PM2 Flashcards
primary job of a project manager:
leading all the people who affect the project
Projects have two inherent characteristics that create a different kind of leadership challenge
First, projects create a change. That change requires a series of decisions, often made without full information. Think of a project then as a journey of discovery: We make assumptions, we make decisions, we take action, and we learn more. Then we repeat that pattern, over and over.
second, project leaders have very little authority over all the people who affect the project.
every type of project requires large and small
decisions on a regular basis. Interpreting this reality as a journey of discovery means we embrace ambiguity and accept that acting without full information is both risky and necessary.
Project manager is a facilitator and guide; someone who will
Focus the team members, executives, customers on the relevant decision in the context of the big picture with an appropriate sense of urgency.
Politics, weather, and uncooperative technology are just a few of the interruptions that drive us off schedule or over budget. At each departure from the plan the people will turn to the
project manager, not for an easy answer or a magical insight, but simply for guidance about how they’ll reset direction. “We planned. We are off‐plan. How shall we respond?”
stakeholders such as customers, upper management, and suppliers, look to the
project manager for direction, reassurance, and confidence. All the people on the journey of discovery need a leader.
The second major challenge of leadership for project managers is their
limited authority. They cannot direct stakeholders outside of their control; they must win their cooperation. Every stakeholder looks to the project manager to lay out a proposed path of action, to guide resolution of conflicts among stakeholders, to set a consistent tempo of communication, and to establish a culture of competence.
Project teams make decisions day after day, and when they are wrong, they
regroup, look at what they’ve learned, and make new decisions. That takes a special kind of team culture, a culture that fosters collaboration, trust, and resilience. Project leaders set the tone and form the culture on their teams.
Resilience is when a project team
disagree about what problem they’re actually solving. They could disagree on the root cause, the options, who will have the authority to decide, and every other facet of the problem. They must be able to listen to each other, actively disagree, learn from each other, develop a solution together, and maintain positive, respectful relationships. When they make a mistake or assumptions fail, they don’t turn negative. They bounce back and face reality with the same can‐do cooperation.
Collaboration and resilience require skills and attitudes that are intentionally
fostered by the leader and the team. It is the team culture.
Team culture refers to
the visible behaviors that demonstrate team values. Active listening team behavior demonstrate valuing divergent views.
Honestly giving and receiving feedback team behavior fosters optimum performance team value.
Making the values visible and reinforcing the desired behaviors is a leadership activity that forms the culture.
Book - The Culture Code author identifies
safety as a key foundational characteristic of what he calls high‐performing groups.
High‐performing groups
were able to be vulnerable, which enabled them to improve. They could give and receive critical constructive feedback to improve themselves. That vulnerability requires a high degree of trust within the team. Before that trust could be established, individuals needed to feel safe.
Far too many important decisions are made while
people silently watch and disagree. They choose not to participate rather than have their opinion dismissed or feel punished for voicing a contrary view.
Safety can’t be taken for granted.
When we talk about courage, we think it’s going against an enemy with a machine gun. The real courage is
seeing the truth and speaking the truth to each other.
Among the many challenges facing a new project, establishing a
culture of safety and trust that will support collaboration is paramount. Team culture can’t be left to chance.
The evolution from cautious beginning to a cohesive, resilient, devoted team follows a predictable pattern that is well established. The model identifies five stages of team development, stages that every team will experience from their initial meeting until the team disbands. These stages are
Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning
Project leaders benefit from understanding these stages for two key reasons:
1 It provides guidance on how to take a team from one stage to the next as rapidly as possible.
2 the stages guide the leader’s choice of style.
teams need different styles as they progress from
one stage to the next. It makes sense that a team that is high performing allows a leader to be more hands‐off. It also makes sense that a team that is just beginning needs strong direction.
Forming: Initial reactions reflect the uncertainty everyone feels at the outset: pride at being selected for the team, excitement about the work ahead, yet a cautious or tentative attachment to the team. At this stage team members act as most people do when introduced into a roomful of strangers: They are polite and avoid conflict, seeking to find common ground and common purpose.
Leadership Style:
Respond to the uncertainty of the group by providing structure and clear direction. Provide background information to help them understand the goals and purpose of the group. The general desire to avoid conflict means that group decision‐making may not be comfortable or effective. Establish team expectations using ground rules.
Storming: As the team digs in and goes to work, conflict is inevitable. The team hasn’t yet learned to trust each other. Greater awareness of the work ahead can cause feelings of anxiety, even a desire to leave the group. Some are impatient to progress. Others are confused about tasks and responsibilities. A sense of thrashing emerges and may produce power struggles. Amidst this seeming chaos, the team is actually gaining clarity about goals and roles. They are starting to make decisions together, albeit somewhat painfully.
Leadership Style:
Respond to the chaos with structure and clear direction. Recognize early accomplishments. Be willing to engage the group in participative decision making to address their concerns. Facilitate group decisions, demonstrate effective listening, and ensure equitable participation among all team members. Your example will be setting the tone that moves them to the next stage.
Norming: During this stage team members begin to trust each other and trust the group. People can help each other and focus on team goals because their own need for role clarity has been met. They are capable of making team decisions, though they may try to avoid conflict in order to maintain harmony. Ground rules have become accepted and internalized.
Leadership Style:
The strength of the group enables the leader to shift to a facilitative style, giving increasing authority to the team. Don’t let the team’s new harmony cause them to avoid necessary conflict. Build momentum from the group’s unity by reviewing and improving team processes.
Performing: Not all teams reach this stage, but those that do enjoy the power of a united, effective work group. A hallmark of a team in the Performing stage is the ease with which it handles changes and obstacles. Personal relationships are strong, enabling high trust. Team skills for conflict resolution and problem‐solving enable the group to be highly productive. Team ownership of the goal results in a focus on task accomplishment. Commitment to the team keeps people helping each other, building confidence in the ability of the team.
Leadership Style:
As the team practically manages itself, the leader can focus on removing obstacles and improving team processes. Delegate leadership responsibility to members of the team, particularly as the team self‐selects informal leaders. Don’t abdicate your leadership role; just share it more widely.
Adjourning: As projects end, teams disband. The satisfaction of accomplishment is tempered by the sadness of leaving the team. Closure rituals enable the team to say good‐bye to the project and their team members. Leadership Style:
Facilitate closure by setting up opportunities to review the team’s performance. Recognize their successes and opportunities for improvement.
Teams progress through these stages — Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning and, at times,
move backward into previous stages. Changes to team membership or team goals can cause a team in the Norming stage to move back to the Storming stage. Throughout all these stages, the team leader adjusts their style to address the needs of the group.
Project leaders using Agile frameworks should see self‐managing teams as a
desirable goal and be ready to invest in team development until the team demonstrates its maturity.
The project team is the engine of
productivity. Like attention to your vehicle’s health, proactive care and regular maintenance will extend the life of the team and reduce breakdowns.
When project leaders lack positional authority they must
supplement it with personal authority.
The two most important sources of personal authority for a project manager are
Expert authority
Referent authority
Referent authority
Confident technical expertise tempered by humility is a very appealing combination.
Referent authority is the respect and admiration of others. Some people have the knack for gaining referent authority easily, through their natural friendliness and social ability. More enduring referent authority will be earned through integrity, transparent dealing, admitting mistakes, and being trustworthy.
Expert authority
is the respect afforded to a person due to their knowledge and ability. Project leaders can quickly develop expert authority through effective use of the project management techniques. Examples, Running meetings, clarifying scope, clear communication, and structuring a planning session.
A subject matter expert, often called an SME is
a person with specific technical expertise. It might be a software architect who has previously used a unique technology. The technical expert who listens to others, passes credit around, and models respectful disagreement is building referent authority. This is the ideal style for the project leader with technical expertise.
project leaders facing a breadth of stakeholders must be able to influence
people and decisions beyond their direct control by utilizing skills known as political savvy.
The term office politics rarely has
a positive connotation. It stirs emotions and memories of unfair influence and decisions that seem based on relationships rather than facts. But politics are real. To deny their existence is to disarm oneself.
political savvy is a necessary skill particularly in a project environment, where
cross‐functional stakeholders have competing visions and big decisions are made
Experts views on political savvy and reality of politics
Joel DeLuca defines politics as “leadership behind the scenes.”
Organizational politics are informal, unofficial, and sometimes behind‐the‐scenes efforts to sell ideas, influence an organization, increase power, or achieve other targeted objectives.
reality of politics within organizations
There are times when politics are the only way that important work gets accomplished.
Political action can have good or bad intent. It can serve the interests of the organization (good) or merely the interests of the individual (bad).
Politics exist. We ignore them at our peril. It’s better to build political skills and use them to advance our project and protect our team.
Becoming politically savvy takes experience. It is far more of an art than a science.
network of formal authority
the authority represented by organizational structures and policies.
Guidelines for developing a network of formal authority:
Make the project sponsor a partner: Establish a pattern of regular communication and reinforce the alignment of project goals with the sponsor’s goals. It would be great if the sponsor was proactive and fostered this relationship, because they need an effective project manager.
Involve the decision makers early: Procurement policy is a good example. A project that uses outside materials will follow the organization’s rules for establishing contracts and making purchases. Build a network of authority by knowing who to involve early and why.
Developing a reputation for transparency and competence will go a long way toward building these networks.
What you are stands over you and thunders so
I cannot hear what you say to the contrary.
Developing the art of leadership is a lifelong challenge. The breadth of project management techniques in this book can distract us from
the primary responsibility of the project manager: to lead all the people engaged in the project.
These final recommendations summarize project leadership in action:
Be Intentional Maintain the Strategic Vision Inspire the Team Through Example Steer Decisions to the Science of Project Management Show the Courage to Speak the Truth
Be Intentional: Leadership is not a by‐product of
performing project management activities. Leadership begins with choosing to see oneself in the role of leader and influencer and embracing that role.
Be conscious that all eyes are on the leader and the leader sets the tone.
Maintain the Strategic Vision:
While team members focus on the near‐term problems and tasks, the project leader maintains a steady focus on the purpose and value of the project and the path toward the goal. This steady focus ensures that tasks are performed and problems solved in the context of the overall goals of the project.
Inspire the Team Through Example:
Our actions demonstrate our attitudes and our values. The energy, attitude, and commitment of the team rarely rise above those of the leader. Choose to model the culture you want.
Steer Decisions to the Science of Project Management:
Facts and objective evidence must be the foundation of realistic expectations and responsible assumptions. Wishful thinking and unfounded optimism have done great damage to many projects. Challenge every stakeholder, from team members to the highest‐level executives, to use reliable facts to drive decisions.
Show the Courage to Speak the Truth:
On this journey of discovery, the news is not always good. An optimistic business case will unravel when assumptions don’t come true. Mistakes happen. Being in the spotlight takes courage. Make the tools of project management work for you. Create a narrative based on facts and proven analytical methods. You will earn the respect of your team and build credibility among all stakeholders. Courage makes you a stronger leader.
project manager creates focus and facilitates contributions of
project team, customers, suppliers, executives. Fulfilling that leadership role is the primary job of the project manager.
strong project managers choose to see themselves as
leaders first. They build their own authority and credibility through the effective use of the science of project management.
