Colin D. Ellis's Blog, page 28

The Project Manager's Personality, The MOST Important Factor

My very first interview for a project management role wasn't about my attention to detail around planning and controlling a project.

I don't recall talking at all about the 'technical' side of the job. The bulk of the interview revolved around my personality and how I would use and change it to suit the situation.The concepts discussed were quite new to me, as it's something I'd never thought of before. However I would be leading major transformation pieces of work and managing a team of software developers and the two, I was told, would need different approaches.

Fast forward 20 years and this is something that rarely - if ever - makes it into the project management textbooks let alone job interviews. It rarely makes it into blogs too, as we don't appear to either understand or admit that the project manager is the most important factor in whether a project succeeds or not.

The research tells us otherwise.

In 2007, Purcell and Hutchinson proved there was a direct correlation between an individual's personality and a successfully delivered project. A report in the Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management found that to be successful, project managers need to demonstrate extrovert and perceiving personality traits (more about that below). While noted project management researcher Lynn Crawford stated in 2001 that once a project manager had achieved an entry level of project management knowledge (yep, entry level), then more knowledge doesn't make them more competent. Prof Crawford concluded: 'It's their personality and leadership style that does.'

Conversely, every leadership and management blog or book that you read will tell you that strong personality and leadership is critical to organisational success. Barely a week goes by without reading quotes from luminaries such as Drucker, Godin and Peters about just how vital it is.

So why the disparity between the two?

Turner and Muller - asked by the Project Management Institute in 2005 to research this - couldn't find a reason. Concluding, after 59 pages, that 'the question can only be answered if it's directly measured' which was highly unsatisfactory having read the justification as to how the two are linked. Thankfully, there is now a tool for that, however whether organisations consider measuring the leadership ability of project managers important, is another matter when it's easier to use the project metrics of time, cost and scope.

Consultants will be hired to tell you the problem is your framework and templates, creating months’ worth of work where nothing will actually improve. Little wonder. Project management has become easy money for those who don’t understand its true value to business or else don’t have the skills to deliver successfully in 2016.

Project management is a critically important profession required to ensure that teams are built to deliver products that transform organisations. It's just as important as strategy, accounting and HR. Yet, you seem to be able to call yourself a 'project manager' as soon as you've been on a three-day course. Is it any wonder that project failure rates are so high? Just imagine if everyone who went on Excel training called themselves an accountant? This is where we are.

Our profession - and no single entity or organisation is to blame here - has got lazy.

In our rush to ‘projectise’ just about everything we've unwittingly created an army of people who think they can do the job effectively by studying the books and that's just not enough. We then use lazy ways of measuring them and then never hold them to account when they don't provide the level of service (to the stakeholders) that they should.

You have to know the following to be successful as a project manager:

who you arewhat you stand forwhat your strengths and weaknesses arehow to behavehow to motivate othershow to deal with poor performancehow to manage upwardshow to show gratitudehow to keep your head in times of crisishow to remain consistenthow to care for othershow to get better at being you.

Once you know all of that, you have to apply that to the people that you're leading and learn to understand them too. And because everyone is different, you can't apply a one-size-fits-all approach. To successfully lead a team you need to know:

how to communicate with them (as individuals, not collectively)how to reward themhow to ensure they understand what's expected of themhow to create an environment in which they feel they can do their best workhow to spot when they may be struggling or illhow they may react when put in certain situations.

Different projects require different personalities and very few organisations match these up well. Typically, whoever isn't massively overworked at that time is given a project and (despite governance training suggesting otherwise) few project sponsors pick their project managers.

It doesn't have to be that way. In my experience, those organisations that apply thought to matching the right project manager with the right project are much more successful than the ones that don’t.

For larger projects (in terms of team size and organisational scope), an extrovert may be more suited to the role. Someone who can build key stakeholder relationships early and take the necessary steps to create a culture that will evolve and grow as the project progresses.

These project managers will be comfortable speaking to large groups of people, outwardly displaying their passion for the project. They know when to consult and when to direct and ensure that senior management actions and behaviours are in line with the outcomes required. I like this quote from author Beatrix Potter, who said that 'I hold that a strongly marked personality can influence descendants for generations.'

Similarly, introverts may be suited to smaller more localised projects. Relationship building is still key, along with the evolution of the project culture, however, the groups will likely be more specialised and the stakeholder group smaller.

These project managers will have a greater subject matter knowledge, will focus on more collaborative activities and will favour faster delivery with less organisational impact. As Susan Cain said in her book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, 'introverts prefer to work independently and solitude can be a catalyst for innovation.'

That said, there are no hard and fast rules about which type of personality can manage which type of project. Both introverted and extroverted project managers will need to flex their personality in line with the situation. They'll both need to be empathetic, kind and considerate and role model the behaviours of leaders. They will both see the value in maintaining plans, managing risks, dealing with issues and reporting on progress and will always be able to answer the question 'what's left to do?'

In short, they'll blend leadership and management and will never stop pushing themselves to get better at both. They'll also use these skills to understand how best to communicate and get the most out of the different personalities on the team as not everyone likes attending workshops.

The project manager is the most important factor in project success. Once you’ve found a good one, you know how true that statement is.

There Are Only Two Reasons For Project Failure

“Reading reviews of [project] failure can be a dispiriting exercise.”

Peter Shergold – Learning from Failure: Why large government policy initiatives have gone so badly wrong

Tell me about it Peter! Every time I sit down to read the latest project management survey, I’m filled with dread as to what new horror story will be contained within it. It’s like getting on a ghost train. You know what to expect but have no idea whether it’ll be more of the same or scarier than usual.

Mostly in project management, it’s more of the same, and that in itself is horrifying.

This is my profession. It’s the thing after my family that I’m most passionate about and it pains me to see it dragged through the mud time and again. Yet as a profession, it’s clear that we’re not very self-aware. We continue to look elsewhere for the root cause of the problems, going to great lengths to disguise them so as not to have to take any responsibility. That needs to change.

To fix something that’s broken, we first need to accept that it’s broken. Then we need to show determination to address the ongoing issues, rather than trying to peddle accreditation courses as the answer.

Primary Causes vs. Real Reasons

When you analyse the research (as I do in detail) it quickly becomes apparent that there are only two reasons that projects fail. The project sponsor and the project manager. To illustrate that point, I’m going to use the 16 identified ‘Primary Causes of Project Failures’ from the PMI Pulse of the Profession report, released in January this year. Similar lists will be published in other surveys throughout the year, but at their core will be these two reasons.

To put a much needed positive spin on our challenges, The Standish Group in their 2016 Chaos Report identified the three key success factors for projects as:

Executive SponsorshipEmotional MaturityUser Involvement

All true and all within project sponsor and project manager control.

In the past organisations have argued that the leadership ability of project sponsors and managers is hard to measure and provide feedback on, however with the introduction of ProjectNPS, that argument is no longer valid.

Project Management Needs Self Awareness and Investment

We’ve been throwing money at project management for years now and this year the Project Management Institute said in its aforementioned Pulse of the Profession report “we saw declines in many of the success factors we track. Even more concerning, the percentage of projects meeting their goals—which had been flat for the past four years—took a significant dip.”

The report, however, then went on to say that to resolve this dip, “organizations [need] to shift their thinking and embrace project management as a strategic competency for success.” This for me is a chicken and egg statement. Only when organisations witness great project management in action can it be seen as a strategic competency for success. However, only by putting time and money into developing that competency can it be truly great.

I see it in my line of work. I have year-long capability development programs with three organisations to develop a culture of project management, whilst for many others I’ve spoken to, those kinds of approaches will never be funded.

So what next?

Frankly, it’s time for other project professionals to join me in saying that enough is enough. We need more self-awareness across our profession. We need project people who care about people and organisational success rather than sticking certificates on a wall. We need behavioural role models. We need good news stories, lots of them. We need project sponsors and project managers who build teams that let our, personalities shine and we need to stop applauding continued failure.

Nothing will change unless we develop the leadership capability of those leading projects, the project sponsor and the project manager. Until then, the horror stories will continue.

What are you going to do to correct the two reasons for project failure and to help project management lift its game?

What are your values?

Values.

Those things that your organisation tells you about at your induction, but then you never see or hear of them ever again.

According to a report in the Financial Times in the UK last year, Maitland, a financial PR company, found that 3 words – integrity, respect and innovation – crop up over again in the values of FTSE100 companies.

It’s not that these are the wrong words (although I’m amazed that ‘agile’ wasn’t in there!), it’s just that if people are told that these are their values, rather than being engaged in a process to uncover them, then it’s very easy to disengage from them. One sure sign of this disengagement is seeing these values pinned up next to a desk as a reminder.

Values aren’t things to be pinned up. They’re things that we live, regardless of the situation that we’re in. They define our leadership style, our approach to problem solving and are the things that we become known for.

Rosa Parks stood for racial equality. Florence Nightingale for clean hospitals and Mikhail Gorbachev for openness and restructuring.

So, what defines you?

Quite often, this feels like too big a question to answer and we don’t really know where to start. So let me help you. List the things that you don’t like or that you think are wrong. These should be single words e.g. confusing documents would be ‘complexity’ or too much paperwork would be ‘bureaucracy’. Then next to these words, write their opposite. For example, complexity = simplicity, stagnation = progression and so on and then keep the latter.

Next, list the things that are important to you e.g. ‘family’, ‘timeliness’ or ‘involvement’.

Now, compare the two lists and strike through the duplicates. Once you have completed that, list the 10 most important things to you, then break them down to five. These are your core values.

If they don’t feel right – and you’ll know immediately – go back to your lists and do the exercise again until you have the top five that you’re happy with.

Always one to practice what I preach, I ran this exercise again prior to writing this chapter and here’s my top 10.

FamilyEqualitySimplicityDemocracyEducationImprovementCareHumilityLaughterMastery

I live all 10 of these at home and in my work, there’s no distinction between the two places. This is what it means to be authentic. Equality at home is just as important as equality in the workplace. Same with laughter!

Yet it’s fair to say that these values are different than they were 10 years ago. In that time my life has changed and I’ve grown as a person. I’ve become more compassionate, humble and generous. I’ve learned lots of new things and met lots of great people. I’ve had money and been flat broke. I got married, became a father (twice), emigrated (twice) and worked for and with over 20 organisations in many different sectors.

I know the right way to do things in 2016 and it’s not the way we were doing things in 2010. I also know that by 2020, that will have changed again.

That’s the thing with values. They’re part of our evolution and our drive to be better versions of ourselves.

This is why I’m so dedicated to working with organisations who value the role of project management and understand its role in the successful transformation of the things that they do. Organisations who value relationships and collaboration. Organisations that encourage the values of the conscious project leaders they employ and provide an environment where authenticity is embraced.

These are my work families. Where decision-making is shared in pursuit of the right result and everyone is trusted to deliver regardless of race, sex, age or experience. Where continuous improvement is seen as a valuable investment not a ‘resource’. Where mastery is the goal but taking yourself seriously is not. Where credit is given to the team and everyone shares in its success.

Every new day gives us the opportunity to be better people. What are you waiting for?

What Are Your Values?

Values. Those things that your company hires consultants to dream up, then launches with a fanfare and glossy brochures. But what are your values?

The post What Are Your Values? appeared first on Colin D Ellis.

There Are Only Two Reasons For Project Failure

Regardless of the what you might read in the many project management surveys, there are only two reasons for projects failing, poor project sponsorship or poor project management. These are the two things we need to fix.

The post There Are Only Two Reasons For Project Failure appeared first on Colin D Ellis.

The Project Manager’s Personality, The MOST Important Factor

My very first interview for a project management role wasn’t about my attention to detail around planning and controlling a project. I don’t recall talking at all about the ‘technical’ side of the job. The bulk of the interview revolved around my personality and how I would use and change it to suit the situation.The […]

The post The Project Manager’s Personality, The MOST Important Factor appeared first on Colin D Ellis.

Every Project Manager Needs A Mentor

A good mentor is someone who makes you better at being you and every project manager should have one.

The post Every Project Manager Needs A Mentor appeared first on Colin D Ellis.

The Project Management Balancing Act

Project management is a delicate balancing act of leadership, culture and methods. Too much emphasis on one of those will almost always end in failure.

The post The Project Management Balancing Act appeared first on Colin D Ellis.

Play That Funky Music, Project

Music is an important part of project cultures, but not when piped through headphones.

The post Play That Funky Music, Project appeared first on Colin D Ellis.

Which Of These Project Managers Do You Recognise?

There are five types of project manager that are directly proportional to the service that customers feel they receive. Which one are you?

The post Which Of These Project Managers Do You Recognise? appeared first on Colin D Ellis.