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Leadership, the “Softer” Side of Project Management <ul><ul><ul><li>by Irv Stern, PMP </li></ul></ul></ul>

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In Project management we rarely get to choose our teams!!

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MAXIMIZING YOUR TEAM <ul><li>Gallup studied executive teams and found: </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Team members were selected or promoted based primarily on knowledge or competence. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>When leaders do recruit for strength, they all too often pick people who act, think or behave like themselves. </li></ul></ul>

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<ul><li>Israeli President Shimon Peres expressed his views on this topic in an interview with Gallup: </li></ul><ul><li>“ What you have to think of is the potential of the person, not his appearance. And if you can discover hidden potentials, that can make a great difference to your organization. You have to distinguish between loyalty and brilliance. Most leaders prefer loyalty over brilliance; they’re afraid that they’re going to be undercut. </li></ul><ul><li>My view is different.” </li></ul>

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Keys To Being An Effective Leader <ul><li>The most effective leaders are always investing in strengths </li></ul><ul><li>The most effective leaders surround themselves with the right people and maximize their team </li></ul><ul><li>The most effective leaders understand their followers needs. </li></ul>

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Four Domains of Leadership Strength <ul><li>The best teams have representation of the following four domains of leadership: </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Executing </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Influencing </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Relationship Building </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Strategic Thinking </li></ul></ul>

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Executing <ul><li>Leaders who make things happen </li></ul><ul><li>Work tiredlessly to get it done </li></ul><ul><li>The ability to “catch” an idea and make it a reality </li></ul>

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Influencing <ul><li>Help team reach a broader audience </li></ul><ul><li>Selling the team’s ideas inside and outside the organization </li></ul><ul><li>Makes sure your group is heard </li></ul>

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Relationship Building <ul><li>Glue that holds team together, group is just a composite of individuals without these people. </li></ul><ul><li>Create groups and organizations that are greater than the sum of their parts. </li></ul>

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Strategic Thinking <ul><li>Focused on what could be. </li></ul><ul><li>Absorb and analyze information to help team make better decisions. </li></ul><ul><li>Stretch our thinking, look towards the future. </li></ul>

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Domain mapping to project management knowledge Integration Management Strategic, Execute Scope Management Influencing?? Time Management Strategic Communication Management Relationship Building, Influence, Execute??

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What Strong Teams Have in Common <ul><li>Conflict doesn’t destroy because they focus on results </li></ul><ul><li>Prioritize what’s best for the organization and move forward </li></ul><ul><li>Members are as committed to their personal lives as they are to work. </li></ul><ul><li>Embrace Diversity. </li></ul><ul><li>Magnets for Talent </li></ul>

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<ul><li>“ A leader is someone who can get things done through other people. </li></ul><ul><li>- Warren Buffet </li></ul>

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Exercise <ul><li>What leader has had the most positive influence in your daily life? </li></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Take a few minutes to think about this if you need to </li></ul></ul></ul>

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Exercise <ul><ul><ul><li>Now please list three words that best describe what this person contributes to your life. </li></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><ul><ul><li>______________ </li></ul></ul></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><ul><ul><li>______________ </li></ul></ul></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><ul><ul><li>______________ </li></ul></ul></ul></ul></ul>

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Followers’ 4 Basic Needs <ul><ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Trust </li></ul></ul></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Compassion </li></ul></ul></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Stability </li></ul></ul></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Hope </li></ul></ul></ul></ul></ul>

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Key Findings of the Study <ul><li>The most effective leaders are always investing in strengths. </li></ul><ul><li>The most effective leaders surround themselves with the right people and then maximize their team. </li></ul><ul><li>The most effective leaders understand their followers needs. </li></ul>

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Learn to Listen, Empathize and Relate <ul><li>Choose to listen </li></ul><ul><li>Open the lines of communication </li></ul><ul><li>Reflect, or restate the message back to the speaker </li></ul>

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“ Listening is a rare happening among human beings. You cannot listen to the word another is speaking if you are preoccupied with your appearance, or with impressing the other, or are trying to decide what you are going to say when the other stops talking, or are debating about whether what is being said is true or relevant or agreeable. Such matters have their place, but only after listening to the word as the word is being uttered.” - William Stringfellow

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<ul><li>All great leaders are master politicians - they appreciate the power of a collective voice and can appeal to interests of others. </li></ul><ul><li>Connect to people with influence in a way that makes supporting your agenda support theirs. </li></ul><ul><li>Takes conscious and continuous effort. </li></ul><ul><li>Only as strong as the connections they make with each person in constituency </li></ul>BUILD ALLIANCES, FORGE CONSTITUENCIES

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Demonstrate Character and Resolve <ul><li>In face of adversity, true leaders demonstrate character </li></ul><ul><li>Team will trust and believe true to his/her word. </li></ul>

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The Golden Circle <ul><li>Purpose, cause or belief The Why is your driving motivation for action. </li></ul><ul><li>Guiding principles The Hows are the specific actions that are taken to realize your Why. </li></ul><ul><li>Tangible proof, results The Whats are the tangible ways in which you bring your Why to life. </li></ul>What Wha How Why Simon Sinek, Start With Why- TED.com What

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<ul><li>“ Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers”. </li></ul>

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Emphasize the Why <ul><li>I want to lose 10 lbs and tone my muscles for my spring break trip to Hawaii. Since I only have 3 months to prepare, I will stop eating all junk food immediately, exercise 5 days a week, and drink protein shakes after every workout. This will allow me to have a great time on my vacation! And maybe I’ll keep this up when I get back if I enjoy it! </li></ul>OR I believe that a healthy lifestyle is a liberating and enjoyable way to experience life. I believe in defining my health and living my life on my own terms. Hence, I will experiment with various fitness and nutrition programs until I discover what I enjoy most and what works best. This will motivate me to live each day to it’s fullest, and make each day better than the last.

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Creating a Soft Skills Program <ul><li>Start Slowly </li></ul><ul><li>Involve Your People from the Start </li></ul><ul><li>Hire Expert Help </li></ul><ul><li>Recognize Individual Achievement </li></ul><ul><li>Discover the Group’s Soft Skill Identity </li></ul>

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Obtaining the Best from Project Team Members <ul><li>Ask for action or behavior in a positive manner... </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Instead of “Don’t forget to fill out the change log” try “Remember to complete the change log” </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Don’t forget global considerations, keep wording simple </li></ul><ul><li>Reduce the technical babble, shorthand, and acronyms </li></ul>

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It’s not about checklists, status reports, schedules, and Gannt charts - it’s about people!

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REFERENCES <ul><li>Back to Basics, Sheilina Somani, PM Network August 2010 </li></ul><ul><li>Strengths-Based Leadership, Tom Rath, Barry Conchie Gallup Press </li></ul><ul><li>Simon Sinek TED talk - ted.com </li></ul><ul><li>Essentials of CIO Leadership, Mark Wood, gantthead.com </li></ul>

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Questions/Comments??? THANKS!!! Irv Stern, PMP [email_address]

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Appendix – List of Strengthsfinder Books <ul><li>StrengthsFinder – www.strengthsfinder.com </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Strengthsfinder 2.0 – Tom Rath </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Strengths-Based Leadership – Tom Rath, Barry Conchie </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Now Discover Your Strengths – Marcus Buckingham, Donald Clifton </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>First Break All The Rules - what the world's greatest managers do differently – Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman </li></ul></ul>

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Appendix – Four domains, 34 Themes EXECUTING INFLUENCING RELATIONSHIP BUILDING STRATEGIC THINKING ACHEIVER ACTIVATOR ADAPTIBILITY ANALYTICAL ARRANGER COMMAND DEVELOPER CONTEXT BELIEF COMMUNICATION CONNECTEDNESS FUTURISTIC CONSISTENCY COMPETITION EMPATHY IDEATION DELIBERATIVE MAXIMIZER HARMONY INPUT DISCIPLINE SELF-ASSURANCE INCLUDER INTELLECTION FOCUS SIGNIFICANCE INDIVIDUALIZATION LEARNER RESPONSIBILITY WOO POSITIVITY STRATEGIC RESTORATIVE RELATOR