MISTAKE NO. 1:

Not getting to know and understand your people.

Just because you may have worked alongside them for years doesn’t mean you know them. Get to know them as individuals, find out their concerns and what motivates them. Many new managers don’t allow for the time that needs to be spent initially getting to know staff, developing trust and then mentoring and coaching their team.

Your people are what will make or break your career.

As Peter Drucker says: “ The central role of a manager is developing people.”

Stay tuned for more fatal mistake…!

Rob Golding

I was chatting with a new client the other day and they mentioned the emerging problem they are seeing as they take on new clients. It is the old story that every successful business has when trying to respond and manage their growth.

This client had become very successful working, in the main with one large client. However (and probably as a result of their success with this client), they are now developing a few very impressive clients. The problem they can see emerging is managing these multiple clients and effectively scaling up to ensure that each one gets the service they require.

 Not surprisingly my client has built a project management methodology from the PM framework used by their primary client who has supplied the project documentation including schedules and deliverables so, their own PM methodology has developed in response to the client’s framework so, they now have a methodology that works well with this client but is impossible to duplicate with new clients. Furthermore, these guys are very good at what they do but they lack an underpinning knowledge of PM. They have developed their project management skills intuitively and in response to their primary client, so they little or no real understanding of the PM life-cycle and how to make it work for them. Often they don’t really know why they do what they do but, they know it works.

I can’t emphasis enough the need to develop your own PM framework, systems and processes as the very first project commences and long before your business is suddenly juggling multiple projects simultaneously. This will give you clear visibility on the resources required for the project, the bottlenecks and the potential problems. More importantly, it will give you peace of mind and let you sleep at night knowing you have a system in place that will track and flag before you find you have a problem.

It is also important to make sure your team know what is expected of them as your projects and workload increases and they too need an understanding of the PM life-cycle. In fact, we could all probably benefit from the PM methodology of scope, plan, do and review after all isn’t that what all our business activity is about?

Cheers,

Helen Sabell

Andrew and I met for that second cup of coffee yesterday. You probably remember that he is Project Director for a major initiative with a ‘first-time’ Sponsor? The situation hadn’t improved. Requirements definition is being seriously hampered by an internal support group putting Andrew’s project low on their priorities. He’d sent meeting requests to his Sponsor, so far without success.

I suggested he do some groundwork! The critical step is some stakeholder analysis. This step in a project often doesn’t get as much airtime as the standard Gantt chart and similar ‘technical’ project management tools, yet it is probably more crucial in terms of project success. Talk to others around your Sponsor. How do they get to talk with her? Does she ‘do’ coffee? Is first thing in the morning a good time to meet for coffee? Is later in the day better? Does she like to get away from the desk for a quick lunch break?

And dig deeper. Is she a detailed person? Does she like heaps of facts? Does she prefer pictures? Does she read documents in depth or prefer explanations? All of this will help you plan for your first discussions.

And go to those meetings with an agenda in mind – what are the top three items you want to discuss – not too many points, and not too few!

There’s some ‘homework’, Andrew. Next cup of coffee we can talk through the points for the first meeting.

John

In my coaching session late last week Andrew, a quite senior project Director, confided to me, “ . . and this would have to be my most frustrating  Project  yet!”. When I dug deeper, it turned out the core issue was that it is his Project Sponsor’s first time in that role. A highly placed executive, she had joined the organisation, as a senior  exec, from a  company where she had had no exposure to projects. “And”, my colleague continued, “She doesn’t communicate!”

“H’mm”, I thought! “Do others who work with her complain about that too?”, I asked.

His “Not at all! To the contrary!” answer said it all. Like many other Sponsors, she probably didn’t know what the role is about; how to interpret the information she is getting from the project; what questions to ask her PM; how the relationship between Sponsor and PM should work, and how critical that is to project success. Organisations which rely on project success to get their new initiatives into the market ahead of their competitors often pay too little attention to supporting their Sponsors in this aspect. Add to that, Sponsors, lacking that insight, don’t realise they should be spending time gaining the skills!

“So”, I said to Andrew, “it’s going to be an extra task for you! And no doubt, your biggest obstacle is going to be convincing her she needs to talk with you on a really regular basis. Give that some thought and we’ll have coffee next Tuesday and discuss your strategy”.

Has anyone else experienced this? I’ll keep you posted on Andrew’s progress.

John Coulton

Helen asked me, a day or so back, whether I had read her comments about the importance of project benefits.

Well, yes! Sure I read them!

And, well YES! Surely it’s the business benefits, that are the reason we are doing the project?

Her question made me think: Is this actually clear to everyone in your organisation?

Is it clear, that it’s the business that is investing in the project? And, is it clear to everyone that there is a cost / benefit comparison underlying the very basis for writing the Project Charter? After all, the project has to be paid for, essentially from the organisation’s bottom line.

Of course, that’s far from the end of the story! Is the business certain that the project outcomes will lead to its strategic aims? Better services? More ‘clients’? Lower costs? Is that also clear to the business? Is also it transparent to everyone working on the project? And to the support groups?

I remain astounded, as I work with my classes and coaching groups, how often I find a disconnect in this critical area. Realistically, if you don’t have absolute transparency between business, Sponsor and project team, about the benefits and the responsibility for reaping them, then you might as well be tearing up $100 notes.

One of my students recently could identify with this so closely, she went back to work and challenged her Sponsor on it! The Sponsor took her off the project! Now, that’s tearing them up big time!

Of course, for the PM the discussion doesn’t end with clarity of the planned benefits. Is the project responsible for delivering these benefits? And is that clear to everyone? This is an area in which there can often be a lot of heated debate! After all, if delivery of benefits stretches over, say, a three year period after the project outcomes have been implemented, how do you properly define scope, time and cost if the project is responsible. On the other hand, how accountable do you make the PM for the benefits delivery, if it is not a formal part of the project? This is a big challenge for organisation without adequately defined project methodologies.

What is your experience?

Cheers,

John Coulton

I recently attended a meeting that included a large group of HR people and was surprised to find that the very hot topic of conversation was the new Fair work Australia Act. Perhaps this is because many of the new provisions commenced 1 January 2010 even though the Act came into effect on 1 July 2009.

The new law which applies to all corporations introduces major changes which will impact immediately on all employers and employees. This means that the legal obligations of an employer will change and employers and their HR teams really need to be aware of and get their heads around the changes asap or run the risk of falling foul of the legislation.

In a nutshell, there are a few basic points employers and their HR teams need to review right now. They include:

• Existing workplace entitlements vs. New Employment Standards
• Communications to all staff – ‘general protections’
• Termination and performance review guidelines
• Training  – HR staff, managers, supervisors
• Procedures and training for complaint handlers, contact officers

Furthermore, I would suggest employers and their management teams also need to review their complaint handling mechanisms and their records management systems to ensure they develop and maintain accurate HR & payroll related records that incorporates all the additional data now required to be compliant with the Act.

I have asked Michael Meere to provide some thoughts on the implications of the Act and what HR professionals should be doing now to respond to the changes so, lookout for these over the next few weeks.

Helen Sabell

P.S for more information on The Fair Work Act 2009 check out the Australian Government website here http://www.fwa.gov.au/index.cfm?pagename=legislationfwact

How often do you find your project undervalued by management?

How often do you find yourself reflecting on the disappointing response of your project sponsor/s?

This could, of course be due to poor project management but, more often than not I am finding that this negative response all too often comes because the project manager has failed to adequately report on or highlight the benefits. This failure to show and highlight the project benefits in a simple, easy to read format is not only selling your project short but also selling your skills as a project manager short. So, why not take a few minutes to collect the data and present it for your stakeholders?

Preparing a good cost/benefit analysis will help you to calculate data that will illustrate the impact of your project which will, in turn inform your project stakeholders of the various success points in the project that might otherwise go unnoticed.

If you aren’t putting enough time into analysing your project benefits and promoting these back to your stakeholders then I would suggest this is something you need to focus on this year. Remember this reflects directly on your PM ability.

Cheers,

Helen Sabell

Can you believe how quickly this year is moving? And as the time passes quickly by it’s now more important than ever that we organise our time and plan efficiently!  

Without doubt the most asked question in my coaching sessions is “Should I use a paper based system or an electronic solution such as Outlook.” Unfortunately there is no simple answer nor is there a right method or a wrong method. At the end of the day it really comes down to:

• Personal Choice
• The nature of your work ( i.e. are you at your desk each day?)
• Do you work from home and the office?
• Are you the creative type who loves to write?

Unfortunately many people use a PC syncing to a PDA (i.e. Blackberry, iPhone to name a couple) because it is cool despite finding that this isn’t really the best solution. (You would be surprised to know how many IT professionals use pen and paper!)  In reality there is no right or wrong solution it boils down to what works best for you considering how you work and where you work.

Today many people have decided that a compromise solution – commonly called the hybrid model – works best for them. This often sees people relying on their electronic devices for contacts and calendars but planning their activities with pen and paper. Personally I love Outlook’s  simple ‘to do’ list for my master list of activities (especially the categories) which tracks all tasks for months ahead. It is then a simple task to transfer weekly and daily schedules to paper that can easily be taken with me ( I have become a moleskin devotee and their simple diaries work a treat)!

One of the biggest problems with electronic ‘to do’ lists is that for some reason we become blasé about items that appear in red or recurring lists of uncompleted tasks – there doesn’t seem to be the same urgency compared to a written task that needs to be ticked or crossed off the list as it is done.

I have never been a fan of printing off my outlook ‘today’ page it just doesn’t seem right and we seem more reluctant to scribble on the very organised & beautifully presented print out. I tried this for a few months and found tasks were slipping through the cracks on a regular basis.

Perhaps the tool is really very unimportant it is after all what gets done isn’t it? I remember reading an article by Mark McCormack founder of IMG who managed a frightening schedule by simply using a yellow legal pad with space for calls, ‘to do’s’ and appointments. He used this religiously for many years without a glitch.

Whatever you decide you must be consistent and place total trust in your system or you will miss critical actions and appointments.

Cheers,

Rob Golding

An important ingredient of any business case is the benefits statement. Likewise, in project planning, a list of the outcomes the project will produce, stated in measurable terms of value and directly linked to the stakeholders, business plan objectives and the business strategy objectives they support is a critical component of the project planning. Yet, all too often this process is overlooked or forgotten when planning and so it becomes impossible to subsequently measure and provide meaningful feedback on the project benefits.

In the 2010 workplace where the processes of project management are now embedded in organisations the focus for project sponsors and the PMO office will shift to the importance of project benefits as measurable, accountable objectives. The ability to develop and specify the benefits in terms specific to your stakeholder requirements i.e. how your (various) stakeholders want to see and hear them stated will become an essential skill set for all project managers and PMO teams.

Helen Sabell

My colleague Sarah continues to advocate the benefits of blogging and, at the beginning of each day she encourages and pleads with me to write however, as I sit here determined to get a blogging habit I wonder what I should best talk about. There are so many bloggers out there producing such interesting and worthy information that it seems a bit extraneous for me to contribute yet another bit to the information network that is the web.

So, I wonder do readers want to know more about what works in project management or HRM, do they value tips & short, sharp solution focused contributions or perhaps readers might be interested in more generally valuable information such as the Australian and State governments support of training and the many opportunities and financial subsidies available to individuals and organisations? I have never known a better time for individuals and organisations to access high quality training at subsidised costs. Surely this will bring a new vibrancy to the workplace training arena in Australia!

Or, perhaps readers may be most interested in what our clients – all experienced professionals are telling us?

I know that already this year clients are telling us that time is precious. With the first working week of the New Year just underway we have been inundated with calls from experienced professionals wanting and needing qualifications. In most cases this is because they are either moving into new roles or planning to change jobs. Others have had it identified in a performance review and want to start the year on a positive note addressing their career goals.

Every person I have talked to this year seems to be time poor and extremely busy at work. They are all looking for flexible solutions that they can control and manage as their commitments allow. Even our business improvement clients running their own businesses are requesting after hours coaching and preparing to work through with us until 10pm in the evening. I am also surprised by the number of people wanting to commence their training so early in the New Year. In fact the College had people enrolling in online learning on Christmas Eve as late as 4pm. Each person wanted to use their holiday break to get started.

It is a great time to access VET training in Australia with both the Federal and State Governments providing generous subsidies and the recent move to fund more private providers rather than just the State funded TAFE’s. This expansion of VET will further open up the market to competition which will give consumers much more choice and consequently a much higher quality of education & training which in turn will provide significant benefits to individuals and organisations!  

Cheers,

Helen Sabell