Leadership Is Hard!

Leadership is hard.  I think that is a bit of an understatement.  Leadership is damn hard!  I have been in leadership positions and have not been in leadership positions.  It makes no difference if you are an appointed leader or not.  If you are a leader, you will lead where you are.

I used to tell people if leadership is too easy, you are probably not doing it right.  This is so true. A leader will be tested on a daily basis by those that you are leading.  I probably have has many sleepless nights wondering if I had made the right decision.  This is important to know that it is commonly not known the results of decisions, there is no instant gratification in most decisions. Leaders don't always know what the right or best decision is, but decisions do need to be made.

Leading people is frustrating some days, but I wouldn't change it for the world some days.  A former boss of mine told me that employees will never fail to disappoint you.  Yes, they will never fail to disappoint, but they will never fail to surprise you as well.

The secret is to get your employees all rowing in the same direction.  How is this done?  A leader needs to create a culture where employees know what to do, even in the absence of other orders.  A leader need to create an environment that nurtures budding leaders.  A leader needs to put other before themselves.  A leader just needs to lead. Period!

My Advice to Graduates

Since it is the season for graduation, I wanted to say a couple words of advice about being a Project Manager and starting a new career.  Graduation marks a new beginning.  This marks not the end to school, but the beginning of a new adventure.  This new adventure may take you places which you never thought you would go and do things that you never thought you would do.

My first piece of advice to new graduates is to take a course of action.  If there is no clear answer to the problem or dilemma, a bias for action is almost always better than inaction.  As a new manager, you might make a mistake or you might fail.  Making a mistake and failing is forgivable, if a lesson is learned, but inaction is not excusable.  These lessons learned will be far more valuable to your life as a manager or person than living a cold and timid life where nothing is ventured and nothing is gained.

I also think that things that come too easy are not appreciated as fully as things that have to be earned. This is an important lesson as life is going to be hard. Leadership and management are hard. I sometimes as know to say that if leadership or your job is too easy, you probably aren't doing it right. Do not shy away from the hard path, take it with gusto and remember those days as the good days.

Do not think that this first job as the only job you will ever have. You need to figure out what you can learn from the job and what the next step in your career will be.  This might mean learning a new skill by going to a course or taking a job that expands your experience.  Never stop learning and never stop growing.

Graduation is an accomplishment.  Take a moment to reflect on this accomplishment and then get to work.  Time is the only resource that you can't make more of, so don't waste it.

They Might Be Leaders II

Have you ever noticed that some people are natural leaders?  These people influence more people from there place in the organization than the appointed leaders.  These people can be a force for good or a force for bad.  As a leader in an organization, especially a leader of a project, you have to recognize these people and make sure they use their power for good.

How do you recognize these natural leaders?  They may not be evident.  They may be hiding in the shadow, instigating others.  I like to say they are on the edge of everything, influencing events.  I have had my share of run in with these type of people and it can be a challenge to use their powers for the good of the project and the organization.

The first step in getting them on your side is to simply talk to them and create a common ground. Many times this is harder than it sounds and it might be time consuming, but it is well worth it.  You have to be careful not to create a trans-actual relationship.  This is the type of relationship where there is a tit for tat.

The next step is to include them in the process.  This will help in bringing the rest of the project team into the process as well. This is important to solidify the participation to the end for the project team.

The last part of this process is to make sure that the team is recognize for the success of the project. This also includes a little mentoring to make sure that the natural leaders on the project team recognize their potential and hopefully move up into the project manager ranks.

Lead From Where You Are

Project managers and leaders have a lot in common.  I would argue that being a project manager is a tough leadership challenge, even for seasoned leaders.  Many times the project manager must influence stakeholders in the organization or they may not have direct reports assigned to the project and have to work with the managers of other departments.

Another area that the project manager may face is when they are not in charge and have to manage the project through a subordinate role.  I have found myself in the situation several times in my career and it does make getting things done hard. I do know how to handle it though.

Leaders lead from where they are. Leaders know that where ever their position there is an opportunity to lead.  A simple definition of leadership is the art of influencing people to complete a mission.  A leader or project manager in a subordinate role must use their influence to get the job done.  This sometimes creates obstacles.  Sure it is easy to get things done when you are in charge, but it is a real art to get things done when you are not in charge.

I view these roles as a chance to spread my leadership wings and to learn a new skill.  It is tough, but it is a lesson in dealing with people that is not soon forgotten.

They Might Be Leaders

From my experience, everyone can be a leader.  There are leaders all over an organization.  They lead by influence or by position.  Some of them do great things and some do not so good things with their influence within the organization.

Organizations need to look to these leaders that are doing good things by trying to figure out how to replicate those good things across the organization.  Replicating the best practices across the organization seems to be an easy task, but generally it is not that easy.

At the same time, the organization needs to find these leaders who are not doing those great things or even doing things that are counter to the needs of the organization and stop those practices.  Many of this practices may actually be obstacles to getting work done or serve the customer.

One thing that organizational leaders and managers need to do is to get all the employees on the same page and thinking like a leader.  In theory, this should put all employees pulling in the same direction that the management in pushing.

What does this have to do with project management?  Well two things.  The first is that those same employee leaders will be members of the project team.  Some will do good things and some will not. They will use their leadership powers for good or evil.  So project managers need to identify this dynamic and get everyone moving toward the project completion. Second, this dynamic across the organization creates multiple projects for the project manager to pursue.  Identifying these areas to create efficiency will assist the project manager in showing the business impact of their projects.

One thing that project managers need to always understand is that a project must solve a business problem and have an impact to the organization.