Respective Perspective

Respective Perspective
By Cécile Bérubé, PMP

Perspective:“A particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view”

What’s the relationship with PM you’ll say? Everything!
You may deliver on time and budget….yet, why are projects apparently performing well and then fail to satisfy stakeholders’ expectations?

Communicating expectations/requirements/specifications is subjective and stakeholders do their best to communicate them. However, it’s subjective and may easily get interpreted. Re-assessing expectations with an iterative approach ensures that expectations are accurate, ensuring alignment for stakeholders’ satisfaction. Having different backgrounds, experiences and expertise may introduce different perspectives, which may introduce high project risks.

1. Ask. Clarify (“Why”), Re-validate. Understand. Get a holistic perspective at the beginning of the project. Assess expectations up front. Do not assume that all projects are the same. Invest early in the project.
2. Gain trust….and perspective. Get to know the environment. Getting to know the clients’ perspective helps gain trust and understand his reality and challenges.
3. Facilitate exchanges but do not judge or blame. Leadership qualities and communication skills are crucial in order to gain respect and collaboration from key stakeholders. Conflicts are normal, having our own respective perspectives. Resolve.
4. Assumptions are just known unknowns! Transform the unknowns into knowns, earlier than later. Clarify system, product, project and stakeholders expectations.
5. Facilitate but control. Use simple tools, such as short iterative follow-ups, (i.e. weekly, 15 minutes) but do not overload. Ask simple questions, speak the language, be relevant, be prepared, challenge.

#What’s your perspective, viewpoint?

Project Manager Success Summit presentation on Continuous Improvement

Recently I’ve had the privilege to be contacted by Michael Charles, host of the Project Manager Success Summit, and was asked to be one of the presenters.

I’m grateful that I will be able to share with everyone about a subject that I hold dear: Continuous improvement in tools, processes, our team, ourselves.

I believe Continous Improvement is important in all aspects of our lives, but in project management, especially with IT projects, you have to evolve non-stop to follow the technology that’s growing at a fast pace.

I’m hoping you’ll enjoy! The summit is a free virtual event that hapenning April 25-27 2014 where you can to hear lots of great presenters share their knowledge, go subscribe 🙂

5 tips to help make changes happen

Bringing change is always a challenge. The human reflex towards changes is pushing-back due to being scared of the unknown it may bring. This constant resistance could bring a halt to even the best of ideas if they are not shared appropriately with other.

From changing software, to changing process, to anything really, changes are a challenge, especially when dealing with a large team.

Here are a few tips to help with that:

1. Explain why

One of the top reasons people are not motivated to change is not knowing why the change is being done in the first place. Not only that, this demotivator is often worsened by giving other limited information because “They don’t need to know everything” which brings frustration and can even damage the trust they have in you.

Changes have reasons, and people who are affected have a right to know why; let them know and you reduce a lot of resistance right at the start.

2. Provide relevant information

First, avoid drowning the others with too much information that they will simply disconnect or run away from whatever you are trying to bring into their lives.

You may be passionate about what it is and the fact that you can make it happen, but giving everyone so much information about it will just scare them, not to mention the waste of time for you since people will probably not listen/read most of it.

Be sure to share relevant information that will be useful to them right away. As for all the detailed information, make it easily available somewhere and invite people to refer to it if needed.

3. Provide easy/accessible support

If the changes will most likely bring up questions or issues, then it is very important to let everyone know how to ask for help. If they have any roadblocks and no one to help them go forward, then they will abandon and your opportunity to make a change will be lost.

Make sure it’s clear for everyone who to reach and how when they need something; and make sure support is extra efficient when the change is recent, this is when people are trying to adapt and the support required will be higher.

4. Ask for feedback

It’s being done more and more; take the App-store for example and how people can post reviews, and the way it’s considered by the developers afterwards into their applications.

Feedback, assuming it’s constructive, is valuable information guiding to ways to improve given away for free but usually, it won’t be given if you don’t ask.

Create surveys, send mails, go talk to people, but go grab the feedback and avoid waiting for it.

5. Continuous improvement

Deploying a change is one thing, but maintaining it is equally important. This is what will keep it going, and will make people love it more and more.

Using the feedback you’ve gathered (see #4), you can analyze the information given and improve from there. In other words, change the change!

To complement #4 here: if the feedback is ignored, it will create more frustration, make sure you use it!

In conclusion

Changes can be very good, but the way it’s brought to others can be very bad. Assess how you bring changes to your team and identify where you can make it easier for others overall, and it will automatically become easier for you too.

Don’t hesitate to share more tips!

To lead, or to manage?

Source: Ricorocks

This is far from being a new subject, the comparison between manager and leader is something that’s been discussed for quite a while now.

Still, here below is my personal comparison/preference:

Manager

1. Power given officially: The manager is an official role that has power associated with it which people understand. Therefore, people must follow the manager;
2. Follows process: The manager will make sure process are followed by the team;
3. One of many: Many managers share the same types of personalities, skills, experience, making them many capable of being in the same position;
4. Focused on short-term: Managers will focus on what needs to be done right now to have results to report right away;
5. Will follow the way things are: The manager will accept, and follow the way things are, making sure everything runs smoothly as they are;
6. Doesn’t take risks: Generally doesn’t go towards risk, and will work more inside a comfort zone;
7. Typically more respected by upper management who want things to run smoothly, or by people who love their routine.

Leader

1. Power not given officially: A leader’s power is not given by anyone other than by peers that decide to follow the leader;
2. Follows what needs to be done: The leader will want to aim towards getting things done, regardless if it follows process or not;
3. An exception: A leader is generally different, it’s hard to find others that are the same;
4. Focused on long-term: The leader has a vision, and will work hard today for the days to come;
5. Will challenge everything: Unsatisfied by the way things are if they can be different for the benefit of people. He will challenge, and adjust everything;
6. Takes risks: Ironically uncomfortable inside his comfort zone, taking risks and trying new things;
7. Typically more respected by people who want things to change for the better.

So which one is better?

Neither. I always think a good balance of everything is the best. If you are too much of a manager and not a leader; people will only follow you because they are forced to, and you won’t get things to happen. If you are the other way around, you may go outside what’s accepted/tolerated, and your attitude may be completely rejected.

By being both, you make sure everything gets done the right away, all the while making sure everything is going towards the right path. People will want to follow you regardless of if they “have” to follow you because of your role.