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.
Showing posts with label Relationship Building. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Relationship Building. Show all posts
Monday, May 8, 2017
Friday, March 17, 2017
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.
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.
Sunday, March 12, 2017
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.
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.
Thursday, March 9, 2017
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!
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!
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