Intentional Project Management

When I started in the field of project management my focus was learning the mechanics associated with project management. Learning about pillars of project management outlined in the Project Management Body of knowledge focusing on doing each of these areas of study to the best of my ability. Learning how to convey clearly and concisely where a project was, what was happening, how it was going, where the pitfalls were, and what areas needed attention. I became successful doing project management. Managing larger projects, high profile projects, and delivering for the clients of the organizations for which I worked. The thing that wasn’t working is that the relationships I had with the teams I worked with was lacking. Frequently I sacrificed relationships for getting the job done, driven to succeed at all costs. I didn’t realize that I was also sacrificing myself, working long hours and not finding much joy or pleasure in the work I was doing.

Today, I would venture to say I have many project management skills. I have my PMP certification and continue to study project management and the techniques and tools that support project managers. I’ve studied many methodologies, read many project management texts, and practice using various techniques daily. I’ve mastered scheduling tools, spreadsheets, and other software used to convey project status. I’ve enhanced my technical skills so that most of the constructs that are needed to discuss and deliver on time and on schedule are weaved into what I do daily. I’ve played a “how many by when for how much” game for a long time and have applied the tools and techniques to my life outside of work.

Learning all the tools and techniques available continues to shape and mold my personal project management abilities and style. Having a large and full toolbox allows me to shift when something isn’t working, to apply the best tool for the circumstances, and to leverage those tools that apply to most projects to their fullest. What has been most enlightening are the tools and techniques associated with mindfulness, meditation, and intention. These areas of practice have not only changed what I do, it has change how I do things, and most importantly how I show up to others. This also extends into my personal life. What is most interesting is that, while I’ve studied and read a great deal about these practices and worked to apply the teachings of these practices to my work, I’ve discovered that it isn’t possible to learn these alone. What I mean by that is that it requires feedback to learn and grow and feedback comes from other people.

Feedback is provided to us every moment of everyday either directly or indirectly. Life is a feedback rich environment when we pay attention and listen. Mindfulness and meditation support us in being present to the feedback we are receiving, and intention is the lens through which the feedback flows allowing us to use the feedback to further ourselves and our intention. Amazingly, when we stop and notice, we provide ourselves feedback on a regular basis as well. I’m not talking about the voice that is the critic, I’m talking about the emotional feedback of laughter, smiling, tears, and other emotions. They are our physical feedback. While we may judge that feedback, learning to be in relationship with these feelings and looking at them as feedback is healthy. I’m also talking about the feedback our bodies provide us, the sore backs, tight shoulders, or other physical ailments. These also provide us valuable information.

Over the next few weeks, we will explore intention, meditation, mindfulness, and feedback. If you choose to join me, we will start the day with intention and meditation. We will become aware of the feedback being provided by circumstances, people, and ourselves. We will capture moments throughout the day and capture what worked and what didn’t work. We will then look to shift what didn’t work and double down on what worked using our intention to further ourselves and our practices. Life is an adventure, what are you practicing today?

Read more...

Creating a Successful Project

There are a wonderful number of analogies available to provide perspectives on what creates a successful project. There are the sports analogies and the successful teams that have won championships. There are the cooking analogies and the ability to pull the ingredients together that create a culinary delight. There are the building analogies on how to gather the requirements to create the ideal house. Other analogies such as putting a man on the moon, taking the first flight, and other glorious pursuits have been used to demonstrate how success is achieved. Books have been written diving into the reasons for the successful outcomes analyzing the key attributes, principles, and distinctions that have attributed to success. As a result, we (I use this loosely) have chased these attributes, principles, and distinctions so we could mimic the success of others, failing to recognize that duplication rarely occurs nor is it ever truly desired. Replications are rarely as valuable as the original.

Stories are told of building teams of the best and brightest and success eludes them or buying the best equipment possible only to have it make little to no difference. If it isn’t the best people or the best equipment, what is it that creates success? We’ve even heard stories of getting the best people and the best equipment and still falling short of the goal. Last, we’ve heard the stories of the little engine that could, those “how did they do that” stories causing us to pause and wonder, what does create success in teams, in recipes, and in life? Is there one thing that causes success, or does it require the magic of things working in your favor, circumstances aligning to the desired outcome, luck, or some other ingredient?

I would like to suggest that there is one thing that creates the greatest likelihood of success for an individual or a team, for almost any endeavor. It isn’t talent, although that increases the possibility, nor is it the equipment used, although that can enhance the outcome. It isn’t that circumstances are stacked in favor of the outcome. I would suggest that the one thing that makes a difference is about ways of being.

What do I mean by ways of being? Seems quite vague, I know. It is tangibly intangible. It is about being successful before the results show success. It is about being flexible, before flexibility is required. It is about being aware of what is working and what is not working and then doing something about what is working and what is not working. It is about creating the experience of success and acknowledging successful moments along the journey. It isn’t about the end game being successful, it is about each moment along the way that makes the difference. It is paying attention to the feedback that is being provided every moment of every day, acknowledging that feedback, and then putting that feedback to use in the very next moment. It isn’t about paying attention to the feedback you receive, although that is something that you will do, it is also paying attention to the feedback others receive. It is about viewing every experience as something to learn from, not something to avoid.

Success causes success much like an object in motion stays in motion. When we celebrate the successes along the way an energy is produced. That energy is what can sustain a team when things aren’t working, when we also view those times, the “things aren’t working” times, as opportunities to find what does work, the energy continues to build. When we are focused on what is working, success, and opportunities, there is a winning attitude that is created. A project, driven by the attitude of success, will likely succeed.

Does that mean every project will be seen by others as successful? Short answer is of course not. There will always be those who find fault with the work of others, that is the purpose of critics, auditors, and those who have the job of providing feedback. There is always room for growth and there will always be things that work and things that don’t work. It is the lens we use to interpret that information that makes the difference. When a project doesn’t deliver for a client, a project has delivered something. Bringing light to what worked and what didn’t throughout the project creates the opportunity to shift the project to deliver what the client requested.

Because projects are created by, run by, and completed by people they are inherently unpredictable. The project management world has been working to solve the problem of project success for a long time and I would say it has and has not been successfully solved. Gaining alignment day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year as to what success is for any individual project is what we are really talking about. Seeing a project as successful, painting the picture of success, telling the story of success, and gaining alignment along the way to that success story is the most important job a project manager has. Enrolling the team, the stakeholders, and project leadership in that success is about seeing the success in every moment of the project and celebrating it fully.

I know, so simple it is profound as a friend once said. Telling the story of success and gaining alignment to that story so that all are saying what the success looks like is what creates the likelihood of success. Being the success of the project is what creates the environment for success. What are you practicing today?

Read more...

In Search of the Right Way

In my experience, the thing that has gotten in the way of my success, more than anything else, is the belief that there is a right way to do things. The belief that, if I just found the right way, if I just followed all the rules, if only I could discover the magic formula and get it right, I would always be successful. That belief is a fallacy that has used a lot of time and energy without providing much value. It is like the millionaire morning kind of thing. If I chase someone else’s millionaire morning, I will never find my morning. We tend to chase after the right way to do things by looking everywhere except within ourselves. Do not get me wrong, I am not suggesting an eternal internal adventure, alone, without any guidance. I am suggesting that the answer we are searching for, the how do I do this right, is not a destination and it is not a solo trip. And the thought that there is a right and a wrong way has lost its luster. There are ways that work, ways that do not work and when I do something it may work and when you do the same thing it may not work. We come by this right way/wrong way honestly. Think about the tests you took in school. Get the wrong answer often enough and you fail.

Ambiguity is not something that I was taught in school. I do not know too many classes that teach students how to shift when life circumstances change quickly and drastically. Teaching us how to deal with “life” is usually relegated to therapists and mental health professionals. As if we should know how to deal with life circumstances, interruptions, and unforeseen disruptions without being taught how to navigate the feelings that accompany these shifting times.

Being able to navigate challenging circumstances is what leaders do better than most, that is why they end up being the leader in any group. They have discovered what works for them rather than focusing on the right way to do something. They also have discovered how to enroll others in following the path they are suggesting. The path they know will move the team forward, away from, or through the circumstances. Skilled project managers manage the project while leading the team. Being anchored in their leadership strengths, being knowledgeable about what works and what does not work for them, and being enrolling in everything they do, is what a project manager is asked to deliver.

I ride a motorcycle, and what I learned about riding a motorcycle is that it is easy to go fast and straight. The challenge in riding a motorcycle comes when you are riding without going fast and straight. The ladder of risk is a tool used to teach students the dangers of riding a motorcycle. The same holds true for projects, there is a ladder of risks. The same holds true for life, there is a ladder of risk. As an example, when riding a motorcycle, the first rung is a day filled with sunshine, the motorcycle is in excellent mechanical shape including the tires, the road on which the driver is riding has high visibility and little traffic, the rider is in a great emotional state with plenty of rest, has ridden for a few years, has taken a motorcycle safety course within the past two years, and is wearing supportive protective gear including a full-face helmet. When any of those conditions worsen, you move up the ladder of risk. For illustrative purposes, the last rung of the ladder is riding late at night, in the fall with a lot of leaves on the road, on a poorly maintained road, it is raining with low visibility, the motorcycle is in mediocre repair with less than stellar tires, the rider has been drinking and is wearing shorts, a t-shirt, flip flops, and is not wearing a helmet.

It is easy to lead a team when the circumstances are favorable, when you have everything you need to deliver the product or service requested. The skilled project manager leads the project team when everything seems to be going in a direction other than what was planned. It is when the circumstances are changing that the leader becomes the master of change. It is when the risk is high that the leader leans into the risk. It is when the team continually changes that the leader becomes and expert communicator. It is when obstacles arise that the leader looks for the opportunities. It is when the challenges continue to grow that the strength of character is visible. The leader continues to look at what is working and what is not working and continues to be curious about what the possibilities exist in all that is not working.

Leaders are found when circumstances are not what was planned, they shine when things are not going according to plan, they are not looking for the right way to do something, they already know that doing it right does not matter, they know finding what works for them, for the project, for the solution is what matters. I am not suggesting that any path will work, strength of character is part of what a leader brings. I am suggesting that right is a slippery slope, it suggests there is a wrong. What I know today is that there are many things that work, and there are those that do not work. I love to explore the possibilities in what works versus trying to find the right way to do something.

At the end of the day, I practice looking for what worked and what did not work in my day. There are times that I have interactions and I look at what worked and what did not work. Practicing what works and what does not work teaches me that both success and failure are teachers. It teaches me that comparing and trying to find right does not work because it is not my authentic leadership, my authentic empowerment, or my authentic self. Looking for what works for me, using mentorship, coaching, and guides throughout the process, teaches me how to be the leader that I am, rather than the leader that I think I should be. For me, there is no one right way to do something, there is a way that works for the circumstance of the moment. What are you practicing?

Read more...

Mindset and Skillset

There are times that I truly wonder how projects really work. I am not talking about the mechanics of projects or project management tools and techniques. How projects are structured, and the tools and techniques used to manage them are common across all industries. These tools and techniques are listed in literature and while they have evolved, they are not exotic and challenging to learn to use and master. The tools are listed in the Project Management Body of Knowledge. Having managed projects for a long time, similar tools used 30 years ago exist today. We have been managing the scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, communication, risks, issues, vendors, and stakeholders to deliver projects successfully. The how of these different practice areas, or knowledge areas using Project Management Institute language, can be learned. I know project managers who know how to manage these knowledge areas and still have had projects that were considered less than successful. What makes the difference? If it is not how to do the work, then what causes some projects to fail and some to succeed?

I have been writing about vision for weeks, with one goal. To shed some light on the possibility that success or failure has nothing to do with how well a Project Manager does the mechanics of project management. I believe that the success of projects has more to do with the project managers mindset than their skillset. The issue that I see facing most projects is that most teams are extremely familiar with the mechanics, the skills associated with managing projects and unfamiliar with how to navigate the inner world of being a project manager, being a leader on the effort, holding firm on the context of the project, ensuring that everyone is fully engaged and aligned and playing from the same playbook. The mechanics may be fully in place and all the constructs are lined up and everyone may be using the same tools. If everyone is not aligned on the context, the outcome, or what I have termed the vision of the project, the project will not succeed. It is through alignment that win/win can occur. It is through alignment that both/and is available. It is through alignment that everyone on the project moves toward the same goal with the flexibility and fluidity necessary to navigate the changing circumstances of a project.

What leadership principles, distinctions, or norms make the difference in managing projects? After all, in most organizations a project leader is considered a lesser job than a project manager and a project manager is in place to lead the project. Are we first taught to be a leader and then a manager? Are we taught the mindset competencies prior to the skillsets for managing? Do we believe that teaching someone how to manage risk teaches them to be risk managers or will they simply know how to do risk management? There is art and science in each of the practices of project management. The art is in the mindset of the project manager, it is not in the skill set. It is true that the skill set must exist. Understanding how to put a schedule together is an important skill set and qualifies you to manage schedules. To be a schedule manager, there is a mindset that must exist along with the skillset.

What are the qualities of the leadership mindset that makes a difference in the success of a project? What are the leadership principles that cause stakeholders to rally together to create an environment where everyone matters, where everyone has a stake in the project, where everyone contributes to the success? Is it possible to be both leader and manager? The person who inspires and the person to does the management? Is it possible for those attributes, the why and the how, be alive in the same person at the same time? Project managers are asked to generate each of those attributes throughout the life of the project. Project managers are asked to have the mindset of a leader and the skillset of a manager.

The time spent on discussing vision is in large part due to the critical nature of vision to lead. Having a vision and being committed to causing that vision to become real is what drives leaders. Staying aligned to the vision in all decisions is critical for it to be visible to others that the vision will become real. Empowering others, inspiring them to see the vision become real for them, having others align to the vision because of the strength of the vision is what creates the energy to make it come to life for all involved. It is the beating heart of the project, the vision of the successful completion when everyone can celebrate.

So now what? Now that vision is written, aligned to, seen by others, bought into and folks are moving toward that goal, now what? When circumstances change what happens? When the terrain gets uncomfortable what happens next? When things are not going the way things were planned, what happens? The first thing that happens, in those circumstances, is the vision is put in front of everyone. The vision is pulled up and displayed. Everyone is reminded of the vision of the end, what it looks like, smells like, tastes like, and feels like. The vision is the first thing everyone remembers. The vision guides every decision. Yes, there is more than vision. First, practice remembering the vision when you start your workday. Remember why you are doing what you are doing. Be in your vision first, then start your day. 

Read more...

Wants Whys and What For

Why on earth would you want to? Why are you doing that? What is your reasoning for that?

It is possible that these questions are created from a place of curiosity. It is also possible that these questions are created from a place of knowing or judgement. I have asked those questions and I have been asked those questions. There have been times when I have received those types of questions with an open heart and willingly hearing them from a place of curiosity. There have also been times that I have heard judgement and ridicule in those very same questions. It is the receiver that is misinterpreting or is it the sender that is creating the energy that is either curiosity or judgement. Say yes. They are both true at the same time. Both sender and receiver create the moment and the associated results. Neither one nor the other can create it in a vacuum. There are no victims in any conversation. Everyone who is engaged is responsible for the outcome. There is not an either/or interpretation, there is always a both/and. These questions are centered around vision and curiosity around vision allows for clarity, discipline, and consistency. When these questions are asked, the answer should be able to be clearly articulated by everyone involved on a project.

I have been spending time writing about vision and how a vision, the imaging of successful outcomes, the imagery of celebration at the result, can create and cause success. The vision, the purpose, the reasons behind the project is what will drive the day to day, moment to moment decisions. Clarity, discipline, and consistency in the vision, reason, or the purpose of the project are paramount for success. It is true for individual and it is true for projects. When an entire team is unified on the vision, when there is clarity around what the vision is, when there is discipline in keeping the vision at the center of every decision made, and when there is consistency and alignment of each team members behavior, a project will succeed. Everyone involved and impacted by the effort will know and celebrate the success. There are not winners or losers when there is a shared vision of success. The client, vendors, team members, leaders, and followers will all win when this type of alignment occurs.

This is the leaders’ primary concern. The results will come when the vision is strong. The results will come when there is mutual commitment to the vision. The results will come when the project decisions are in alignment to the vision. The results will come when everyone stands for the vision of success for the project. The language used sounds similar when talking to team members. The client, vendors, and team members are all “on the same page”. They are clear on the decision matrix, the stakeholder matrix, the communication matrix, and the escalation process. Communication begins to flow with ease as there is not a win/lose, right/wrong, or good/bad mentality. There is one outcome everyone is moving toward, a clear line of sight exists to the end point, and everyone is moving in that direction.

It may sound difficult to achieve and it may be challenging to believe that vision matters that much. Purpose or Vision is how small companies become big companies. Books written about companies and individuals who have differentiated themselves have a common thread. The way they differentiate themselves is their vision, purpose, or their “why”. Considering the key ingredient of success being vision, want, purpose, or the “what for” it would make sense to spend time being clear on that one key ingredient. It is the intention behind the actions that matters most. The actions become empty if the purpose or intention is not articulated, shared, and known by all participants. It is true for companies and people. When someone articulates their reason for creating a business, for their career, or for what they do daily they are speaking into their purpose and their vision.

I would also say that we frequently get lost in the words associated with wants, whys, and what fors. I was once told that it was not important what your vision was, just that you had one. It was not important what your intention was, it was that you walk with it for some time to allow it to teach you what you yearn to learn. The same is true for projects. The words do not have to be perfect and paragraphs to explain will not create clarity. Simplicity and a “less is more” attitude work quite well when articulating wants, whys, and what fors. Establishing a robust vision that allows all aspects of life to be aligned is exhilarating. Values become clear when they are rooted in vision. Making decisions is easier and guilt and shame begin to disappear when alignment to values driven by vision occurs.

Practice curiosity with your vision. Ask questions from a place of childlike wonder to clarify you wants, whys and what fors. Practice with each of your projects as well. Be curious about the reason for the project, for the outcome, and for what the project is creating. Stay forever in practice of being curious about the wants, whys, and what fors.

Read more...