Posted: September 16th, 2009 | Tags: BNet, Business case, Project Management, Project manager | No Comments »
Having just finished my series on what a good project manager should be able to do, it was reassuring for me to see the same points coming up for managers. In this blog entry at BNet the same qualities are also mentioned – presenting, communication, negotiation.
I also like the points being raised on finance. If a project manager is involved in the creation of the business case of the project, it is of great help to have a good understanding of all the relevant financial terms.
Do the work – hands on – In project management this is an area where the line becomes very thin. A project manager needs to have an understanding of problem he/she is solving, what the solution is all about but needs to ensure not to get involved in the details of the solution. When you get sucked into the detail of the solution, you loose your focus on managing the project. Leave the solution to the experts, you only need to manage the process.
Try to act like a mature adult – Oh Yes! This is where managing your own emotions come from as I mentioned here.
Posted: September 14th, 2009 | Tags: people skills, Project Management, Project Management Institute, Project manager, Project Manager skills | No Comments »
The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee and I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun. - John D. Rockefeller
Here we get to the point that really seperate “any old” project manager from the “Good PM”. How well can you deal with people. People is the most dynamic part of any project. PMI defines a project as an “unique endevear”. Every project that has people involved will by definition be unique if we do not have exactly the same team as on the previous project.
A lot of the previous “good pm” attributes, like conflict management, have people at the core. In order for your project to be successful in any way, you will need to be able to make the best of the people you have on-board. Being able to relate to people, being able to identify different personality types and how to deal with each of these is crucial if you want to succeed in project management. Like the previous post, this skill is also something that can be taught in training classes but only be perfected by real life experience.
Recently I have witnessed another case of a brilliant mind that did not have the ability to build rapport with key stakeholders. Although all the decisions made on the project were technically correct, the inability of the project manager to appropriately deal with the conflict between stakeholders turned the project into a “burning” project where the fire fighters had to come and help. The key cause in this case was the project managers inability to “read” the stakeholders, understand their emotions and deal with it in an unbiased way.
I have also seen the opposite case, where the project manager is such a people person that now work gets done. Keeping everybody happy was so important that no tough decisions where ever made and all difficult decision got put on hold.
It is normally fairly easy to spot the project managers with bad people skills. Not to say that bad people skills always equal bad project manager. There are roles for these people as well. Sometimes the lack of “soft” skills is what is needed from a escalation manager, where being able to take charge, evaluate a situation and make decisions are the critical skills.
Horses for courses! Just be sure you know the limitations of the project managers that you work with.
Posted: September 10th, 2009 | Tags: conflict, Conflict Management, Management, Project manager | 1 Comment »
“Whenever you’re in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude. ” -
William James
Projects are by definition a conflict situation. In order to balance the triangle of cost, time & quality between all the relevant stakeholders, conflict will happen. As per the quote above, what makes the difference is the attitude with which you start. In a professional services project I have learned that the most important factor is the control of emotions. When emotions come into conflict it is destined to become a “no win” for all, thus it is of the utmost importance to keep the emotions out and the facts on the table. Nothing ruins a good fight like facts! For me the control of emotions always start with myself. I cannot expect others to control emotions if I am not leading by example.
I do believe that conflict management skills can be taught and that all project managers should get this training early in their careers. A lot of different strategies exists but as with most people management skills, the key is the practical experience. How does a project manager build this experience in a save environment? This is one area where I believe that coaching does help. If a junior project manager can be paired with a more experienced person, the skill can be coached. Unfortunately we do not alway have the luxury of being coached one-on-one in these types of skills.
Role play is also a good “simulation” tool for real life experience. Good conflict management training courses normally include a lot of practical exercises during the course of the training. It also helps to watch how others try and resolve conflict. You learn almost as much from other’s mistakes as from your own.
Most important is to enter the conflict with the right attitude. if you enter with the attitude of – “let’s find a solution” rather than “let me prove to you that I am right” you are already half the way through. Now if the emotions can be kept under control and the facts discussed in an “open” environment the table is being set for a successful outcome. The basic facilitation skill also helps to keep the conversation under control and going in the right direction.
I have also found it useful to use a mediator in cases of extreme conflict or disagreement. A person that is perceived by all parties as being unbiased could just be the tie breaker that is needed. The other strategy that does help when emotions get involved, is to call a time out for cool-down period. Sometimes a simple 30 minute break can make a huge difference.
However, there is still no silver bullet. You will have to learn this skill by practice!
Remember, any conflict is another opportunity to “make a deal”.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=2c778dea-9e77-4f55-9249-b8729c522588)
