December 13, 2012 December 13, 2012 5 Best Practices in PM Leadership: 5 Best Practices in PM...

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Decem

ber 13,

2012

5 Best Practices in PM Leadership: Models, Frameworks, Tips & Techniques

Facilitator: Priscilla A. Glidden, Ph.D., P.M.P.

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5 Best Practices in PM Leadership

Introduction What studies show generically about PM

leadership Leadership, in general, is visible Leadership, in projects, represents the potential for

organizational competitive advantage, especially in project-driven organizations, divisions, agencies….. Why?

Objectives: to provide a rapid overview of 5 best practices & the models,

frameworks or studies behind them a few examples of skills, behavior, templates or areas of

expertise that illustrate some ways to implement them an overall “picture” at the end that makes sense to you At least one takeaway that will work for you in your

environment A list of references that you will want to pick from & follow

up with

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Best Practice #1 The Annual Standish Group Study on Project Failures

Description of the Standish Group Study (2011) For technology projects, only 37% achieved their initial objectives 42% were “challenged”; 21% failed outright

Question: Which of the 10 was rated the #1 reason for project failure? Write down your answer; then we will vote!

Description of the parallel UK Study :10 key reasons why projects fail

1 Delayed Scope/Requirements definition/signoff

6 Subcontractor delays in delivery

2 Poor/Missing Integration Management Plan

7 Customer delays in acceptance

3 Insufficient Test Assets 8 Poor estimating (time)

4 Failed tests, rework 9 Poor Estimating @ proposal/bid stage (cost)

5 Poor Scope Control during Execution 10

Failure to consult/record lessons learned

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Best Practice #1: Reuse Lessons Learned

The #1 cause in these studies of project failure is: Missing Lessons Learned Documents in the

Archives PM Failure to ensure Lessons Learned were

consulted, reviewed with team, communicated to stakeholders & factored into Project Management Plan (esp Risk Docs)

This important Best Practice in PM Leadership includes these parts: 1. Always take the time to create Lessons Learned 2. Do it as you move through the project lifecycle- include collection of items as an agenda item 3. Delegate the responsibility to a team member if you can

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Best Practice #2: The PM develops a High-Performing Project Team

What exactly is a “High Performing” or “Excellent” Team & how does the PM leader create one?

Average Teams vs. Excellent Teams

External Locus of Responsibility•Seek Individual Rewards•Blame Others for Problems•Work as Individuals – hoard information•May have low morale

Internal Locus of Responsibility•Focus on Contributions to Team•Work to Solve Problems•Work as a Team – share information – teach each other•Do have sustainable high morale

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Best Practice #2

Excellent Teams, Productivity and Morale

• What is the driver for this Best Practice?

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Best Practice #2: Situational Leadership Style Model

The only application of Leadership Theory that specifically addresses projects

Matches Leader’s Style to the Team’s Development Level The familiar team development lifecycle

Forming (S1) Storming (S2) Norming (S3) Performing (S4)

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4

IS MESSY & focused in S1 on learning/doing Task, in S2 on becoming interdependent, in S3 for gaining Task/Relationship Responsibility, in S4 for self-management as a team

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Best Practice #2: Situational Leadership Style Model (con’t)

• Today’s Big Barrier: Distributed, not Co-located Teams

• Question: Which of these is the Central Office?

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Best Practice #2: PM Leadership Style View

high

Concern for How will this Let’s discuss how to…

Relationships make the boat

(projected go faster?

people-orientation)

Q2- HT/HR Q3- LT/HR

These things will make

the boat go faster.

I trust you to make…

low Q1- HT/LR Q4- LT/LR

high Projected Concern for Tasks low

S1 S2 S3 S4

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Summarizing Best Practice #2:the Situational Leadership Framework PM Leader must diagnose what a team needs, then act in that

style Each project team evolves through a uniquely paced lifecycle, but

goes through each stage, reversing with changes in team, leadership or fortunes

Leader interventions can maximize the pace of team development (subject to EQ and IQ of the assigned team members)

Question- when is early PM intervention warranted? Nay-sayers impacting the team “stuck” members Issues arising out of matrixed roles or part-time assignments unresolved conflict among team members Team (or leader) over-focus on product, not process “delayed success” Failure to develop “interdependence” (the killer)

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Best Practice #2: Facilitating Team Development – Tips & Tools

1. PM-Facilitated Team Performance Agreements

Mobilize Team discussion of items such as How do we want to handle Contingencies What method shall we use for Decision-making How should we communicate amongst ourselves, with

stakeholders, etc? What (concretely) does quality look like here? What Positive Behaviors do we commit to? What Negative Behaviors should trigger PM or team action? How do we get (and give) feedback on our performance? If not decided by team, will evolve without

commitment

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2. Develop self-processing capabilities in the team Example: use “Fist to Five” for team meeting reviews (HO)

3. Let the team know that “interdependence” is a requirement

4. Delegate “Best Practice” Team Functions5. Early-on Reality Testing for Commitment Levels

Not everyone can give the same amount to a specific project Team members with inability to fully commit should know how

this will impact them (and the team should know too)

6. Consider encouraging team members to set an individual goal that aligns with the project (and share them)

7. Use Team-building Activities with regularity Examples: StrengthsFinder , egg drop

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9. Observe whether teams are actively developing over time; gauge their “stage” through observation of actual team behavior Example: Thelen et al. (1954), Levels of Team Learning & Knowledge Creation

Level 1: Individuals focus on personal needs relative to figuring out the task and relationship aspects of the project/group, and may be in different frameworks entirely; some (task) information sharing occurs

Level 2: Individuals jointly begin to focus on task; mainly planning and organization

needed to do the task; information sharing and some knowledge sharing occurs Level 3: Group is focused on the task and knowledge transfer; episodes of knowledge

creation may occur, as new methods for attacking scope, schedule or resources problems are advanced and engaged in; also, may see “new knowledge” arising from reality testing of ideas or see visualizing and identifying with project goals

Level 4: Group is highly energized around specific episodes of knowledge creation; uses

increasingly “common” language to “see” an issue or novel idea; context for discussion is new and extended

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Best Practice #3: Facilitating Creativity & Innovation

The Scenario

You have a project that requires some elements of creativity and innovation

You wonder if you and your team can meet the requirements

You need a framework for diagnosing your team’s potential for generating new knowledge, and for idneitfying what “gaps” may need to be filled

Best Practice #3: Facilitating Creativity & Innovation

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Best Practice #3: Facilitating Team Creativity & Innovation – Tips & Tools

Some “good practice” ideas:

1. Use this Framework as a diagnostic team tool- understand your own role and that of the team members (it also works as a team-builder)

2. When possible, pick your own team with Sit Lead and Team Creativity models in mind

3. When you can’t, try to find ways to plug any “gaps” with “experts” who won’t steal the thunder of the team

4. Make Knowledge Creation a value-added deliverable for both products and processes, and reward the team, not the individual

5. Use boundary objects freely (Best Practice #4)

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Best Practice #3: Facilitating Team Creativity & Innovation – Tips & Tools

Some “good practice” ideas (con’t):

6. Facilitating is hard-- do an assessment of your facilitation skills; then teach others in order to expedite their development (& your ability to delegate)

“I’ve learned that, if nothing else, everyone on the team will be on the same page, and that can save lots of time and money, & improve customer satisfaction.” (Agile/Scrum Sponsor)

7. Model “facilitation skills” in other PM arenas, such as in “reaching agreement” with management & stakeholders

Examples: Tsongas, Kilman study, “if –then”, “valuable for you….cheap for me”, 5-stages study

7.

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Best Practice #3 (con’t): Framework for Escalating Team Engagement in Innovation

8. Shift the Paradigm: PM Control over the Outcome vs. over its Implementation Process (“Is high control necessary over both or just one?”)

low

Manager & Process

High

Low Team & Implementation ProcessHigh

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Best Practice #3: Facilitating Team Creativity & Innovation – Tips & Tools (con’t)

Stage One “You will pursue this piece of the overall work on your own, and come back

to me with something to demonstrate or decide; then I’ll give direction on how specifically you will implement; when implemented, come back and we will discuss next phase.” (italicized portion applies only if appropriate)

Stage Two “You will pursue this piece of overall work on your own; come back to me

with alternatives – plus your own recommendation-- for implementation; we’ll decide together which alternative to pursue, and then I’ll assign the next piece of work.”

Stage Three “You will pursue the overall work, coming back to me with a detailed plan

for the whole thing; after you inform me what you intend to do, I’ll give my input and we’ll discuss and decide.”

Stage Four (a) “You do the work; just inform me of the final outcome”, or (b) “You do the work – no need to follow up with me.”

9. Use the 4 Stages of Team Engagement in Decision-Making

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Set the engagement level to the maturity level of the team

Explain the context and consequences of success or failure

Give “clues” as to what behaviors you want

Be specific about resources, including your own time

Set up a review system to track progress (so your

“outcome” doesn’t go off the tracks) – you may know this

is common sense, but they may not

Start doing this with a potential “win”

10. Rules for Team Engagement

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Also note that: You and team members should determine:

A due date for the outcome of the decision-making What level of authority (Prior Slide, #9, Stage 1-4) has

been delegated What priority the issue or result should be assigned Who the contact person is, or when you will meet again

about progress What “must have’s” you need to have What to do if something unexpected happens

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Best Practice #4: Focus on Key Objectives & Use Boundary Objects to Stay on Course

Define Key Objectives, then revisit the “boat” and reinforce them with varied visual and spoken boundary objects that keep everyone focused on them, and not on other things.

Definition of Boundary Objects Where to use

in Status Reviews, Customer and Team Meetings inTeam-Building Sessions on projects with Product or Process creativity & innovation opportunities

or requirements (e.g., R&D, new product development projects) Speeches/Presentations/Interviews in day-to-day communications

Levels of Project Uncertainty require different types of leadership and stakeholder management (discussion)

Variation

Foreseen Uncertainty

Unforeseen Uncertainty

….Chaos!

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Best Practice #4: Focus on Key Objectives & Use Boundary Objects to Stay on Course

Generic Contexts for B.O.’s in Meetings/Gatherings Agendas Project Kickoff/Launch presentations or themed-events White Boarding, Parking Lots End-of-project team meeting “Fist-2-Five” feedback (HO)

Purposes- Problem-solving & Decision-Making; NPD/R&D; Development; Education & Training Models, Causal Maps, Root Cause Analysis Diagrams,

Mindmaps, Frameworks, Experiments & DOEs Drawings, Prototypes, Photographs Exercises, Case Studies, Research & Survey Reports Expert Opinions “T-Shirts & Mugs” Written or Verbalized “Vision Statements” Visuals of any kind that can be understood by all

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Best Practice #4: Use Boundary Objects to Stay on Course (con’t)

Project Management-inspired B.O.’s1. Scope/Requirements/Specs2. Risk – a framework; Risk-tracking docs3. Schedule/SPI; EV/CPI – performance

measurements; “A3’s” – performance measurement & information format

4. Checklists5. Other Quality Tools for Analysis and

Decision-making6. Lessons Learned7. Other

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Best Practice #5: Align Fact-based & Inner Voice to Avoid Burnout

Townsend: Leadership Beyond Reason (also Boundaries) Brief Exercise on Alignment

Kahnemann: Thinking, Fast & Slow System 1 vs. System 2 Thinking Styles The Perils of counting “sunk cost” Anchors Confirmation Bias in Group Decisions

Reading List with 45 other Contemporary Articles (short!) full of useful boundary objects & many more tips, tools & techniques – access through DropBox

[email protected] for information/self-testing on questionnaires for Situational Leadership Style & Facilitating Creativity & Innovation-type Teams.

mailto:[email protected]

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Reading List for many more Boundary Objects, Tips, Tools & Techniques

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Brain-Based Behavioral Biases under Risk Conditions

System 1 vs. System 2 Thinking

Prospect Theory

Confirmation Bias

Groupthink- False Consensus Effect

Anchors

Other

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….and then there are customers

Customers buy “solutions in a bundle of benefits” (not products); these solutions carry a certain value

Value (customer’s perspective) is the net of Benefits minus Costs Costs include acquiring and consuming your solution, which means costs are

both monetary and non-monetary Value is dynamic, framed on customer expectations of benefits minus costs,

and shaped by experience and messages received along the way No matter what marketplace any business is in today, competing on service

is imperative Decisions made about the customer’s product/solution must be managed to

demonstrate that the manager is always sensitive to the customer’s experience, and is making decisions that are value-creating decisions

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More on Situational Leadership: Brain-Based Behavioral Biases under Conditions of Change and Stress

Origins of Stress

Level 1 = Unconscious Incompetence

Level 2 = Conscious Incompetence

Level 3 = Conscious Competence

Level 4 = Unconscious Competence

Balancing Stress to avoid Burnout

End of Part 2

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More on Situational Leadership: Brain-Based Behavioral Biases under Conditions of Change and Stress

Risk

Level 1 = Variation

Level 2 = Foreseen Unknowns

Level 3 = Unforeseen Unknowns

Level 4 = Chaos

Balancing Stress to avoid Burnout

Back exercise

End of Part 2

December 13, 2012 December 13, 2012 5 Best Practices in PM Leadership: 5 Best Practices in PM...

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