AtTask Newsletter | AtTask Blog

Lightning and the Lightning Bug

20 September 2011 - POSTED by AtTask Newsletter

llightning bug Mark Twain, the famous author and humorist once said, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.”

I think what he was trying to say is that sometimes it doesn’t take too much to make a really big difference. I agree, it’s often the small and simple things that matter most. Along those lines, I found an interesting post on tiny buddah: simple wisdom for complex lives by Lori Deschene. I won’t go through the entire list, but thought I’d share a couple of the little things that make a big difference in our lives:

A small gesture of kindness from someone who loves you. The remote control your husband handed over—now that’s love.
An outdoor lunch. Nothing invigorates a day like the feeling of sunlight on your face.
A small change to your routine to make your day feel exciting.
An extra half-hour of sleep. Hit the sack a little earlier on night and see how this changes your day.
Finding money you didn’t know you had. Leave a ten in your coat pocket and then forget about it. Future you will be psyched.
Something so funny is makes you laugh out loud…not in LOL form.

Deschene’s list includes 40 such things, most of which I could relate to.

As project leaders, it’s often the small things that help the team the most. It might even be as simple as realizing that sometimes it’s not what you say, but how you say it. Of course, there is never an excuse for being curt or rude, but I think it goes beyond that. Did you assume that the recipient of your last email or task assignment knew exactly what your were talking about—or did you take a little extra time to stop by their desk and give them a heads-up regarding the future assignment? Sometimes that small gesture can make all the difference between whether a team member perceives themselves as a valuable part of the team or as a faceless and nameless drone who’s only value is what they do or what function they play.

What are some of the small things you do on your project teams that make a big difference?

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Knowledge is Power, or Is It?

7 September 2011 - POSTED by AtTask Newsletter

Not quite a year ago I wrote about younger days when I could strap on a harness and scramble up a rock face (Give Me All the Beta—Knowledge is Power). I don’t think they make a climbing harness big enough to go around what needs to be gone around these days, so suffice it to say I haven’t been rock climbing much the last few years.

Nevertheless, at the risk of repeating myself here, there are two types of climbers: those who want all the "beta" (information) about any particular climb, and those who wanted to face the challenge cold.

I think it’s reasonable to allow those climbers who want to discover the challenges of a new climb themselves the opportunity. They’re tied into a rope and placing protection as they go up, the risks are minimal and the satisfaction of figuring out a new climb for yourself can be very rewarding.

I just didn’t happen to be that type of climber—or guy for that matter.

Over the course of my career I’ve had the privilege of being taught and mentored by some pretty incredible people. For some reason I can’t explain, they took an interest in my career and spent time coaching me to help me achieve my greatest potential. They gave me the "beta" I needed to achieve success.

Of course I didn’t have to accept their generosity. I could have rejected their efforts to help my career and made a number of mistakes that I was fortunate enough to avoid by listening to them (although I still make dumb mistakes despite all their best efforts).

I’m pretty willing to jump feet first into fresh challenges. And I don’t think I’m alone. With that being said, I have noticed over the years that a number of professional colleagues choose not to accept any help from anyone—particularly from a co-worker. I don’t know if they perceive it as weakness or a commentary concerning their ability to do the job, but I think it’s a mistake. I can’t think of a single instance in my career where a potential "mentor" was telling me that I couldn’t do the job. In fact, I think they were exhibiting so much confidence in my ability that they wanted to make sure I succeeded by offering their help.

What’s more, I don’t think the "mentoring" I received diminished my sense of accomplishment—I think it made it all the more sweet because I could share it with a good friend. Were there times when the council I received was difficult or even painful to hear, yes. Nobody likes to be critiqued—especially me. However, I was motivated to improve my skills and become the very best I could be. With that in mind, there were times when I needed to bite my tongue and follow good advice.

As project leaders or senior members of the project team, we have the opportunity to provide "beta" to the less experienced members of the team. Often, how we approach doing that will make the difference between whether or not we are successful—in fact, in some cases knowledge might not equate to power as much as it might become a stumbling block. On the other side of the coin, as the "mentee", are we willing to accept the advice offered by those with more experience than us. I have to admit that there are often times when I’m listening to team members who have advice about how I could improve aspects of my role as project leader. And yes, it is sometimes hard to take—but often it’s good advice.

How do you share and receive "beta"?

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It’s Not About Creating Value, It’s About Creating Maximum Value

23 August 2011 - POSTED by AtTask Newsletter

Over the years I’ve come to appreciate that assigning value to something is pretty difficult. Everyone values things differently, which makes defining "maximum value" very problematic for most organizations—which is why coming up with a definition is so important.

I think it goes without saying that there are a lot of really good projects that will never (or probably shouldn’t) get the green light. Not because they aren’t worthy, but because there just isn’t the manpower or other resources needed to accomplish them. Over the last couple of years organizations have become very lean. And this includes project teams. Most organizations simply don’t have the capacity to do everything, so they need to spend time evaluating every potential project based upon merit and the ability to reasonably achieve the objective.

With this in mind, I’ve noticed that there are two approaches to this reduction in capacity. There’s the "get’r done" approach which basically suggests that it doesn’t really matter how long it takes, how many hours the team must work, "get’r done" is the mantra. Although this occasionally seems to work, over the long haul this leads to employee burnout, frustration and turnover. I don’t think this is a reasonable (or wise) response to the situation.

The second approach involves a little bit of advance planning, an organizational willingness to realistically evaluate capacity and a stomach for saying no. For many business leaders this is a little more painful in the beginning, but in the long run is a more sustainable approach.

When resources are stretched thin, it’s critical that everyone know upfront that any proposed project is going to be evaluated against its merits. If it doesn’t provide the most value, it’s going to be rejected in favor of something else that does. Without going into a discussion of the evaluation process, I think it’s important that we speak about what "the most value" really is, because there is no black and white answer.

For many organizations, it might be a good return on investment when costs are weighed against potential return—while for others it might be critical to leverage underutilized assets. Before you can evaluate one potential project against another, organizationally you need to make some decisions. Although this list is not all-inclusive, some of the things you might want to consider could include:

R.O.I.
Duration of the project
Manpower requirements
Risk
Utilization of assets
Potential impact in the market

What is the most important to your organization? Once you’ve determined that, you can then focus your attention on ensuring that the projects you work on, where you spend your time and where you spend your team’s time is on those initiatives that not only provide value, but provide the most value (even maximum value).

Granted, most project leaders in large matrix-ed organizations aren’t in a position to make these kinds of decisions. However, in mid-sized and smaller organizations, a project leader may have some of those responsibilities. Regardless, project leaders have a responsibility to do everything within their power to ensure that teams are focused on the things that are of the most value.

What do you do to help keep your team focused on those things that provide the most value?

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Can Everyone Learn From Their Mistakes?

9 August 2011 - POSTED by AtTask Newsletter

Homer Project leaders talk a lot about learning from mistakes. In fact, it’s an important part of the project management process. However, is it possible that some people have a harder time learning from their mistakes than others?

Time Magazine published an article written by Laura Blue a couple of years ago titled, How We Learn from Our Mistakes, that refers to a common gene variant that affects how some people learn (or fail to learn) from the negative repercussions of their actions.

My mother used to routinely say that I had a couple of friends that never seemed to learn—maybe she was right.

"In a small study," writes Blue, "…researchers scanned the brains of 26 men as they each performed a simple task: choosing one symbol from a pair of symbols. After each selection, the participant was presented with a smiley face or a sad face, depending on the symbol he had chosen. All men were equally good at learning to pick the symbols that won them a smiley face, but some men were worse than others at avoiding the ones that resulted in the sad faces. Those men, it turned out, had a particular gene variant, or allele, that reduces the density of receptors for dopamine—a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in motivation, pleasure and addiction—in certain areas of the brain. Brain scans also showed significantly less activity in those areas in response to the sad-faced negative feedback, in the men who had the allele. When it occurred, however, that brain activity was linked to activity in other parts of the brain that forms memories."

This study appears to be the first physiological evidence that the density of dopamine receptors may affect how people learn to avoid the consequences of experienced negative behavior. There have been other studies that demonstrate a strong link between a low density of dopamine receptors and addiction, obesity and compulsive gambling. It would seem that my mom is looking smarter all the time, at least in terms of the ability of some people to learn from the consequences of bad decisions.

That being said, this doesn’t mean that we can’t all learn from our mistakes. Learning is a complex process that involves much more than one kind of brain receptor. "It’s just one factor that may contribute to some problems that might arise in some people," said Markus Ullsperger, one of the co-authors of the study. "I think you can compensate for many things without even noticing."

There are many people who have the allele that Ullsperger studied and never have any trouble learning from their mistakes. It’s interesting to know that 30% of Europeans have the allele (according to German researchers).

This may be simply one more reason why a formalized "lessons learned" or "retrospective" process at the completion of a project is important. Not only because it’s a good idea, but because regardless of your project management methodology or the experience of your team, odds are there is someone that possesses Ullsperger’s allele.

Learning from our mistakes (and our successes) in the project management process is very important when organizations are looking to projects as a means to increase productivity and profitability. Do you have a process in place where everyone on your team can learn from their mistakes?

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An Arrow in the Desert: The Evolution of Communication

26 July 2011 - POSTED by AtTask Newsletter

Whether we are talking about the California Gold Rush, the trek to Oregon or the Mormon Pioneers, the Western migration to colonize the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Coast was a huge undertaking. Last week, several of my friends (with a number of young people) retraced a section of the Mormon Pioneer Trail through southwestern Wyoming. Along the trail, was a marker, an arrow pointing to the right direction (attributed to Brigham Young), to help keep the pioneers on the right path.

Our ability to communicate with each other has evolved a lot since 1847. The telephone, computers and cell phones, email and instant messaging keep us informed wherever we are in the world. Via the Internet, a soft-phone allows people who don’t even have a telephone to communicate with each other with their computers. This last year, my wife and I eliminated our land line and rely completely on our cell phones. Ten years ago, I never thought I would see that. What’s more, I must admit, my communication style has evolved as I’ve incorporated social media and other technology into how I share information with my friends and family. I even have some friends that only communicate with me via Facebook, while others want nothing to do with it.

Choosing the right medium to communicate with the right audience is becoming increasingly important. I think the same can be said for project communication. For some teams, email might be the most effective option, for many others, a more integrated communication approach might be more appropriate. There are those who suggest that face-to-face communication is best (however that might be a pipe-dream for those teams spread around the world).

Thankfully, none of us has to rely on an arrow in the desert to point us in the direction we should go. However, our approach (though much more technologically advanced) should be just as clear as we try to point our project teams in the right direction.

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Trust the Team to Get You There

13 July 2011 - POSTED by AtTask Newsletter

Japanese Imperial Palace I’ve spent the last couple of days in Japan preparing for a presentation at PMIJ this weekend. A little over thirty years ago I lived here, but a lot has changed (not to mention my ability, or rather lack of ability, to speak and read the language). As I’ve been bouncing around from place to place via the incredibly convenient mass transit system, I’ve had to trust the directions I’ve received as I’ve expressed where I want to go and have been given instructions on how to get there.

Since it’s been so long since I’ve lived here, I’m just not as savvy about the train system and reading kanji as I once was—and couldn’t help but relate this to how I rely on the members of my team to accomplish their objectives to subsequently accomplish ours.

In a city like Tokyo (where I have never lived), it would be silly for me to tell the people at the train station the route I want to take to see the Imperial Palace or other site of interest. They have a better idea on the way the system works and can tell me what train to board and where to board it. I trust them to get me to my destination (and they haven’t let me down yet).

We need to trust that those closest to the work have the best understanding of what needs to be done, how it should be done and how long it’s going to take. It doesn’t make sense for us as project leaders to micro-manage the process to the point where we minimalize our team member’s experience, in favor of what we may have forgotten or never even knew. And yes, doing so I would call silly.

If you don’t now, may I suggest that you give this a try. Before you commit your next project plan to the Gantt chart of project management software, involve the team in the planning. Share with them what the project is trying to accomplish, and why. You might be surprised at what they will commit to doing, if given the opportunity to contribute to a worthwhile objective.

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Where Are We Going?

27 June 2011 - POSTED by AtTask Newsletter

Baseball great Yogi Berra once said, "You’ve got to be careful if you don’t know where you’re going ’cause you might not get there."

Last week at the Gartner PPM Summit in San Diego, it was suggested in Tuesday’s keynote presentation that being on time, on scope and within the budget only amounted to 43 percent of project success. Furthermore, it was also suggested that project alignment to strategic vision was the most important factor to whether or not a project was successful.

This makes a lot of sense to me. If the team doesn’t know where they’re going, we shouldn’t be surprised when they don’t get there. I’ve mentioned before that I once worked for an organization that didn’t make their corporate goals for the year public to employees until November. As Yogi said, "If you don’t set goals, you can’t regret not reaching them." Organizationally, I’m not sure what’s worse, not setting goals or not sharing what they are with the people actually responsible for making them happen.

I once worked in an organization where the companies goals for the month were made public at the beginning of every month. As a result, we all knew what we needed to do to contribute to those goals. We didn’t receive any extra compensation, but we all worked to make sure that we were doing everything we could to ensure that we met our monthly goals. Of course I can’t speak for all of my colleagues, but I took a lot of personal pride in my efforts to successfully achieve our goals.

The French political thinker and historian wrote, "Chance does nothing that has not been prepared beforehand."

I believe part of that preparation includes making sure that organizational goals are transparent to everyone. I once spoke with the director of a PMO who made sure that the objectives of every project were articulated on every form and every task of his project management software. This type of transparency empowers team members to contribute at a higher level. What’s more, it tells everyone on the project team that we value their contribution as something more than simply showing up and doing what they’re told.

Mark Langley, President and CEO of the PMI (in the previously mentioned keynote address) asserted, "We’re all in the business." I think he’s suggesting that everyone has a stake in corporate strategy and goals; and because we all play a role in the business, we all need to be focused on creating value and meeting customer needs. I couldn’t have said it any better myself.

What are you doing to encourage transparency within your project teams?

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Are You Engaged?

14 June 2011 - POSTED by AtTask Newsletter

engagement If you were interested in the Olympics in 1976, you were more than likely watching Nadia Comaneci score a perfect 10.0 in her gymnastics routine. It had never been done before and the scoreboard wasn’t even able to register it. Nobody ever expected that anyone would ever be able to score a perfect 10.0. It was unheard of.

Year’s later, Comaneci said, "During my routine and even after it, I did not think it was all that perfect. I thought it was pretty good, but athletes don’t think about history when making history. They think about what they’re doing, and that’s how it gets done. I didn’t even look at the scoreboard when my routine was done in 1976. My teammates started pointing because there was an uproar."

I was in in high school at the time, and remember being blown away (and I’m not even a big gymnastics fan). Matthew Crawford in his book Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work, comments on Comaneci’s performance and suggests, "These remarks highlight an important feature of those practices that entail skilled and active engagement: one’s attention is focused on standards intrinsic to the practice, rather than external goods that may be won through practice, typically money or recognition. Can this distinction between internal and external goods inform our understanding of work?"

This is a really good question. We talk a lot about the need to empower teams to do more than simply show up, to fully engage in what they’re doing and take ownership of their role on a project team. To some extent, I acknowledge that external rewards (like a paycheck or a bonus) are motivators. What’s more, recognition for a job well done is also a great motivator. But what it is that drives some people to continually perform above and beyond, regardless of whether or not they receive what Crawford calls "external goods."

Crawford argues, "Aristotle’s understanding of happiness can shed light on those activities that truly engage us; maybe it can teach us something about work and leisure as well." He continues, "His account is grounded in a more comprehensive understanding of creatures; to understand any particular sort of being, the best way to proceed is by looking at it, and taking note of it’s characteristic activity. That activity represents the ‘end’ of the creature, its purpose. In Greek, its telos."

Basically, animals do what they do because that’s what (or maybe even who) they are. Dolphins frolic around because that’s what they do. Pigs muck around in the mire because that’s what pigs do. "Such activities are experienced as intrinsically good," says Crawford. "They contain their end within themselves; they enact that end, in ‘real time,’ as we now say."

What does all this mean to project teams?

Is there anything you do just for the sake of doing it? I have a colleague who if asked, "What would you do if you could do anything in the world?" He would respond, "Write code."

Fortunately for him, he’s a web developer. Like the dolphin, he does what he does because that’s who he is.

What can we do as project leaders to foster an environment on our project teams where the team can feel like that? I know, you’re saying to yourself, "People come here to work. Work isn’t fun. It’s not meant to be fun."

I understand. However, I write about project management because it’s what I like to do. Fortunately I have an employer who allows me to do what I like to do. It’s who I am. Is it really asking too much to create an environment where people can utilize their skills, passion and "what they do" at work? I don’t think so. Of course, there will always be things that we do just because it needs to get done (there are lots of "other" things I do because I have to, but being allowed to "do what I do" or "do what I am" makes it easier to do the other things). However, let me suggest a couple ways to push the needle a little more toward engagement:

Give people an opportunity to volunteer for work: I know this might be hard to believe, but people will volunteer to do something they are passionate about (even work). I’ve seen and experienced it—which leads to the next suggestion:
Make sure everyone understands the vision and objectives of what they’re doing: People want to contribute to something meaningful. If we can give meaning and purpose to what the team is doing, we nudge a little closer toward engagement.
Give people the opportunity to make committments: It might just be a matter of changing the way we think about tasks from "assignment" to "request." Giving people the opportunity to make commitements about what they’re going to do, how they’re going to do it and when they’re going to have it done allows people to do their best work.

What we’re talking about really is a new way to manage projects and a new way to work with people. I really think it’s time we approached project leadership from a new paradigm and allowed people to do what they do best and be who they are. Will it be easy? Probably not. Will it always work? No. Will it be worth the effort? Most definately.

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Management as Usual Doesn’t Usually Work

31 May 2011 - POSTED by AtTask Newsletter

Good and Bad Managers Over the last week or so, I’ve been writing a lot about team member engagement, happiness in the workplace and the changing dynamics of working with the Millennial Generation. Most of the comments I’m hearing seem to validate that times are changing and the way we interact with and lead people needs to change.

Recently Steve Denning, in an article published by Forbes suggested, "Companies are up against a set of problems that lie outside the performance envelope of management as usual. They are being compelled to look for answers in new places. They are facing an unprecedented amount of change. Not just change at the margins, but change that challenges the deepest assumptions of their business model. So they are having to come to grips with the fact that the top down structures that give an undue share of voice to people who have most of their emotional equity invested in the past—that is fundamentally toxic. The question is how do you adapt and change rapidly?"

We work in an environment where there is always more to do than time to do it. It’s stressful. It requires creative problem-solving. It’s unpredictable and unwieldy—that’s why we call them projects. However according to Denning, "The current workplace is not always perceived as very sympathetic to the people who work there. And we are moving into a creative economy where what you need out of your employees is not just diligence or intellect, but also creativity and passion. Firms understand that existing management models are likely to squelch that, rather than reward it."

I don’t really know how many organizations have come to this conclusion, but if they haven’t yet they will.

I know that there are many business leaders who don’t think too much about how friendly their environment is to the workforce. They provide a job, salaries and maybe even a company party once in a while. Unfortunately, that’s not going to be enough in the future. As Denning suggests, we need to create project environments were people can be creative and share passion about what they are doing. Creating this type of environment isn’t particularly difficult, but it does require some effort—it doesn’t just happen.

I think it’s interesting that the more I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion that people who are totally engaged in what they’re doing seem to be happier. At least, that’s my observation. And, doing that really isn’t rocket science:

Empower people with control over what they do, how they do it and when they do it. Although this might feel counter-intuitive, when people are empowered to contribute at a higher level, for the most part they do. This facilitates an environment where people take ownership over time-lines and deliverables. They take pride in what they’re doing, and do it better. They enjoy what they’re doing and become better at it. To me, those are all wonderful benefits of giving the project team some autonomy and a voice in the project plan.
Recognize accomplishments. I don’t think this is all about "atta-boys," but they are part of it. It’s mostly about being aware of what’s going on. Paying attention to who is doing what and how well they are doing it. It’s about looking for legitimate opportunities to say something nice to someone who is working extra hard. Everyone appreciates a sincere and specific "thank you" every once in a while. Try it—people respond, work hard and "own" what they do.

Most of this is nothing new. That does not however, diminish the importance of this discussion. Do these observations resonate within your organization or your project teams? What are you doing to encourage a happy and productive workplace? Has it been worth the effort?

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Do You Work with Free Agents?

17 May 2011 - POSTED by AtTask Newsletter

Not long ago (I think we were in the middle of March Madness and the NCAA Basketball Championships) some colleagues and I were talking about the NBA draft, free agents and jokingly discussed how those types of negotiations might take place in an office environment. Apparently, we weren’t alone. A coupe of days ago, I stumbled on an article written by Tom Wessling for destinationCRM.com titled, Creating Loyalty in a Free Agency Workplace.

Wessling talks about how some professional sports franchises are very successful utilizing free agents, while others are not. He suggests that we can learn a few things from those franchises that are successful at recruiting and leveraging free agents:

We can’t go chasing every new idea, or hope to hire that one incredible employee that’s going to turn the organization around
We need to have a very specific employee engagement plan and be willing to follow it
We have to be able to develop, encourage and keep a level of loyalty among employees to be successful

"[Y]ou must have some degree of employee loyalty so they want to be part of the organization and are willing to exhibit the behaviors that will make the company successful," says Wessling. "Recent 2011 Towers Watson research on 10 major global companies found a high correlation between net levels of profit margin and high levels of both engagement and enablement. Thus, enabling employee performance increases the positive impact of engagement on business success."

This shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone. I think we’ve all seen this play out within different organizations we might have worked with. However, I believe that we need to incorporate this information into how we lead our project teams.

"To perform at their best," writes Wessling (and I totally agree), "employees need healthful environments to help sustain high energy levels. For example, clear priorities, effective teams, respectful colleagues, and a balance between performance expectations and job pressures all contribute to employees’ sense of well-being on the job."

Wessling mentions some recent research from the Gallup Management Journal that suggests that individuals who receive regular praise and recognition:

Increase their individual productivity
Increase engagement among their colleagues
Are more likely to stay with the organization
Receive higher loyalty and satisfaction scores from customers
Have better safety records and fewer accidents on the job

I’ve been beating the drum for a more democratized work environment for quite a while now, and couldn’t agree more with Mr. Wessling when he says, "Intangible rewards seem to increasingly motivate more than tangible ones. All the studies we’ve seen about today’s younger workers, Gens X and Y specifically, point to the fact that money is really a byproduct and usually a secondary one at that, for this age group. Emotional sources of motivation are more powerful, and they are best convened informally in an organization through the respect of peers, the admiration of subordinates, the approval of one’s personal network and community and the like. Money becomes the default motivator because it is measurable, tangible, and fungible."

Of course, nobody wants to be paid less than what their worth, but most people don’t leave because of what they were or weren’t paid. They leave because of the intangible things that weren’t there. As project leaders, there’s a lot we can do to facilitate an environment where employees feel respected and appreciated.

In a recent podcast interview with Pam Stanton, the Project Whisperer, she suggested that sometimes, when long projects are completed, individual project team members are out of a job. Because of this, she sees it as her responsibility to help promote the skills, expertise and value of high-performing team members to other teams or departments within the organization. This type of project leadership sets her apart and probably results in more people anxious to be a part of her project teams.

As a project leader what are you doing to foster an environment where clear priorities, effective teams, respectful colleagues, and a balance between performance expectations and job pressures can contribute to your teams sense of well-being on the job.

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