I believe that Project Management success is about bringing the top people, processes, and technology together to empower organizations to achieve their collective goals.
Guiding principles provide a “dial-tone” for a successful Project Manager (PM). Like that recognizable sound you hear when lifting the telephone to your ear that lets you know it’s working, principles become a familiar “voice of reason” that keeps the manager grounded and focused while working through the difficult project issues.
I shared my “process” principles in Part One of this series, but today, I am focusing on the “people” principles for successful Higher Ed project management.
19 People Principles for Higher Ed Project Management Success
1. People Matter to your Success
Empower your teams to feel personal ownership and pride in their work.
A successful leader attains the top performance from his/her project teams. Empower your teams to feel personal ownership and pride in their work. Truly believing that people matter is essential as most will recognize when a manager is using manipulation techniques towards a desired outcome such as a sales representative that is only your “friend” until you sign on the dotted line. A true partner is there for you in good times and through stormy weather.
2. Engage the Project Owner, Key Stakeholders, and Governance Structure
Senior management must:
- Sanction the project organization (Project Sponsors, Steering Committee, Product Owner, PM, etc.).
- Buy into the project justification.
- Understand the roadmap and implementation strategy.
- Fund the project.
- Understand that changes will happen, and depending upon management’s confidence with the people, process, and technology, leadership will either accept that the scope is flexible to stay within a fixed time and cost or that, as changes occur, additional time and money may be needed.
In order to support senior management and the project organization:
- Develop and maintain a communication plan that keeps all leadership levels in sync.
- Study the organizational chart of the department that is sponsoring your project.
- Work with the Project Owner to make sure all departments are adequately represented within the committee structure (unless there is a compelling reason to limit transparency for confidentiality reasons). Typically, communication is as transparent as possible.
Management’s confidence with people, process, and technology, matters. Strong confidence will produce better results, and if confidence with any key factors for the project is low (scope, time, cost, people, process, or technology), inform management from the beginning to expect challenges within the project.
3. Talented People Produce Results
Skilled people produce the best results. The PM facilitates a strategic staffing plan to ensure the very best personnel have the time needed to contribute to the project. This includes strategies for key personnel from the internal organization such as leadership, stakeholders, staff, additional consultants hired to support the project, and any technology solution (vendor) staff required to get the job done.
4. Learn the Business Culture of the Organization and Adjust your Project Approach if Necessary
No two schools are the same, and their differences can show up at all levels. When working with an unfamiliar institution:
- Learn what is considered appropriate conduct for your project organization.
- Adjust your approach appropriately for all levels within the university.
- Adjust your approach for individuals and your department based on the culture of your school and its vendor relationships (using all your soft-skills).
5. The Business Should Lead the Project (and IT)
Leadership within the business unit (sponsors) must:
- Determine the best Project Owner for the job.
- The right business stakeholders must develop the project justification.
- The project business decisions should be transparent to all stakeholders unless confidentiality is necessary.
- The business must trust their IT partners to provide the appropriate technical advice and leadership.
6. Cohabitation Fosters Teamwork
Team collaboration is best when folks work within the same project space. Issues get resolved quicker without time zone delays. Requirements and designs are more clearly delivered when explained only once rather than needing to be repeated multiple times across various locations. Modern communication tools provide ways to chat and hold collaborative video meetings, allowing remote personnel to be effective for some tasks when the activities are less complex, such as maintenance of mature production systems. However, communication delays can impact delivery dates when including remote personnel within your project plans if not managed closely. This could warrant holding daily 15-minute meetings with the team. Use different time zones as an advantage—issues are fixed much faster if a remote team works while the local team is resting.
7. Ask your Project Leaders, “What is your Confidence Level with the People, Process, and Technology for this Project?”
If the trust is high, establish an Agile execution strategy that empowers a self-directed team. If the trust is low or the project scope is fixed and/or requires formal written work approvals such as complying with government regulations, then a rigid project implementation strategy with more controls might be appropriate.
8. Thoughtfully Identify Issues and Risks without Pointing Fingers
Become valued as your project team’s ultimate problem solver.
The “blame game” is a no-win proposition. Use your issues list simply to anticipate and remove your project team’s impediments. Become valued as your project team’s ultimate problem solver.
9. Dedicated Teams are the Most Effective
Project personnel productivity diminishes with the addition of each new project. The likelihood of contention, quality, or staff fatigue issues increases as people become torn between commitments made to multiple simultaneous projects.
10. Act as the Coach
The PM is the team leader, and their primary responsibility is to support the team. They prepare the team by scheduling necessary training and conducting periodic team retrospectives to document the positive activities for the team to continue and action items for any opportunities for improvement. The PM and Project Owner shield the team from larger issues and keep them focused on delivery.
11. Treat Others with Respect and Have Fun
You should strive to build strong and lasting relationships.
The reality is that we often spend more time working than we do at home with our loved ones. At the end of the day, are you proud of how you treated others? Will your colleagues reference you for other jobs? You should strive to build strong and lasting relationships. Celebrate your team’s successes together. Similar to home life, work teams that share meals together stay together.
12. Do More
Effective PMs do not just delegate the work; they do actual project tasks during crunch time. Teams can become cynical with PMs who use words like teamwork, ingenuity, and commitment just to get them to work more overtime (OT). Teams appreciate leaders that show initiative and help make their jobs easier. The experienced PM is familiar with the roles and responsibilities for most areas within their project and leads by example during busy project times when others need assistance with analysis or testing whenever necessary to avoid resorting to OT as much as possible.
13. Be Enthusiastic
The PM must remain positive throughout the entire project, leading by example and allowing their positivity to permeate throughout the team. What an individual chooses to do with each day defines that person. Is the project team a glass half full or half empty? Believe that the glass is half full to work through the difficult issues. Positivity breeds positivity, and people who love their careers reflect positivity in every aspect of their lives.
14. Be Honest
The project governance committees and team members will appreciate your ability to minimize surprises within the project. Therefore, be honest and timely about delivering both the good and not so good news.
15. Debate is a Good Thing
Do not take differences of opinions among your team (related to work activities) as personal attacks. Be thick-skinned, and listen to all sides of the issue before taking action. The differing perspectives will help you come to the best conclusion, whether by reinforcing your own ideas or by showing you a new direction to take.
16. Be Thoughtful with your Emails
You cannot retract an emotionally charged email response once you send it into cyberspace. Encourage your team to take time before responding to others’ emails that might promote project conflict and/or issues. You do not want their email responses to add fuel to the fire. Email “bombs” can absolutely disrupt a project and damage a team’s reputation.
17. Defuse Emotional Situations by Keeping the Focus on the Work at Hand and Common Goals
Keep the team focused on positive areas for improvement.
You want passionate team members that care about their work. Keep the team focused on positive areas for improvement that reinforce their common goals during regular project retrospectives. This will help team morale, and ensure that team members don’t get caught up on shortcomings.
18. Understand Each Person
People’s circumstances change on a daily basis. Personal or family changes in health, attitude, relationships, finances, career progress, etc. can significantly impact an individual’s contributions to the project. Take the time to understand each team member’s current career path and stage in life; it will be time well spent.
19. Work Together
It is not us against them. It is not I pretend to work and “they” pretend to pay me. The team succeeds or fails together. It takes collaboration to achieve the former, and self-interest can cause the latter.
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