Current State of Resource Management in Corporate America

June 25, 2009 — Bruce McGraw

Resource Management Survey

Resource Management is one of the key areas to successful project management and yet most organizations seem to put little process or technology to work in this area.  I am delighted to tell you about a UT student who is doing an internship and conducting a (what I consider to be groundbreaking) study on Resource Management in Corporate America.

Please take a few minutes to participate in her survey!!!

 

Subject: Project Resource Management Survey — Request for Participation

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am a senior at the University of Texas at Austin, and am currently interning with Cognitive Technologies. I am conducting sponsored research in a relatively unstudied field: project resource management. I have worked with project management experts to create a short survey to collect data on the resource management tools and processes organizations currently utilize and to explore resource management challenges organizations face.

I believe the analysis of the data will reveal a strong correlation between organizational and project success and the level of resource management employed. I also will observe how management practices vary by organization size, type, and industry. Finally, I will sort the data by the title of the respondent to analyze any gaps that may exist between the beliefs and expectations of project managers and upper-level executives.

To ensure this much needed research is viable, I will need a large response pool. I am asking for your help in this area. Would you please distribute the link to our survey to your collegues? Thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide.

Thank you,

  Hook ‘em Horns!

  Kathryn Jackson, Senior,

 The University of Texas

Take the Project Resource Management Survey. Respondents receive free digital copy of findings report for completing survey.

Take the survey now: http://cognitive-technologies.com/rmsurvey

This is a survey to determine the impact project resource management has on the overall success of projects. It should take less than 10 minutes to complete. The survey contains:

  • Basic profile questions about your organization, so that we can determine how practices vary by organization size, type (i.e. public, private, etc.), industry, and how beliefs vary by the title of the respondent.
  • Questions to assess the usage of resource management tools and processes and the existence of any challenges across organizations.

To thank you for your participation, the survey sponsor, Cognitive Technologies, will provide you with a complimentary digital copy of the final findings report.

Take the survey at: http://cognitive-technologies.com/rmsurvey

Kathryn Jackson, Senior, The University of Texas

 

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Project manager – having difficult conversations

June 20, 2009 — Bruce McGraw

Whether it’s an underperforming developer, a lazy team member, some type of inappropriate behavior, or a prima donna on the team that makes everyone angry, there are times in every project manager’s life when he or she must have a difficult conversation with employee team member. These conversations are always difficult because you will be saying something that the other person doesn’t want to hear. You will be asking the employee to change his or her behavior which is not something people are often motivated to do.

First things first
Ask yourself: What makes you think there is a problem that requires having that difficult conversation? Are deadlines being missed? Is the work suffering? Are there angry words or emails being exchanged? Has someone complained? Have you seen a problem or heard about it through the grapevine? Are you constantly putting out fires that seem to circle around this employee? Make notes. Be specific.

  • What happened
  • When
  • How often
  • Who was involved
  • What was the impact

Next decide whose problem it is. Some problems must be addressed at the organization level, even though you are responsible for initiating the action. These problems include violation of laws or corporate policies. Beyond that, problems that impact your team and meeting your goals are in your bailiwick and require that you have the difficult conversation.

Prepare for the meeting
Schedule a meeting location that offers privacy. Depending on the problem to be discussed, you may want to stage the meeting in a way that is somewhat informal—no barriers like a desk between you. Check your notes and be prepared to provide your employee with specific information not generalities.  Decide what would be a good or ideal outcome so you can work toward that goal.

Be aware of your attitude and assumptions and how they will be perceived.

Once you are prepared—you have defined the characteristics of the problem, assured yourself it is a problem, know what behaviors you want changed—then get on with it. Invite the employee to a meeting as soon as possible.

Having the difficult conversation
Begin by presenting the situation in a non-threatening manner. “Joe, I believe that there are issues that are negatively affecting our team’s performance.”; “Mary, I would like your help in solving a problem on the team.” Do not make the initial statements in a way that implies blame, but rather describe a problem that needs to be solved. Present your perception of the issue and then ask for feedback.

Listen. The initial part of the conversation is about discovery. Does the employee perceive the problem the same way that others do? Do they believe that their behavior is contributing to it? For example, was Mary’s intention to be helpful, but the perception was that she was pushy and interfering? Was Joe failing to get his tasks done because he was preoccupied with his sick wife, or did he not know the tool he was supposed to be proficient in using, or did he think his assigned task was beneath his abilities?

Stay focused on the desired outcome—do not get embroiled in a debate or become defensive

Give feedback on what you heard
Your employee will be more receptive to solving the problem when they believe that you understand their point of view. Paraphrase what they said and ask for confirmation. Keep in mind that you are not agreeing with them or their perceptions, you are clarifying their stated position and indicating that you listened to them.

Be careful not to take their comments personally

Now it is your turn
State the problem in terms of effects using the information gathered in step 1—first things first. Specify how you want behaviors to change and how you will measure that change. Make the consequences of failure to change crystal clear. Be prepared for resistance, anger, defensiveness, or finger-pointing. However, do not get sucked into these emotional and self protective responses. Do not get distracted from where you want the meeting to conclude. A couple other do’s and don’ts:

  • Do not make broad generalizations about behaviors or intentions
  • Do not make accusations
  • If there are multiple issues, deal with one at a time
  • Let the employee know you really want this problem to be solved
  • Be prepared to listen to alternatives as long as they address solving the problem
  • At the conclusion of the meeting, summarize the expected behavior changes
  • Schedule a follow up meeting, if appropriate

So this post isn’t up beat and talking about some great new way to do project management better – it is just about how dealing with people is the MOST important thing you have to do!

Your thoughts??

 

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Wanted: Project Leaders

June 12, 2009 — Bruce McGraw

I am pleased this week to offer insights on how to ensure project success through effective leadership from guest contributor, Dr. Karen McGraw.

——————————————————————————————————–

Project managers are valuable because of their ability to plan, organize and direct mission-critical initiatives to meet organizational goals. But management skills alone don’t ensure success. Leadership is a critical component to successfully guiding a team to the finish line.

In one KPMG survey, 67 percent of the companies who participated said that their program/project management function was in need of improvement. Factors like unreasonable project timelines, poorly defined requirements, poor scope management, and unclear project objectives were cited as the culprits, even with the widespread practice of putting certified project managers in charge. Perhaps there’s a larger issue at play. The root cause for project failure may stem from a project manager’s inability to lead projects, not just manage them.

Shouldn’t hiring a Project Management Professional (PMP) offer an increased likelihood of success?

After being called in to rescue and turnaround numerous IT projects, I’ve found that while a PMP certification is important, it alone is not sufficient for successful project management. In many troubled projects, there appears to be a common thread: there is no leadership. That is, while the project manager may be focused on what needs to be done — and know how to do it — he or she may not be acting as a project leader. 

At a basic level, project managers must be able to set the vision, define success and determine the measurements of success. It takes true leadership to drive complex projects to successful conclusions. My experience with both government and commercial clients reveals that project management without project leadership is likely to result in project failure.

What does it take to be a true leader? Volumes of business and strategy texts have been written about this critical competency. Some authors or practitioners have made the point that leadership and management represent two different skill sets and that either an individual has the characteristics and skills necessary for leadership or those more appropriate for management. Others have suggested that leadership comes from knowing where to go and that management is about how to actually get there. My experience has shown me that not only can project managers act as leaders, but that they must provide leadership if projects are to succeed.

What It Takes to Lead
Project leadership is about shaping a team of diverse individuals (employers and contractors alike) into a force that produces measurable project results. I believe project managers must provide leadership in three key areas:

  • Leading courageously
  • Influencing others
  • Acting with resilience

Consider the environment that large IT projects often operate within. Many require a huge resource pool representing individuals and contractors from different organizations and with varying job roles. Each resource may require slightly different tasks and may not all be aligned with project goals. There also may be numerous issues and risks that make it difficult to spot the tasks that are most critical. In this kind of environment, courageous leaders are paramount. To lead courageously means to clarify what is important and take a stand to resolve the issues that matter. A courageous leader acts promptly and decisively and challenges others to make tough choices. 

The ability to influence others is also critical for those leading large project teams and for those addressing numerous stakeholders and different user communities. Influencing others means giving compelling reasons for ideas and suggestions and winning support from others, both within the project team and in the user and stakeholder community. It also requires a talent for persuasion. Finally, it means influencing the decisions of upper management, whether within your own organization or the client organization.

To be resilient means to keeps the focus relentlessly on project goals. This is especially important when projects are at critical stages or are in trouble. Sometimes it means being tough enough, in the face of adversity, to fight for what is right and get agreement on issues that threaten to derail the project. Or it may simply require being flexible enough to negotiate solutions that keep can keep a project driving towards success, when others might give up and accept defeat.

While a PMP certification is a great step towards proving you have set of critical management skills, it’s the attributes that make up a good leader that can set a project on the right path. Without a courageous, influential and resilient leader, projects can be doomed to fail at the first sign of conflict. The same is true for nearly ever profession including teachers, physicians and CEOs. Management skills and knowledge can take you far. But true effectiveness comes from being a great leader.

Dr. Karen McGraw is the founder and CEO of Cognitive Technologies. She has extensive experience in technology-based performance improvement solutions ranging from the design and implementation of computer-based learning and learning management systems, to expert systems, performance support systems, intelligent interfaces and knowledge management systems. Dr. McGraw is a co-developer of the Performance DNA toolkit for analyzing human performance to diagnose improvement opportunities.

This post is from an article that Dr. McGraw published at:
http://www.projectsatwork.com/article.cfm?ID=249317

There is post on managing virtual project teams that shows how leadership fits into the overall management matrix of skills
 

Posted in Best Practice, General Project Management, Leadership, pm. Tags: , , , . 1 Comment »

PM Best Practices – Dealing with customers and clients

June 5, 2009 — Bruce McGraw

Yesterday I was talking with a friend—actually I was only listening as she ranted about her experience with an insurance company after a minor car accident. To put it mildly, she was angry. She was spitting nails and plotting cyber-revenge via Twitter and Facebook. As she discussed how the insurance company made her feel and why, I wondered—to myself since I could not get in more than a sympathetic “um-hmm”—if there was any wisdom to be gained from her experience for project managers  dealing with customers or clients.

I think there is.

Here is a summary of her complaints:

  • The claims people were paper-pushers. They only wanted to fill out forms—they had no interest in what happened unless it fit a blank on their form.
  • It took forever to get through the automated phone system to a real person. My time is valuable, too.
  • They acted as if I was stupid or I had done something wrong.
  • Every action was for their convenience and my inconvenience.
  • No matter the evidence, they took way too long to accept responsibility.
  • They did not care that I was without a vehicle because of their insured’s mistake.
  • Their attitude was “it was my problem” and if I did not like the way they were handling it, I could sue them.

Take-aways for project managers

  • Be available. As project manager, you personally cannot always be available. But, it is important to have a person designated to answer calls during business hours and a way to reach someone after-hours.  “Leave a message and we’ll get back to you” is not enough.
  • Listen first. When a customer or a client is having a problem, they want and need your understanding of the impact on their business. Clients may not tell you in tech-savvy words what is wrong. They may be angry or frustrated. You do not improve the situation by cutting off their story and trying to get them to rationally describe the problem.
  • Do not blame the client for the problem. It’s true that the client may have done something wrong, but pointing that out will only lead to more anger and defensiveness.
  • Apologize. Even if you have done nothing wrong, you can respond sympathetically to the client’s situation. “I am sorry you are having this problem.”
  • Confirm that you will solve the problem. How you will solve the problem and when are details. But you should first allay their fears and assure them that the problem will be solved.
  • Give them a timeline. People are less anxious and angry when they know what to expect. Be realistic about the steps you can take and when you will take them.
  • Do what you promise.
  • Give the client or customer feedback along the way. Contact the client by phone with updates on your actions and the status of the problem solving. Be proactive; do not wait for them to call you.
  • Thank the client. Let them know you appreciate their business.

If you have had success in dealing with upset clients, share your tips and tricks in the comments section.

 

 

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