Chuck’s Snippets 12.0; page 1 of 10

Chuck Millhollan,

www.millhollan.net

Southwest Ohio PMI 2009 Mega Event, West Chester, OH

http://www.pmi-swohio-chapter.org

April 21 – 22, 2009

Friends and Colleagues,

Welcome to “Chuck’s Snippets 12.0!” It has been a several months (December 2008) since the last set of Snippets were published, and I’m happy to be “back in the saddle” again. No horseracing pun intended just days before the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby. J

The mantra for the Southwest Ohio PMI chapter’s Mega Event was “Risky Business.” Most of the presentations focused on risk management, not only in managing projects, but also in managing our careers in today’s challenging economy. The content below captures the highlights from the workshops I attended.

My presentation during this conference was titled, “Leverage the PM Skill Set & Enhance Your Contribution to Your Organization.” The focus was on marketing the project manager’s skill set to remain competitive in our organizations.

If you are interested in discussing any of the specific topics and/or speakers in more detail, please feel free to contact me.

Previous “Chuck’s Snippets”

Version 1.0: Nov 2006 – National PW & WCBA, Orlando, FL

Version 2.0: Jun 2007 – Regional PW & WCBA, Boston, MA

Version 3.0: Nov 2007 – Northeast Florida PMI Regional Seminar, Jacksonville, FL

Version 4.0: Nov 2007 – National PW & WCBA, Anaheim, CA

Version 5.0: Apr 2008 – Nashville PMI 2008 Spring Symposium, Nashville, TN

Version 6.0: Apr 2008 – SW Ohio PMI Mega Event, Cincinnati, OH

Version 7.0: Jun 2008 – Regional PW & WCBA, La Jolla, CA

Version 8.0: Sep 2008 – Tampa Bay PMI Symposium, Tampa Bay, FL

Version 9.0: Oct 2008 – PMI Global Congress, Denver, CO

Version 10.0: Oct 2008 – Center for Quality Management Conference, Erlanger, KY

Version 11.0: Nov 2008 – National PW & WCBA, Orlando, FL

My standard disclaimer: While I believe all of the content of the attached summary is extremely valuable, I do not fully accept each premise or believe that all of the concepts fully apply in every organizational environment. However, these basic principles of effective management, leadership, and project management are definitely worthwhile contributions to our professional development.

Remember…if you do not want me to send you these summaries, slap me down electronically, and I’ll remove you from the distribution list.

Speaker: Joe Healy, CEO of CCG Systems, Inc. and Author of Radical Trust: How Today’s Great Leaders Convert People to Partners

Topic: Keynote address on Trust

  1. Chuck’s comment: Joe made a comment to kick-off his presentation that caught my attention. His statement was simple…“Look around. These folks have some great ideas.” We’ve probably all heard this type of comment before, but there are “nuggets of gold” in each of our peers that many of us are failing to mine.
  2. Are we, consistently, leveraging each other’s specific skills to enhance our own skill sets? As we look around the office, our network, our friends, etc…what could we learn? Each one of them has likely used some “trick” to overcome obstacles. Is there a case study embedded there that you could learn from and apply to obstacles in your project, career, or life? The discussion doesn’t have to be academic. How better to spark up a meaningful conversation and quickly bypass the small talk than to ask someone about a project related challenge they’re dealing (or have dealt) with?
  3. Many organizational issues stem from senior leadership’s inability to manage projects…or senior leadership’s inability to go from idea to execution.
  4. Chuck’s comment: The space between idea and execution is what I’ve started referring to as the “Knowledge-Doing” gap. Our organizations are full of very intelligent, skilled resources that do not always have the skills required to go from idea to execution. Project management’s contribution is the ability to define a problem (current state), define the desired future state (business objectives), determine the difference between the two (gap analysis), and covert that analysis into specific, actionable deliverables (scope or requirements).
  5. The remainder of Joe’s presentation focused on building high performance teams founded in trust.
  6. When trust is absent, there are natural barriers to collaboration, such as departmental or functional silos and fear. Individuals in teams without foundational trust tend to spend more time protecting themselves, their turf, and their job than they do focusing either on project objectives or organizational goals.
  7. Joe outlined three types of trust:
  8. Execution trust
  9. You do what you say you are going to do and do not commit to something you cannot do.
  10. This is the “delivery” component.
  11. Chuck’s comment: Execution trust is not agreeing to the almost impossible and breaking your team’s back to produce. This may produce fruit in the short-term, but using this tactic to climb the ladder at the expense of the rungs under you will eventually limit how high you can climb. Granted, we all know people that have been promoted using this tactic. But think of the leader you “want” to work for. What traits do they have? Emulate those.
  12. Character trust
  13. Leaders (read as project managers) must possess and demonstrate character traits that build trust.
  14. This is “Who we are.” Honesty, candor, integrity, humility, gratitude, tenacity, etc…are words used to describe a leader’s character. How would your peers and/or team members describe you? That is infinitely more important than your self image.
  15. Communication trust
  16. Communicate to “express,” not to “impress.” Share your message without the fluff and flowery language. Communicate with the intent to facilitate understanding. If your audience needs a thesaurus to interpret your message, you should consider using different words.
  17. People cooperate with those they respect and trust. Tell the truth, be honest, and be candid. The goal is not to be liked, it is to be trusted.
  18. Joe focused on using candor to develop and demonstrate communication trust.
  19. Remember that questions from others are often a vehicle for candor. Let people know they can question, and even challenge, you.
  20. Chuck’s comment: Most of us can recite the section from the Team Building handbook that states that conflict can be positive and that the healthy debate that comes from disagreement can produce alternatives and potential solutions to issues. Can I get an Amen!? Now…do we practice what we preach?
  21. With candor, respectfully delivered, people know exactly where they stand. In today’s “politically correct” environment, we tend to sugar coat or soften difficult messages. This approach to communication can change the intended meaning.
  22. Are you frank & open with your team?
  23. Are you confident at the end of a discussion that your intended message was delivered?
  24. In a real-time discussion, pre-call (or announce early) the intent of your message and any associated constraints. This is analogous with publishing an agenda for a meeting. No one wants to wait until the end of your message to discover the goal of the communiqué. Using the pre-call tactic can help your audience avoid missing important information as they’re trying to determine your intent.
  25. Pre-calling helps set the context as the audience learns where you’re going with your message.
  26. Pre-calling potential conflict can help reduce the negative impact. Start with a simple claim (pre-call), such as “I sense you’re uncomfortable with…”
  27. Keys to Candor:
  28. Set context: Always tie your feedback or tough love to the “why.” A cause-n-effect approach to constructive criticism.
  29. Talk in future tense: Don’t focus on past negatives or failures. Instead, explain your desired future state (or how you want them to behave, meet expectations, perform a task, etc…)
  30. Ask for agreement: This not only demonstrates that you respect their position or point of view, but also lays the foundation for commitment to the “to be.”
  31. Expect change: Be quick to follow-up and identify deviations from the agreed upon plan. Lack of attention can be seen as permission to continue the undesired behavior.
  32. Project managers tend to focus on execution trust at the expense of character and communication trust. Why not? Isn’t “deliver” what we do? Yes, and too much focus on delivery at the expense of knowing people can have a long-term negative impact on teams and the organization.
  33. The world, and the people that make up our project teams, is changing.
  34. Does this comment ring true in your organization?
  35. Project managers simply need to deliver. Being rough around the edges and rubbing people wrong is acceptable, as long as they’re delivering.
  36. Have you ever used these phrases to describe a project manager?
  37. “You’ll have to warm up to them.”
  38. “They’re doers, not communicators”
  39. “You’ll like them once you get to know them better.”
  40. “They’re like a bull in a china shop.”
  41. “They get things done, but leave a few bodies lying around?”
  42. How long would you work for this type of leader? Statistics show that today’s generation (read as “tomorrow’s workforce”) will not stick around too long. We cannot assume loyalty from our resources like we (Baby Boomers) gave our bosses. Here’s an excerpt from “Chuck’s Snippets 10.0”…

i.  The new resources entering the workforce tend to be “Knowledge Workers.” Their drivers include:

1.  Voice: They want to have a say in their work and how it gets done.

2.  Membership: They want to know they belong to something bigger than themselves. (Chuck’s comment: Project managers are responsible for understanding how their projects tie back to the organization’s strategy and how their work is contributing to the organization’s goals. It is our responsibility to share that information with our teams.)

3.  Meaning: They want to feel like they’re working for something more than just contributing to the bottom line. (Chuck’s comment: Baby Boomers {remember, I am one!}, I know this sounds strange, and we often chuckle…no pun…at folks that “do not understand” that ROI is king. Step back from our generational boundaries for a moment and think about how the younger talent is being attracted to socially responsible organizations. More and more you see companies proactively participating in events like Habitat for Humanity and other opportunities to contribute to the local community.)

4.  Life/work balance: The younger generations are more focused on working to live that living to work. Getting “more” is not always their primary goal. (Chuck’s comment: Baby Boomers…this one is gonna strike home for some of you… Do you take your allocated vacation days each year? Do you feel pressure not to take days off because someone will have the perception you’re not as committed as someone else? Do you feel you may be penalized for having a personal life and setting boundaries? OUCH!)

5.  Enrichment – Younger generations expect to have the tools, technology and training to not only do their jobs, but also to grow. Remember, these workers grew up with TVs, DVD players, and laptop computers in their bedrooms. They’re not receptive to the “do more with less” mentality that older generations have come to accept.

6.  Appreciation – Learn the power of sincere appreciation. Newer generations expect immediate, frequent feedback and real-time gratitude. Remember, they grew up with microwave ovens, instant messaging, ATM machines, etc…

  1. Developing each of the types of trust (Execution, Character, and Communication) leads to loyalty. Creating a true sense of loyalty in your team is how you leverage “Discretionary Effort.” In short, if you can develop a level of commitment by treating people well and demonstrating traits that build trust, they will tend to “give you more.”

Speaker: Tres Roeder & Christine Zust, President of Roeder Consulting and President of Zust & Company, respectively.

Topic: A Sixth Sense for Project Management

  1. Chuck’s comment: While these were two separate sessions, I combined them in the Snippets due to the same focus and the fact that they were both presenting under the auspices of Roeder Consulting. The focus was on soft skills, such as communication and leadership, and they have labeled their version of the necessary PM soft skills as the “Sixth Sense for Project Management.” The PMBOK 4th edition briefly addresses these skills in Appendix G.
  2. Tres Roeder stated that the PMP certification is primarily a “ticket to learn.” There’s a whole area of project management and leadership that we need to learn that is left out of the PMBOK.
  3. (I really liked this quote…) Project management can destroy more value than is created by applying tools and processes that are not appropriate for the organization. In other words, focusing on the technical and/or procedural aspects of project management alone will not produce optimal results.
  4. One of the factors that contribute to project failure is the project manager’s lack of balancing technical and interpersonal skills.
  5. Our profession ushers in change in the form of new products, services, systems, functionality, etc… Accordingly, the best project managers not only focus on their project objectives, but also focus on becoming a change agent for their organization.
  6. One way to foster buy-in to a change is to have the stakeholders (both in support of and opposed to the change) become a part of developing the solution. Remember, once someone has stated a position, either for or against something, they are much more likely to defend that position. This tends to be true regardless if they’re right or wrong. Including naysayers in the decision making process can help gain support and prevent active dissention.
  7. Roeder breaks the “Sixth Sense” into six disciplines (Chuck’s comment: This section appeared to be more of a marketing focus. They have several coined phrases…see below…that they outlined, but referenced their training programs if you wanted detailed information.):
  8. 360 Degree Awareness: Understand people and the situation.
  9. Whole Body Decisions: Use your brain, heart and gut to make Whole Body Decisions.
  10. Adaptability: Adapt but don’t break, be a Chameleon with a Core
  11. Clear Communication: Communicate straightforward thoughts, words, and images
  12. Diplomacy: Unearth common ground and influence outcomes
  13. Persistence: Melt obstacles and visualize success
  14. Honesty time… While I think their focus on soft skills is right on the mark, I stopped taking notes and started responding to emails with my PDA when the focus shifted to marketing their specific content and programs. If you’re interested in learning more, I’m confident a quick internet search on “The Sixth Sense for Project Management” would produce a link to their website. Note: This is an untested “assumption” that I’m treating as true and real for planning purposes. J

Speaker: Dr. Tom Shieves, Professor at the University of Texas, Author – Opportunity Unstuck!