PMI Meeteing, Networking and Trust

PMI Meeting in Ashville

I attended the PMI chapter meeting in Asheville last night for a presentation by Teddy Burress. Teddy made a presentation on networking and focused on how to build a social network. The basic premise was networking was built on the foundation of relationships. Relationships begin with people you know and expand outward as the people you know help you find others with common interest and common concerns. The basis of this relationship focused on not how you can use the relationship to further your goals but how can use relationships to support people in achieving their goals. This foundational belief will lead to times when people see the opportunity to help you.

This presentation was not overtly related to project management but themes are consistent in building relationships with your clients, your team members and your project stakeholders. Relationships are also built on trust. Not in the sense of unconditional trust that you may share with people that you have a more intimate relationship but trust in the sense that you have shared goals and shared understanding and beliefs on how to achieve these goals.

Establishing trust with your client as well as your team and stakeholders is one of the critical skills they project manager. Without this trust communication suffers. Without this trust commitment to a common goal suffers. Without this trust is difficult to have fun on your project.

Trust comes from respect. It comes from shared values and it comes from a belief in a shared future. You developed this trust respecting your client, your team and your stakeholders. You developed this trust by sharing your values and living your values daily. And you develop a belief in a shared future through developing a common vision of success.

One of the critical aspects of the teambuilding meetings that occurred during project initiation is the development of trust. Depending on the project profile, the processes and the investment in developing this team will influence your ability as project manager to develop an appropriate project execution approach and address the various issues that arise during the life cycles of the project.

Russ

Rookie Mistakes

I was reading my March PM Network today, always a source of thinking about project management. There was an interesting article on the six common rookie mistakes by Ashley Richardson.

Mistake number 3, Skipping the Charter or Initiation Process. I suspect this is not a mistake limited to rookies. Ms Richardson suggests eight questions that should/ must be answered during the early phase of the project:

·         Why are we doing this project?

·         What is the problem?

·         Is this the best way to solve the problem? (for me, if I have been assigned the project manager it is probably a little late to ask this question)

·         What are the risks?

·         Do the benefits outweigh the risks? (again, a little late to ask)

·         Do we have adequate support?  

·         How will success be defined?

I assume that when you’re at the initiation stage of a project, management has already decided the benefits outweigh the risks, it is the best way to solve the problem and the project will have adequate support.

During the initiation I am focused on aligning the project team. I typically pull the team and key stakeholders together for an alignment session. The agenda, length and makeup of the alignment process will depend on the profile of the project. I have participated in alignment meetings that lasted a week and alignment meetings over an extended lunch. The common focus for each of the session was the development of three areas of the project:

·         The development of a common understanding of the project purpose (mission, vision, values, roles, barriers)

·         A common understanding of the means and methods (policies, procedures and major work processes ie change management)  

·         Trust; being the development of team trust and set the stage creating an effective team.

Project alignment and develop trust on you’re a project will be good fodder for future posts.

Best

Russ