Getting the Most Out of The Teleconference

I just got off a series of teleconferences.  I must say that most teleconferences are a waste of time, just like meetings.  We still do them, people still don't get much out of them.  There is a way to make teleconferences more effective.  The first is to have an agenda and keep to the agenda.  Obviously, the purpose of this is to have information sharing.  So there should be one person who will present the information of that agenda items.  It is important that you don't have people talking over each other.  What happens is that when people are talking over each other everyone else leaves with the same understanding they had before meeting and no sharing took place.

Additionally, the afterward of the teleconference is important.  Send an email or have a call that will outline the shared understanding discussed during the conference call.  This will allow the participants to remember what was important and any actions associated with it.  It is a good practice.

Teleconferences do not have to be a waste of time. But they need to be done right to make it worth while.

Getting Back into the Saddle

The hardest thing to do sometimes is to get back into the saddle. As we all start to shake off the COVID-19 delays and return to a somewhat business as usual approach to our projects and programs, we all have to remember the basics of project management don't really change.

Of course some things are easier face to face.  I find negotiations in person are easier after all so much of our communication is non-verbal.  But the truth is that most of my work is done remotely or virtually anyways, so that aspect hasn't really changed.

Sure the vehicle that we use to get things done, might changed, but the methods and end product will be the same. Sometimes I feel that I get things done through sure willpower...lol.

It is past time that we all get back to work and create value for ourselves, our companies, and our clients.  Project Managers are in the value creation business for sure.

Project Managers Communicate

Communication is very important for the project manager.  A project manager must master the art of communication in order to ensure project success.  Being able to communicate in person, verbally and in written form is imperative.  Successful project managers are constantly communicating. There is really no such thing as over communication.

One type of communication that often doe not live up to the hype is email.  In my experience, most project communication via email is not effective.  I have received hastily compiled email status reports that have obvious mistakes or are a rehash of a previous status report.  I would have rather gotten a text or a tweet than this disaster of an email.  Another area is when people become too casual in the use of email and forget important details. Commonly I find that people report of subjects that they believe the reader already knows and leave out crucial details.

One practice that I commonly do is to call first and have a conversation.  I will follow-up with a email detailing the discussion.

Another issue is that email communication does not provide feedback to the sender.  Feedback is important so that the sender knows that the receiver understands the message. Lastly, there is too much noise. I commonly receive a couple hundred emails a day, there is no way I can possibly answer every one. My project managers know to mark the emails so I will pay attention to them.

Communication is important for project managers.  It is just as important to know the method of communication to ensure the message is received and understood.  In my opinion, email is not the preferred method for communication unless it is to clarify or document previous discussions.

Why Most Meetings are a Waste of Time

Most meetings are a waste of time because they are unproductive.  I have sat in meetings and heard all kinds of conversation, none of which pertain to the topic on hand.  I have the unique perspective to have been a participant in many productive meetings.  Most of the time meetings become the a waste of time when the participants are unprepared, the topic is not relevant, and the meeting leader just simply loses control.

Don't get me wrong, I find meetings a useful tool in communicating with project team members and stakeholders.  I also find that many meetings spiral out of control because the participants are unprepared.  A good practice is for the meeting leader to send out an agenda with the topics of the meeting so that participants can get there thoughts together before the meeting.  Nothing stops a project meeting like having to explain the purpose of the project to someone again.  Apparently this person didn't read the agenda or even the read-ahead materials.

Meeting are sometimes held because they have always been held.  The topic is not relevant to the participants and the conversation starts to wonder to sports scores or weekend plan.  My take is that there should not have been a meeting on the topic and if there was maybe less people.  I believe that this type of meeting waste time, many standing meetings should be evaluated to determine if they are relevant to the participants.

When the meeting leader loses control.  It is time to just stop the meeting and regroup.  No reason to keep everyone together for an hour, because that is how long the room is reserved.  If the meeting leader cannot regain control and steer the meeting to a productive end, then it should be stopped, have the leader regroup and reschedule the meeting for another time.

Meeting should not be a waste of time.  They can be productive, but it is imperative that the meeting leader provide participants with material including at least an agenda, make sure the topic is relevant to the group, and maintain some control.

The Power of the Checklist

One of the most powerful tools that a project manager can use is the checklist.  The simple checklist has been around in various forms forever.  I use a checklist daily to keep my project deliverables in check and to make sure I followed the process and framework.  The checklist is important, even if the process has been done a hundred times.

I find that people get into problems with process when they skip the steps in the checklist.  Most processes and procedures can be boiled down into a checklist for the project.  No project is done in a vacuum and that is why the project manager needs to have checklists regarding the processes of the overarching organization. The product of the project will have to be integrated at some point.

Checklists are even important for the internal workings of the project.  One of the most useful tools that I use is the battle rhythm.  The battle rhythm is a checklist with all the standard project deliverables and the due dates.  It is something that I adopted from my time in the Navy and still use it to make sure program deliverables are delivered timely and complete. This is useful for communicating with the project team the deliverables and due dates

For me, making a checklist is a continuous process.  The first pass at a checklist will most likely not be complete and there will be tasks or process nodes that are skipped.  One this first draft is developed, it needs to be shared with subject matter experts for opinion and refinement.  One the checklist is ready for prime time it should be shared with the project team and used.  One way to ensure the checklist is used is to require the checklist as part of the products from the product team. The checklist will continue to be refined as processes change due to technological or organizational change.

Project Managers Need Soft Skills

Being able to manage a project is not always about technical ability.  A project manager must be able to have what are often called soft skills.  I would rather call them human relations skills.  Projects are staffed by humans and so a project manager needs to be able to deal with humans.  Probably the first of those skills is communication.

Project managers need to have strong communication skills.  There communication skills include both oral and written communication.  Project managers need to be able to talk to technical personnel and the to non technical personnel.  They need to be able to explain the project to executives and to other stakeholders.  Communication is a skill that will serve a project manager well throughout their career.

Human resources management is another area of human relations skills that a project manager needs to learn.  There are many pitfalls that a project manager will find when navigating the maze that is employment law.  There are the FLSA, ADA, EEO, FMLA, etc. All these laws might effect your project.

And there is human relations training that helps project managers and employees deal with each other.  By recognizing the signs of workplace bullying, harassment, professional standards or other relationship issues, a project manager can help to nip these issues in the bud before they become lawsuits.  This is an important thing to learn, because the project manager might have to give this type of training during a meeting or other gathering.

Lastly, there is performance and disciplinary counseling that has to be done, There is hiring and firing and knowing how these are done to limit the liability of yourself and the company.  I can tell from experience, you always remember the first person you fire and it never gets easy...nor should it.

A project manager's human relations training never stops.  These topics are always evolving, so these courses change every time they are taken.  I suggest that project managers plan this training and make learning more a habit.

Identifying Stakeholders

One important task that a project manager must do is the identify stakeholders. Stakeholders are those people or groups that have some interest in the project.  Some stakeholders are easy to identify and some are not so easy to identify.  As a project manager, it is important to find all the stakeholders. Once those stakeholders are identified then it important to discover their issues or where they have stake in the project.

There is a group of stakeholders that are relatively easy to identify.  For a project, these stakeholders might include end users, customers, management, or shareholders.  These groups are easy to identify because they are not only the most obvious, but they do have an immediate stake in the success of the project.

The other group of stakeholders is those that are not so obvious. These groups might only have a small interest in the project or may not be directly influenced by the success of the project.  This might include suppliers, outside industry groups, or other partners.

From my experience I once managed a program with  a subcontractor.  This subcontractor changed their timekeeping software program without notifying their partners.  This transition did not go smoothly and caused their timekeeping reports and invoices to be late.  This effected my ability to complete program schedules and invoice the customer. Although this was a small blip in the continuation of the program, it effected me.  I was a stakeholder in the success of that timekeeping software project and I didn't even know it.

Once stakeholders are identified, it is important to record them, there interest in the project, and issues that might be encountered in a stakeholder register.  Once this is done, then a communication strategy should be developed for each stakeholder and then put into the plan.

Project Managers Deal with Adversity

Project Managers always have to deal with adversity.  Adversity is present in many of the things that a project manager has to do.

Projects are disruptive to the normal operation of a business.  Hopefully, the project is initiated to improve the business or to take advantage of an opportunity.  This type of action is disruptive to the employees in the business that do the same thing the same way since the beginning of time. They will be passive aggressive.  Change is never easy and it is harder when people believe the that change will do away with their jobs.

Sometimes project managers need to depend on others that are not their employees and they can not influence in any way, such as in a matrix type organization.  This odd relationship does not mean that the project manager is off the hook, it means the the project manager has to deal with that adversity.  This type of arrangement is hard and the project manager must communicate and build a relationship with these employees.

Another area where a project manager must face adversity is when there are somewhat hostile stake holders.  This is another area where the project manager must communicate and build a relationship with the stakeholders.  Stakeholders provide a bigger challenge in someways because they have their own agenda.

Project managers must deal with adversity, I certainly have.  To me, adversity is an opportunity to improve my communication and relationship building skills.  Sometimes this is hard, but it also makes success all the much sweeter!