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i 10 WAYS TO

MANAGE YOUR

PROJECT MANAGERBy Michael Stratton

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AGENDA

• OPENING POLL

• EXERCISE – Q/A

• 10 WAYS TO MANAGE YOUR PROJECT MANAGER

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OPENING POLL - PRIZES

• BY A SHOW OF HANDS

• HOW MANY OF YOU THINK THAT PROJECT

MANAGEMENT IS:

• VALUABLE?

• NOT VALUABLE?

• VALUABLE BUT MY PROJECT MANAGER IS A

WINGNUT?

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EXERCISE – Q/A

• WORDS YOU WISH YOUR PM WOULD SAY?

• ACTIONS YOU WISH YOUR PM WOULD TAKE?

• WORDS YOU WISH YOUR PM DID NOT SAY?

• ACTIONS YOU WISH YOUR PM WOULD NOT TAKE?

• WHAT DOES PROJECT MANAGEMENT MEAN TO YOU?

• DOES A PM ALWAYS HAVE TO BE THE ONE TO LEAD A

PROJECT?

• DOES IT HELP TO HAVE A PM LEAD A PROJECT?

PROJECT

MANAGER

PROJECT

MANAGEMENT

DISCIPLINE

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Spitfire - Project Management

• GUIDE ON THE SIDE

• NOT THE SAGE ON THE STAGE

• HOW YOU WORK THE WORK

PROJECT

MANAGER

PROJECT

MANAGEMENT

DISCIPLINE

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10 Ways to Manage Your Project Manager

1. USE THE PM LOVE LANGUAGE

2. FIGHT TIMESUCKER TASKS

3. SIMPLIFY – ONE TASK AT A TIME

4. FOCUS – FAIL FAST

5. FOLLOW ESTIMATE ETIQUETTE

6. UNDERSTAND YOUR END GAME

7. GUESSING IS FOR GUESSING

8. CHOOSE THE RIGHT FORUM TO CHALLENGE YOUR PM

9. LISTEN

10.BE AGREEABLE – 75% OF THE TIME

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1. Use the Project Manager Love Language

• BE SPECIFIC

• Come to your PM with a specific risk, concern,

dependency, open decision

• Your PM will LOVE you

• Come to your PM with alternatives on how to address

• Your PM will LOVE you

• TRY THIS

• Avoid approaching your PM with a generalized

complaint

• Be constructive with your feedback . . . . please

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2. Fight Time Sucker Tasks

• YOU ARE THE PM OVER YOUR OWN TIME!

• Your time is your biggest asset

• Protect it with your life!

• Be intentional with your time (with whom you spend it,

what you talk about, what you work on)

• TRY THIS

• If you are asked to do a time sucker task

• Track the time it is taking you to complete a time

sucker task

• Have a conversation with your PM

• Your PM needs to understand exactly how

much time you’re spending on a time sucker

task

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3. Simplify – One Task at a Time

• MULTI-TASKING IS A MYTH!

• Never accept more than 3 tasks at once

• TRY THIS

• Understand your first priority and commit

• Understand your second priority and carefully commit

• Understand your last priority and absolutely don’t

commit

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4. Focus – Fail Fast

• FIND THE RIGHT SOLUTION – FASTER – BY FAILING FAST

• Every decision ever made has a chance to fail when

implemented

• TRY THIS

• Time yourself – You are your best competitor

• Give yourself 30 minutes to complete a task.

• If you’re not done after 30 minutes

• Are you on the right track?

• Need to start over?

• Time your team – If your team does is not done with a task

in 4 hours. Why not? Is it the right solution? Scrap or no?

Be mindful with your work

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5. Follow Estimate Etiquette

• ESTIMATE ETIQUETTE

• Be Realistic – With Estimates

• If you don’t know – say you don’t know

• Optimism can kill a project

• Pessimism can kill your reputation

• If you are optimistic – say you are being optimistic

• If you are a “buffer it” kind of developer – don’t over

buffer –You will get found out and look silly

• Try this

• If you are not 100% confident in an estimate that

you give, build in some buffer but tell your PM you

are doing this

• Have a real conversation with your PM about your

estimate

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6. Understand Your End Game

• BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND

• Stephen Covey

• TRY THIS

• Spend 30 minutes on what you think is the correct

format of the final deliverable and send it to your PM to

keep your PM in the loop (the fact that it is a draft

doesn’t matter)

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7. Guessing is for Guessing

• NO GUESSWORK ACCEPTED

• If you are not crystal clear on a task, find out fast

• This is YOUR responsibility to know what YOU are

working on

• Not taking the time to do this turns your work effort

into a time sucker task

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8. How to Challenge Your PM

• THERE IS A TIME AND A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING!

• Try this

• Challenge the thing, not the person

• Use 1:1 time to provide feedback

• Use small group time to provide feedback

• Be calm and use non-confrontational yet very specific

language that supports your challenge statement

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9. Listen

• IF YOU LISTEN, THEY WILL COME

• Practice intentional listening

• TRY THIS

• Put down your phone

• Close your laptop

• Look your PM in the eyes

• Don’t interrupt

• Show respect

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10. Be Agreeable – 75% of the Time

• CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES!

• < 50% Agreeableness = counterproductive.

• If you are sitting at 50% of the time – you just may not get

it or your may not be in the right job fit

• I’m not saying roll over but conflict can be seen as

‘you don’t like what you are doing’

• 75% - gives you room to provide very valuable feedback

when you disagree with something.

• People listen when you don’t disagree all the time

• People value your feedback when you don’t disagree

all the time

• TRY THIS

• Will your objection ultimately improve business value?

• If yes, then let time and quality guide your decisions (and

voice your objection!)

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Contact Spitfire Today

Info@spitfiregroup.com

+1 303.485.1880

@spitfiregroup

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Thank You!