephen F. Seay, PMP
sfseay@yahoo.com

Strategic Projects and Plans

We have a strategic plan where I work, however we don't have a strategic or portfolio planning office to manage the output of the strategic plan (the projects). A strategic plan is basically an outline for a list of strategic projects. Strategic projects are focused on mid and long term goals and are authorized by senior management. Without a strategic planning office there is not an effective strategic plan, and a strategic plan that isn't effective isn't worth the paper it is printed on.

According to some research, 50-80% of strategic plans never come to fruition. I would bet that most of these failed strategic plans were due to organizations not having a strategic planning office. As I mentioned, my organization has a strategic plan, and while well thought out, it doesn't appear to be very effective at consistently delivering measurable results. I say this because I don't see a project portfolio or list of strategic projects, and there is no organization to oversee these projects at the enterprise level. Also, the projects that do come out of our strategic plan aren't usually very S.M.A.R.T. - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Resource Constrained/Relevant, Time-bound.

If your projects aren't S.M.A.R.T they aren't worth planning and executing.

Organizations, especially local governments, can tweak and refine their strategy over time. This can be due to the ever changing political winds, environmental factors, customer demands, changing priorities, resource constraints, a lack of political will, or executive apathy (laziness), but more often it is because of a lack of an enterprise project management focus. Whatever the case, a strategic planning office can help an organizations focus on what is important in regards to the management of strategic projects.

When thinking about strategic projects think about the following:

• How the projects will be selected?
• How the projects will be funded?
• How the projects will be monitored and reported against?
• How will project audits be conducted?
• Who sponsors the projects?

One final thing, review PMI's OPM3 (Organizational Project Management Maturity Model) to help you transform your organization's strategy into action.

Also, remember the Strategic Planning Circle - Strategy ---> Ideas ---> Projects ---> Change

A Communication Failure?

When project teams are surveyed at the end of failed projects, poor communications is always cited as being one of the major causes. Why does this keep happening? Why is project communications so poorly executed so often. My short answer is that many project managers are arrogant, inattentive, and oblivious to the feelings and needs of the project team.

Project managers get busy. Many times they don't make time to manage project communications properly. Also, the project manager may think they are doing a good job communicating, but that may not be the case.

Project managers must remember that the project team is made up of individuals. Each person on the team has a preference for the types of communication they like to receive, and each person processes communications differently.

Some things to monitor that may point to poor project communications are:

Trust - Does the team trust you (the project manager)? How do you know? Everybody will not trust you all the time. Team members that don't trust the project manager will not be open in their communications. They will tend to either shut down or challenge the project manager at every turn.

De-motivated - Where are we going? Are we going where we said we were going when we started? Did we clearly state where we were going before we started?

Whining - Despair and anxiety take over the team or key team members. Infighting is prevalent and people are starting to talk openly about the project being a failure.

Incompetence - Team isn't sharing information and learning. Perhaps the team has had little to no training, or the training received was of poor quality.

All the above can be overcome, however it requires that the project manager is listening and changing strategy when necessary to get the team back on track. Just because you are a project manager doesn't make you a good communicator, however ignoring problems like the ones mentioned above will make you a bad project manager.

My two cents are, be a leader. Lead through your communication and your ability to motivate your team to get the job done. Be on the lookout for the above warning signs. When you see signs of the warning signs act quickly, follow-up, then continue to monitor.

Poor project team synergy is the fault of the project manager. There are a lot of incompetent project managers that are hurting our profession because they either refuse to alter their communication styles or are too arrogant to change. My advice to them is to change their ways or leave the project management profession.

Project Management Maturity and You

The subject of Project Management Maturity has been given a lot of press lately. At this year's PMI Global Conference there were lots of vendors selling all kinds of products to help organizations and project managers increase their project management maturity level. As project managers, we need training and tools to help us perform to at our best. Over the years I have evaluated several products to help me manage my projects more effectively. I like two products in particular because they are reasonably priced, and have free templates and processes available on their websites that you can put to use right away.

The products I'm speaking of are:
TenStep's Project Management Process and
PMOStep - Project Management Office process also available from TenStep

I also use a great collection of templates and forms called the Project Management Kit from Method123.

As I said, I own, use, and highly recommend products from both of these vendors. They are the only sites I advertise on this blog because I use them both and can say that they are a great deal for the money.

Now, lets talk about Project Management Maturity.

It is widely agreed that there are five levels of Project Management Maturity.

They are (my definition):

LEVEL 1 - INITIAL- No consistency in the organization's approach to project management

LEVEL 2 - REPEATABLE - There are some project management processes being utilized. There are some procedures developed for managing projects. There are some measures in place to help measure project management performance.

LEVEL 3 - DEFINED - Formal integrated processes are in place and they are agreed upon. There are project management coaches in the organization, and project management training is emphasized and provided to all project managers. Project management procedures are integrated around project scope, quality, time, cost, etc.

LEVEL 4 - MANAGED - Project reviews and benchmarking are formal. Project results are and procedures are benchmarked and used as a basis for improvement.

LEVEL 5 - OPTIMIZED - Continuous improvement is the driver behind project management excellence. Data is used to make decisions. Errors and anomalies are analyzed and patched to support continuous improvement. Project management success is visible to all. Project management skills and a project centric culture is embedded in the organization. Performance and innovation drive the organization towards excellence.

We exist as project managers to help our organization improve project performance. In order to help ourselves and our organization's projects succeed, we need to:

Continuously improve our project management processes and procedures

Conduct post project reviews

Benchmark our project results internally and externally

Be continuous learners

Use tools that are relevant to our jobs

Project Change Management

I have returned from Seattle, and PMI put on another great global congress. I'm reenergized about my profession and the opportunities available for Project Managers. If you haven't attended a PMI Global Conference I would strongly suggest you try to attend the next one in 2007 in Atlanta, GA.

One of the things I'm trying to focus on this year is doing a better job of managing project change. Remember, project management is really about controlling change. As project managers we need to control change in order to control our project's scope. If we don't do a good job of controlling change our project will get off track quickly.

Develop a good change management process during project initiation, and utilize it throughout your project.

Some other change management tips:

Capture all requests for change in writing

Have a common process for approving or rejecting change requests

Understand what the change(s) will impact

Understand how the change will impact your costs, schedule, scope, and quality

Make sure you have the right people review the change

If changes are approved, ensure you update any baselines that are impacted by the change

Changes in your project are inevitable, but controlling change is the responsibility of the project manager. Are you in control of your project's change?

PMI Global Congress - Seattle

I'm headed to Seattle for the annual PMI Global Congress. I always enjoy this conference because I'm able to see the latest products the vendors have, and always learn a lot from the various presentations.

I have really been busy this week. I'm in the final stages of implementing an Asset/Work Management system for our IT group and the challenges have been a bit overwhelming at times. I long for the days when I had a strong sponsor and some level of commitment from all stakeholders. I work in a very challenging environment where Earned Value and IT Project Management aren't always highly valued.

I have learned in my current environment that results aren't always as important as managing perceptions.

I have always believed as Project Managers we should be judged equally on what I call the PCA Triangle. At the top of the triangle is a "P" for Process. On the bottom right is "C" for Communication, and at the bottom left is "R" for Results. Remember I said we "should" be measured equally in regards to our overall performance.

Some organizations focus mainly on results when evaluating projects and project managers. This is a big mistake. If I manage a project and make everyone mad, don't communicate up, down, and across the organization, but deliver the project on time and on budget did I succeed? What if the scope wasn't properly captured due to poor communications and lack of process? Will people really embrace the project's deliverables? Will they project even be accepted?

Results are important, but the process you use to get the results and the way you communicate along the way are just as important.

Hope to see some of you in Seattle. E-mail me using the following address if you are in Seattle next week and we can meet for coffee - sseay(at)scgov.net

Until next week!

Stephen F. Seay, PMP

Projects, Leaders, and Discipline

One of the things that hurt project teams most is the lack of an enterprise (executive) focus and oversight regarding the management of projects. It takes discipline to manage projects, and enterprise project discipline is lacking when executives are disinterested or disengaged. Great organizations (not project managers) manage projects well, and in doing so they have employees with higher morale, they get better project results, and implement projects faster with higher quality.

So why don't more organizations keep closer tabs on their projects at the enterprise level? Some would say the executives are too busy strategizing, and the projects are running just fine without their oversight. I think people that say this are fooling themselves and have little to no project management discipline. The data is clear that projects are delivered faster, cheaper, and with higher quality when projects results are reviewed by the enterprise (executives).

Before we go further, we need to ensure we have a clear understanding of the word discipline. Discipline is the act of encouraging a desired pattern of behavior. George Washington said: "Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable, procures success to the weak, and esteem to all". In other words, discipline is the glue that holds organizations together.

We can't have agile and effective project methodologies or organizational processes without discipline. In short, effective discipline requires effective organizational oversight. Finally, discipline begins at the top and works its way down. Organizations with poor discipline have weak, ineffective leaders at the top. Weak, unengaged, ineffective leaders kill organizations. Can you say Enron?

The lack of project discipline is the fault of all project team members, but the cause of a lack of discipline lies at the top of the organization.

Disconnected, disinterested, and unengaged leadership is unacceptable in any organization. Undisciplined organizations have high turnover, low employee morale, and poor project results. These organizations cheat their investors and customers by not providing the highest level of service possible. Highly disciplined organizations make and keep commitments, manage to clearly stated and measurable goals, and have executives that are engaged and visibly participate in the oversight of projects and day-to-day operations. If you aren't visible, your aren't relevant. If you aren't relevant, you aren't needed.

In closing, dysfunctional organizations believe that the workers are solely responsible for managing projects and other day-to-day work. These organizations believe that the executives should spend the majority of their time strategizing and making policy. This is a failed approach (see General Motors, Ford, K-Mart, etc), and ensures the work, including projects, will take longer than planned and cost more than what was budgeted.

Executive leadership and oversight of projects has been proven to motivate project teams to be accountable, results driven, and focused on achieving a common goal. Good executive leadership provides the glue that keeps teams working together, provides inspiration, exhibits integrity, sets an example for others to follow, and is accountable.

Leadership is action, not position - Donald H. McGannon.