Mel Bost – PMO Expert

My recent PMO blog posts have consistently addressed some of the prerequisites for an “actionable” Project Closeout and Lessons Learned Process for the PMO or project organization.  In general, these have been activities or competencies or capabilities that the organization needs to nurture in order to really make Project Lessons Learned an active contributor to the overall Project Process.

In the course of this review of critical success competencies, we must also ask what skills and capabilities are required of project managers or project facilitators to enable the full development of project lessons learned? 

As we all know, people are what really make a difference in the deployment of corporate resources.  To make a real difference, and to stand out versus other organizations’ implementations of the project lessons learned process, your organization needs to ask what skills and capabilities it must develop and nurture in its project managers to fully realize the benefits of Project Closeout and Lessons Learned.

It is the combination of Process, People, Tools, and Capabilities that really make a successful package for Project Closeout and Lessons Learned.

So, what skills do your project managers need to develop to enable the full development of project lessons learned?

First, the project manager must be a good “facilitator” of the Perspectives, Facts, and Deliverables that are key to defining Significant Events for Lessons Learned.  The project manager or coordinator must be able to work with different Perspectives as to what actually happened in key project situations, sort through the various Perspectives, and then “reconcile” if necessary those Perspectives that would hinder gaining consensus on key Significant Events.

Second, the project manager or coordinator must be a good “reframer” if necessary to hold the dialogue with key project participants who might see situations differently but, in actuality, just need a “reframing” of the facts of the situation to be brought on board.

Third, the project manager or coordinator needs to be a leader of the discussion, at all levels, during which it is important to convert Significant Events, to Candidates for Lessons Learned, and finally, to the identification of Lessons Learned themselves.

Fourth, the project manager or coordinator needs to be a good documenter of the process using the Lessons Learned Template as a key documentation tool.

Fifth, the project manager or coordinator needs to be able to explain, and put into context, why certain lessons learned led to improvements in process, and how those improvements were actually realized.

In my experience, even the most experienced project managers have trouble working with the Framework at first and must develop some experience with using it effectively.  In most cases, it is these capabilities or competency areas that are being developed while the project manager or coordinator grapples with the details of Project Closeout and Lessons Learned.

I have also found in my work with PMOs that oral presentations of Lessons Learned by project managers to their peer group is a very effective way of building these capabilities, and also to build project leadership.  In a major PMO with which I worked, those project managers who consistently stepped forward and volunteered to lead this discussion of project lessons learned eventually became the leaders of the PMO.  Why was that?  Project managers who embrace change, who believe that Risk Management is a friend, and who want to be “curators” of the project knowledge in their own project communities are often the very ones who step forward and lead in the Project Closeout and Lessons Learned arena, as well as in their own PMO development and maturity.

So, please keep in mind that it is not enough to espouse good Project Lessons Learned documentation.  You must first look to how your organization is nurturing those Process, People, Capabilities, and Tools for Project Closeout and Lessons Learned.  You can start this journey in your own organization by volunteering to speak to other project managers about your own project experiences and by beginning to examine Facts, Perspectives, and Deliverables for your recent projects in anticipation of capturing Lessons Learned.  Integrate this zeal with a good Project Risk Management Plan and see how it contributes to the success of your PMO or project organization in upgrading the entire project process.

In the course of my work developing an “actionable” framework for project lessons learned, I have learned that one of the great facilitating actions contributing to a robust and “actionable” Project Lessons Learned Framework is an active Project Risk Management Plan. 

Many project organizations already incorporate Risk Management as a capability in their planning and execution of projects, but many others have not reached the stage where they really appreciate how a Risk Management Plan can contribute to project control, outcomes, and success.

Although it is not necessary to have a Risk Management Plan to apply the Project Lessons Learned Framework I have developed, the real power in having a Risk Management Plan lies in the fact that “Significant Events” that may become “Candidates” for Lessons Learned may already have been identified in Risk Mitigation Planning and Risks Triggered during a project.  That makes it easier to collect as many real Significant Events as necessary to complete a Project Lessons Learned exercise.

Risk Management is, of course, an attempt to anticipate actions and events in a project for which the organization has not formally planned, but which could impact the project. 

Risk Management is also a way to address a project’s “assumptions” that might previously have been considered to be unchanging during the course of the project.  We all know from experience in managing projects, however, that initial “assumptions” almost never stay the same during projects.  So, Risk Management is a technique for planning and taking action for assumptions that change during a project.

Risk Management is an exercise in which you identify possible events that might lead to adverse consequences for a project.  Mature project organizations or PMOs that embrace Risk Management techniques are also more likely to embrace “change” which, as we have observed in other blog posts, correlates highly with embracing Project Lessons Learned.

Risk Management also usually involves some discussion of how risks could introduce gaps in expected-versus-actual results for a project. 

Project organizations that do not formally have a Risk Management Plan in place for individual projects should, of course, still pursue Project Lessons Learned exercises at the close of their projects.  As the organizations gain more experience in capturing, documenting, and sharing lessons learned, they will also become more aware of systemic risks in their business or project context which, in turn, should make it easier to introduce a Risk Management Framework that addresses the portfolio of projects and individual projects as well.

Ask yourself whether your organization fully utilizes its Risk Management Plans and Frameworks in assisting in Project Lessons Learned exercises.  You can play a leadership role in introducing the link between Risk Management and Lessons Learned.

Thanks for your attention.

When I teach project managers about Project Lessons Learned for the single project case—that is, when a project manager identifies, documents, and shares lessons learned from a recently completed project—I emphasize three areas upon which they must focus their attention to in order to determine Significant Events for Lessons Learned.  The three areas are (1) Facts; (2) Perspectives; and (3) Deliverables.

Today, I am going to discuss the second aspect with you–Perspectives.

The end objective of a Project Closeout and Lessons Learned exercise is to determine “actionable” changes that can be made to basic processes in order to improve performance of projects and the organization in total.  “Actionable” changes need to be agreed to by the organization’s participants so they are committed to the changes, and work to sustain the changes over time.  And someone in the organization needs to be assigned the role to make the process changes, so that the actionable lessons learned fit easily into a “continuous improvement framework” for the organization.

To provide better understanding of “perspectives,” let’s give a definition and an example.

Perspectives are different viewpoints which people may feel or express about a situation or an action or an event which represents their interpretation about the “truth” of the situation as they perceive it.  An example would be the following exchange recently between David Gregory, moderator of the NBC News Program “Meet the Press” and a Republican Candidate for the Presidency. 

Mr. Gregory:  “Mr. Candidate, isn’t it true that none of your colleagues in the Congress have not endorsed your Candidacy for the Presidency?”

Candidate:  “The truth, Mr. Gregory, is that I have not asked any of my colleagues from the Congress to endorse me yet.  I will at the appropriate time.”

You see from this exchange that each person expressed a viewpoint about the same situation or potential action or event that represented their own interpretation of what was “true” for them in their business, social or political context.

Sometimes perspectives are reconcilable and sometimes they are not.  Two parties may continue to disagree about the “truth” of a given situation.  In this case, they cannot agree whether it was a Significant Event or how significant the event was to the overall outcome of their work.  Reconcilable perspectives are important in agreeing upon what really happened in a given situation.

Because project participants bring many different viewpoints to projects as to what was significant, and as to what really took place in the project, each of the project participants possess what I term “perspectives.” 

Perspectives are viewpoints that capture the truth as perceived by the viewer.  However, as we have alluded to many times, people act in accordance with the “truth” as they individually perceive it to be.  Project participants often “perceive” different outcomes and actions in projects and disagree about what really took place.  That is why I advocate starting with FACTS, the statements and data that no one can refute.

Timing is also very important for gathering and processing “perspectives.”  The closer to the project lessons learned exercise the perspectives were documented, the more they will reflect what truly happened in the project.  If we allow much time to pass from project close to the capturing of lessons learned, the perspectives will often be colored by other experiences that the project participants have been involved with after completion of the project.

A principle of Lou Tice’s is that “[p]eople act in accordance with the TRUTH as they perceive it to be.”  Their definition of a project’s Significant Event may be different from yours if they see a different TRUTH in the actions or outcomes of the project.  Reconciling different perspectives, and gaining agreement about the TRUTHS of a project, are often critical to gathering Significant Events and then qualifying them as Candidates for Project Lessons Learned. 

Project Managers and other project team facilitators must be adept at sorting out the feelings that project participants, sponsors, steering committee members, and subject matter experts express about TRUTHS and OUTCOMES in a project.

Even very experienced project managers often find it difficult to sort out and deal with the various “Perspectives” that project participants bring to the table to discuss as part of a Project Lessons Learned exercise.  Practice in identifying Project Lessons Learned, and in sharing with others, is a major step toward building an internal organizational capability to develop “actionable” Project Lessons Learned that can contribute to a “Continuous Process Improvement” Framework for a project team or organization.

Another aspect of reconciling perspectives that I have written about extensively in this blog is “reframing.”  Project managers and facilitators must be adept at “reframing” positions to bring out the relevant facts and viewpoints that make sense in identifying Significant Events for Project Lessons Learned.

I encourage anyone truly interested in becoming a “curator” for their project environment, in terms of capturing, documenting, sharing, and perpetuating project lessons learned, to practice the flow from “Significant Events” to “Candidates” to full “Lessons Learned” by actively involving themselves in the reconciliation of “Perspectives” in Lessons Learned exercises.

You will be happy that you took the time for focus on identifying and reconciling “Perspectives” because it will provide you with new insights into interpreting events, actions, and feelings on the part of project participants.  It will also help you record those TRUTHS about projects that can lead to more in-depth insights into project performance and ongoing project success.

Challenge yourself in the next Project Lessons Learned exercise that you conduct or facilitate for a project team to recognize and appreciate the different PERSPECTIVES and their contributions to fully understanding your project environment and context.

Those of you who have read my blog consistently know that I am interested in two cases in which Project Lessons Learned can be identified from projects.  I call these the Single Project Case and the Multiple Project Case. 

The Single Project Case involves a project manager and his team who wish to identify, document, and share project lessons learned at the completion of a project, usually during the project close process. 

The Multiple Project Case is the case in which several projects are subject to the same “project environment” and, therefore, may exhibit patterns of behavior that are the result of the structure of the project environment.  The “structure” of the project environment is the policies, procedures, standards, and working processes that the project organization establishes to govern the way that the project will be conducted.

As we have discussed previously, the real leverage in looking at patterns of behavior from several projects that are subject to the same project environment is that a single change to the structure could potentially improve the performance of all the projects in the environment.  This is because the structure has dictated some behavior or action on the part of project teams of others associated with the project that have contributed to suboptimized performance.

The purpose of this blog post is to provide a simple “analogy” to further explain the power and leverage associated with looking at patterns of behavior among projects, and tracing these patterns to some action or process in the project environment that contributed to those patterns. 

The simple analogy is the story of a breakfast buffet at a hotel.  From six AM to nine AM each morning, the hotel offers a breakfast buffet to its guests consisting of the usual breakfast foods:  eggs, sausage, oatmeal, coffee, orange juice, muffins, bagels, cereal, etc.  Guests usually serve themselves from a buffet and then sit in a lobby designed with tables for use by the guests during breakfasts and other meeting occasions.  Guests usually serve themselves and then clean up at the end, which assists the breakfast staff in maintaining a continuous flow of breakfast guests.

On one particular morning, as each table completed its breakfast and vacated the area, a member of the breakfast staff wiped the table clean with a damp cloth in preparation for the next guests.  Several breakfast staff noted that there was a sticky substance on each of the tables that resisted the usual wiping with a damp cloth, so that additional cleaning was required.  The incident continued throughout the morning. 

At about 8:50 AM, the manager, who had been informed by the breakfast staff of the sticky substance, observed several guests as they ate and completed their breakfasts.  He approached several tables, and asked if the breakfast staff could examine the tables while the cups, plates, and utensils were still on the table.  It was found that the sticky substance had been deposited on the table by the plastic orange juice cups. 

 A “pattern of behavior” had been identified.  A sticky substance had been identified with each table where an orange juice cup had been place by a guest.  The sticky substance appeared to be the same in each case.

The manager and several breakfast staff proceeded to the orange juice dispenser and observed the following process.  Guests would pick up a juice cup from a stack of empty juice cups and place the cup on a specific spot in the juice dispenser.  The guest would then push a button to dispense the juice into the juice cup.

The manager and the breakfast staff examined the single spot where each empty juice cup was placed by guests.  On that spot there was a sticky substance.

A process that had been put in place to facilitate ease of juice dispensing had caused a bad outcome at the customer environment location.  The process supported the overall structure of breakfast for guests during the time period six to nine AM. 

If the breakfast staff had not acted to identify the incident and its resulting pattern of behavior, the impact on customer satisfaction might have been negative.  At the very least, it might have contributed to the sticky substance being spread to other equipment and guest utensils.

Because the breakfast staff and the manager reacted quickly, however, the sticky substance was removed from the orange juice dispenser.

This analogy is far from being too simple.  It points out that “patterns of behavior” are so important in a project or customer environment that project groups should be attentive to them and act with haste to correct them.

Many such patterns of behavior occur in project environments every day.  Do you take the time to think through incidents and events in your own project environment which can be “patterns of behavior?”

The quick action of the breakfast staff and the manager in identifying the patterns of behavior were a significant step in making the improvement to the process which kept the structure working as planned.

In your own project environment, look for “patterns of behavior” and the underlying root causes for their occurrence.  The leverage you can apply in your business context is enormous.

And the next time you drink a cup of orange juice, think of this example.  You will be glad you did.

I recently had the opportunity to discuss BOT International’s  Project Closeout and Lessons Learned Advisory Services with Mark Price Perry, BOT International’s founder. 

Our podcast on this topic is available here (Podcast No. 229).

I have worked in this field for many years, during which time I worked with several major project organizations.  I feel that now is the time for increased emphasis on Lessons Learned. 

Early in 2011, I predicted that more companies would seek to close projects successfully and to capture project lessons learned.  In fact, I stated that those companies who successfully documented and shared lessons learned would gain a decided competitive advantage with regard to competition.

Today, I see a trend toward being more open in organizations with regard to “project failures” and poor performance of projects.  However, it is still a “culture” phenomenon, and much work must still be done with organizations to help them gain an appreciation for the full value of lessons learned.

Our BOT International work has shown that how project and PMO organizations embrace “change” is very much related to how they embrace lessons learned.  The discipline of lessons learned is all about change. 

To quote John C. Maxwell:  “Real change occurs as the result of either inspiration or desperation.” 

Project and PMO organizations that are “business driven” and proactive take a decidedly different approach to that of project and PMO organizations that are on the “compliant” end of the spectrum.  This difference between “commitment” and “compliance” when addressing change is important.

Our BOT International consulting offerings in the Project Closeout and Lessons Learned Advisory Practice take these CHANGE, CULTURE, and PMO MATURITY issues into account in their planning and execution.

All of our consulting offerings approach project lessons learned from a Framework which contributes to a continuous process improvement environment for the organization.

We have four basic consulting offerings from BOT International regarding Project Closeout and Lessons Learned.  I would like to review each one and provide the following information:  type of engagement, length of engagement, participants, focus, and outcomes.

First, we have a culture and change initiative (PCOLL010).  This is a three to five day on site intensive culture initiative to instill an appreciation for project lessons learned and the value to be gained by sharing information.

The second offering is a three day intensive workshop (PCOLL020) aimed at groups of 20 or less to discuss tactical aspects of documenting lessons learned. 

The third offering is a five day on site engagement (PCOLL030) which combines the three day workshop with intensive discussion of project culture and importance of lessons learned in a continuous process Improvement framework.

The fourth offering is an intensive one day on site workshop (PCOLL040) whose participants will become “mentors” to others in the organization with regard to capturing, documenting and sharing project lessons learned.  The selection of these “mentors” is a collaborative effort with the project organization.

Obviously, these four offerings can be modified to meet the needs of specific organizations based on their individual project and business contexts, project organization maturity or Management’s desire to change the culture.  I would be happy to work with any Managers who wish to emphasize a specific aspect of Project Lessons Learned or Knowledge Management in our consulting work.

Please contact me at mbost@botinternational.com to discuss how BOT International can assist you with Project Closeout and Lessons Learned or any other aspects of PMO Setup and Maturity.

Under the leadership of founder Mark Price Perry, BOT International, the company in which I am a Principal, PMO Practice, has assembled subject matter experts in PMO Setup, Project/Portfolio Management (PPM), Governance, and Project Closeout/Lessons Learned to create an integrated project and program management consulting group.

This team recently assembled in Orlando, Florida at the 2011 PMO Symposium to demonstrate their process assets “Processes on Demand” to Symposium participants and to discuss their expertise in any field of PMO maturity and development.

The principal subject matter experts and their fields are:

Mark Price Perry:  PMO Setup and Maturity

Terry Doerscher:  Project and Portfolio Management (PPM)

Steve Romero:  Governance

and me, Mel Bost:  Project Closeout and Lessons Learned

Another BOT International consultant and facilitator, Cornelius Fichtner, interviewed the four subject matter experts during the 2011 PMO Symposium to provide his PM Podcast and PREPCAST listeners with the latest news on the BOT International talents.  Check out his podcast here.

BOT International is a global firm specializing in Project and Program Management Office (PMO) competencies.  Contact me to find out more about how BOT International can help you.

John C. Maxwell can be a mesmerizing speaker.   When he exhorts you to give your best, you give your best.  When he beckons you to take on a great challenge, you say “How soon can I start?”

I just listened to his audio CD lesson on ”Conquering Life’s Great Challenges” for the fifth time, and every time I felt like he was speaking directly to me.  Maxwell’s theme is that everyone is faced with great challenges in their life, and those who successfully conquer these challenges are enormously enriched, and better equipped and prepared for the even greater challenges that await them later in their lives.

Preparation is a key ingredient.  Keeping a positive outlook about the end result is essential.  Keeping the drive going when obstacles seem formidable is essential.  But you can do it.

Maxwell says that there are SIX great “ADD-VANTAGES” that one gains from conquering a great challenge:

1.  Adds Self Awareness And Understanding Of Self:    Conquering a challenge makes you more aware of what your real capabilities are, and helps you solidify your thinking about what you have to contribute.

2.  Adds And Builds Confidence:  Conquering a challenge gives a person great confidence to proceed to the next challenge with the knowledge that you have a process for facing and conquering that next challenge.

3.  Adds Personal Growth And Stretch:  Expands your capabilities to handle key issues.

4.  Adds Momentum:  Creates the drive to move forward proactively with other key challenges.

5.  Adds New Territory and Growth into New Activities.

6.  Adds Great Value To Others, Their Lives, And The World In General.

Maxwell goes on to say that, before an individual attempts the challenge, an individual’s world is filled with questioning, intimidation, fear, and uncertainty about his own ability to meet the challenge.  But completing the challenge creates a sense of breakthrough, encouragement, strength, purpose, and value.  What a difference completing a challenge can have on the willingness and proactive behavior of an individual.

In my case, my most recent great challenge was to develop and facilitate a new Project Closeout and Lessons Learned training for an organization that specifically requested the training because it desired to fill a void in its current project process.  The organization also wanted to instill a culture that valued the discipline.  The organization was itself faced with a great challenge in the form of a major super-project that was taking place over a number of years.

While Project Closeout and Lessons Learned is one of my favorite topics, and one I had been preparing to tackle for many years, my work for this organization spurred me to focus in-depth on the area for a sustained period of time, leading to my own personal development in each of the six Add-Vantages mentioned by Maxwell in his lesson.

At first, like many of us when faced with a new project, I faced all of Maxwell’s classic roadblocks.  I felt fear and uncertainty that I would be able to deliverm, but I forced myself to overcome this fear.  After I prepared a training manual and a well-choreographed presentation, I still had to travel to the organization and present the final product.  As I was leaving, one of my closest friends said “Just think how much you will be contributing to their capability… continuous improvement and lessons learned will be invaluable to this organization in creating overall project and program success.”

Once there, I knew that preparation would be the key to overcoming any remaining fear.  I surveyed the training facilities carefully and I was committed to make the training times as compatible with the participants’ normal workdays as possible.  Since everyone agreed the 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM were their normal working hours, we adopted that timeframe.

I disciplined myself to be ready to fire on all cylinders at 7:30 AM each morning, to have a working lunch prepared for the lunch break, and to be ready to answer the participants’ questions and to rephrase any concepts necessary to make sure they understood.

As the class days advanced, my confidence was building–I was very assured that my Project Closeout Framework was sound.  Our group discussions yielded some great insights.

In my experience during this training session, I gained a great deal of insight into my strengths.  My best times for action are between 6 AM and Noon.  So, it is best for me to capitalize on that timeframe for my most significant work of the day.   I also learned that I have a tremendous network of willing colleagues in the project community who can be counted on at a moment’s notice.  I also learned that my Framework applies equally well to contract closeout and to project closeout.  I learned that a simple feedback diagram showing “Process,” “Result,” “Lessons Learned,” and the feedback to continuous improvement of the “Process” can apply generically to just about any process an organization wants to pursue.  What a grand revelation and one that would not have been recognized without the assistance of a flip chart and an attentive class that demanded the very best of my efforts.

So what is my next great challenge?  Writing my book on Project Closeout and Lessons Learned.  The Framework, which once graced a few napkins on a lunch table, will now be immortalized for everyone to use.  The application of this Framework will be a leverage tool for project groups and PMOs to succeed and to produce significant results in their work.  This book will also complement BOT International’s new Advisory Services for Project Closeout and Lessons Learned Consulting.  As Practice Head for this new Advisory Services area, I will be responsible for assisting companies in instilling a new Project Lessons Learned culture that will enable project practitioners to “master” lessons learned as a continuous process improvement discipline.

So Mr. PMO–when you are faced with your next challenge, take heed to John C. Maxwell’s words on conquering great challenges.  Not only will you prepare yourself to willingly take on those challenges, you will also add tremendous value to your PMO in your ability to tackle ventures and projects that Management dictates.  It will also build “resilience”–a leadership trait that is highly valuable in this risky economic and political climate.

Step up to the plate–you have the ability to innovate, to meet any Challenge, to conquer any language barrier, to overcome any cultural conflicts…if you will only focus on the task, and keep a positive attitude in the face of any setbacks.

Let me know what great project challenges you are tackling.

Do you think that you can snap your fingers whenever you need some vital information? 

Do you think that your LinkedIn connections or your Facebook or Twitter friends will come running to your aid whenever you need help?

If it was late at night, and you were sitting in front of your laptop, in a foreign country, several thousand miles from most of your network, with a useless cell phone because you provider had no network, and you needed help, what would you do?

When this happened to me just a few weeks ago, I was thrilled by the responsiveness of my network, and I just had to share this fantastic networking experience with my readers.

Most of you know that I was in Panama recently facilitating two three-day courses on Project Lessons Learned for the Panama Canal Authority’s Construction Division. 

At the end of the second day of the second session, the division’s manager requested that, the next day, I speak to the class about some specific project lessons learned success factors and barriers experienced by other organizations.  He also wanted to know how these success factors and barriers fit into a cohesive project lessons learned system.  He requested this information because he wanted to impress upon the class that Project (and Contract) Lessons Learned would (and should) be an ongoing part of their daily activity.

I left the building that day worried because, while I had many examples, anecdotes, and ideas about project lessons learned success factors and barriers, I was not aware of any single document or study that would address his request.  Since I unfortunately hadn’t anticipated his request, after dinner that evening, I sat myself down in front of my laptop, and began to brainstorm about who in my network might be able to efficiently guide me in the right direction–time was of the essence since I had to be back in the classroom about eight hours later!

During my brainstorming, I remembered that Michael Guidry’s Northwest Arkansas PMI Chapter recently featured Deborah Grassi, a Senior Manager in SAP Change, Training, and Communication at WalMart.  Deborah spoke about lessons learned from a significant WalMart project.  So, I dashed off a quick email to Michael explaining my conundrum.

I sent another quick email to Dan Ranta, a Director of Knowledge Sharing with whom I had worked at ConocoPhillips. 

I also wrote to Wayne Thompson, my frequent collaborator on podcasts for his popular blog “Project Management War Stories.” 

I also recalled that Lisa Austin , a manager of Knowledge Management at Williams Midstream, had recently spoken to the PMI Tulsa Chapter about Knowledge Management at Williams.  While I had unfortunately missed her presentation, I thought contacting her was worth a shot since she and I are connected on LinkedIn.  Lisa quickly replied that, if I had not already seen the website and blog on Knowledge Management in the United Kingdom operated by Nick Milton, Director of Knoco, Ltd., I should check it out. 

Nick Milton was formerly a knowledge management executive with BP.  Now, is a knowledge management consultant who consults with corporations worldwide on knowledge management issues.

I quickly accessed Nick’s website, and found a section on Lessons Learned that included a survey that he had conducted in 2009 of companies in many different industries.  The survey discussed these companies’ varying Lessons Learned practices, which factors had been barriers in establishing Lessons Learned, and which factors had led to success in Lessons Learned and lasting change within the organization.

BINGO!!!

I immediately messaged Nick on LinkedIn and introduced myself.  I explained that we had common interests in Project Lessons Learned, that I was in the midst of teaching a course on the subject, that I had been referred to his website, and that I was very impressed by survey.  I requested that we connect on LinkedIn.  Almost immediately, Nick approved by connection request and explained that he was with a client in China, but that he would love to talk about our common interests in Project Lessons Learned. 

Nick and I emailed a few more times that evening, and Nick was kind enough to permit me to present his survey and discuss its findings with the course participants.

The survey had 74 responses from individuals in such varied industries as oil and gas, engineering and construction, consulting, mining, industrial products and services, etc.  It mainly focused on project groups, and it covered success factors, barriers, key systems components, and other enabling factors. 

As I read through the survey, I was pleased that it supported many of my recommendations, including the use of the After Action Review (AAR) as the preferred basis for a project lessons learned framework, as well as the inclusion of Risk Management when identifying candidates for lessons learned.

The next day, I distributed the survey to the course participants, and we discussed its findings within the context of the Construction Division’s business and project/contract environment. 

Throughout the day, similarly helpful information flooded in from my network.  In fact, nearly one hundred percent of the people that I contacted responded with useful information.

I learned two valuable lessons from this experience: (1) when training, listen—and be responsive to—your audience, as it often provides valuable insight as to how you can develop and improve your materials; and (2) believe in the power of your network!

Remember–the responsiveness of your network is entirely up to you.

As Robert Cialdini has stated in his work on INFLUENCE,  RECIPROCITY is a powerful motivator.   Always do what you can for others before asking a significant favor in return. 

Your network will only be as responsive to you, as you have been in fulfilling its needs.

Why is “Success” magazine so successful? 

Is it because the articles are so skillfully written that readers feel compelled to read the magazine cover to cover? 

Is it because the insights are so insightful that no reader can resist the articles?

Is it because John C. Maxwell always seems to grace their pages with his deep insights into Leadership?

No.

It’s because everybody, no matter what their chosen field, or discipline, or career path, wants to “get better” and to “improve” their performance and their happiness in their chosen field.  People are searching every day for that bit of wisdom that will give them a clue about their own lives and their own happiness.

And you as a reader of this blog are no exception. 

It’s why you have accessed this website.  If you are a seasoned project manager, an aspiring young project manager, or a practitioner from another discipline or field, the idea that something “learned” may contribute to your achievement and happiness is important. 

And “project lessons learned” is even more important because everyone takes on “projects” large and small, formal and informal, approved and unapproved, budgeted and unbudgeted, every single day.

I have been studying and writing about project lessons learned for a number of years.  I helped a major Fortune 500 company develop a robust project lessons learned process and framework for their PMO organization.  I have contributed to several podcasts on the subject that have been well received by the project community.

Dan Pink’s work on “drive” is also very relevant here.  In studying groups that are engaged in highly complex work with significant intellectual content, he has found that three major motivators are at work:

1.  Autonomy:  This is the need for self-direction, the need to determine what and when a person will pursue in order to reach his own goals and objectives.

2.  Mastery:  People want to master their chosen “discipline” or field.  In the case of project managers, mastery means project managers want to pursue project lessons learned as the culmination of a successful project, as the pinnacle of sharing experiences and insights with the project community.

3.  Purpose:  People engaged in highly complex and intellectual work seek a higher purpose than just the profit motive for their efforts.  They want to know that the larger community of which they are a part will benefit from their efforts.  In the case of project lessons learned, they want to know that the project community will benefit long-term from the capture, documentation, and sharing of lessons learned.

Early in 2011, I predicted that we would see more Program Management Offices (PMOs) focusing on Project Lessons Learned as a primary rather than a secondary focus (as has been the case in the recent past). 

My interactions with many PMOs have revealed that this prediction is becoming true–more organizations are seeking to close-out projects in a more formal, systematic, and documented manner.  Project Lessons Learned is an excellent framework to follow when closing-out projects.  

There is no doubt that those organizations who successfully “convert” Project Lessons Learned into process improvements will gain a competitive advantage.

I just got back from working with the Construction Division of the Panama Canal Authority.  They hired me to train them on a Framework for developing Project Lessons Learned.  I facilitated two, three-day Project Lessons Learned courses. 

The Construction Division Management was fully supportive of introducing a Framework that would add to the “capabilities” of its staff to identify and document Project Lessons Learned.  They were committed to creating a continuous improvement project management environment that would close-out projects and contracts with an “actionable” Framework.

This Project Lessons Learned Framework will help the Construction Division successfully complete the major projects that make up the Panama Canal Expansion Program.

Their commitment was indicative of what I am finding as I talk to more and more PMO groups.   They all want to “get better” at closing out projects and contracts in a manner which creates “actionable” results within a continuous process improvement context.

If you are interested in making that next step toward full commitment to capture, document, and share Project Lessons Learned with a simple but effective Framework that focuses on Risk Management and continuous process improvement, please contact me to schedule a similar course for your organization.

You will be glad that you followed through–as a Benchmark group within the wider context of your organization, you can set the example for others to follow.

I have always thought that summer was a time for “renewal.”

After all, isn’t that why there was no school in the summer, and why your parents sent you to those summer camp “enrichment” programs?  It was so you could relax and enjoy some subjects and activities that you were not exposed to during the remainder of the year.  And as you got older, perhaps you had a chance to attend a special summer program in a college or university setting, where other students like yourself could engage in debates and cultural activities that were “enriching.”

At some point in your life, you may have noticed that there was a transition away from those “renewal” activities that were planned by others, to renewal activities that you planned by yourself.  Maybe you didn’t notice this transition since you were caught up in the fast pace of growing up, but, as John C. Maxwell has said, “man has choices and the choices a man makes in turn make him.”

So–Summer is a time for renewal.  It’s up to you to grasp those opportunities for renewal wherever they might be in your life.

And, if you are part of a larger project community, or a member of a Program Management Office (PMO), it might be time for you to seek out some activities to renew your PMO as well.

What better time than the summer to pursue such renewal?

Give this some thought.  How can I as a project or PMO practitioner provide some renewal activities for my PMO?

Show some leadership and initiative to make this renewal something that lasts year-round in your PMO.

For example, look at some liason opportunities with a local PMI Chapter, or some special training that could be brought on-site to enrich your colleagues in the Best Practices of a PMO.

Renewal is up to you.  No one will plan for it any longer.  Summer is a great time to pursue it.  Get started today.

As project managers and PMO practitioners, we continually strive to improve our performance by reflecting on those areas where we excel, and critically reviewing areas where we could create more desirable outcomes when faced with similar circumstances.  

“Dilemmas” are one area of conflict where we can all improve our performance. 

Dilemmas arise from internal or external conflicts between goals, values, perspectives, and points of view.  In this post, let’s examine some elements of the conflicts that give rise to dilemmas for project managers.  As you will see, dilemmas provide learning and growth opportunities for project managers to review and choose a course of action.  John C. Maxwell, who is known as a present day guru of leadership, has often been quoted as saying that “leaders have choices and when they make those choices, the choices in turn make them.”  As leaders, project managers are often faced with those same choices in the form of dilemmas.

Here is a story from my life that may provide a helpful illustration of a dilemma:

During the summer between my freshman and sophomore years in high school, I collected insects.  Not because I had a great interest in insects, but because several rising juniors had informed me that the sophomore biology courses required a leaf collection one term, and an insect collection the next term.  Those students who were unlucky enough to get the insect collection assignment in the winter months often could not find good specimens of the most common insects in our geographical area.  Hence, in order to get good marks in the course, we needed to start a collection as soon as possible so that we could be assured of getting a good representative cross-section of insect types.

I rigged up an insect net by bending a wire coat hanger for a frame and using an old sheer curtain my mother had discarded from a window treatment.  The mesh was sheer enough not to let out any insects but transparent enough that you could clearly see your catch.  So, armed with my handy insect manual and my rigged net, I was the “scourge” of the neighborhood and nearby streams and ponds looking for specimens. 

I was lucky that my family took a driving vacation trip from our home in North Carolina to Florida’s Gulf coast during that summer because I was able to find several varieties of Gulf Fritillary butterflies that were native only to that area.  I thought that would give me a decided advantage with the judges of the insect collections.  Several people had also informed me that bright lights would attract insects during the evening hours, and under a lighted sign I was lucky to snare a rhinoceros beetle on that trip. 

When I returned home, I made the trek early each morning to an all night laundromat about a mile from my home to see what moths and other nocturnal insects might be left over from the night before.  Most of these treks yielded very little except for an occasional small moth like a sphinx moth, which has a bright colored pattern on its wings.  Then, one morning as I walked up to a large screen at one end of the laundromat where the exhaust fans seemed to roar on incessantly.  I stopped in my tracks when I saw something at the corner of the screen which was both large and very colorful.  I had never seen anything like it, and I had poured through that insect manual dreaming of catching something exotic which would really “wow” the judges.

It was a greenish-blue color with a wingspan that must have been at least four inches from side to side, and it had curved tails on its wings which extended back from the body and were symmetrical about the centerline of its body.  It must have been six inches long from top to bottom.  What was it?  So, I pulled out my handy-dandy insect manual and I started to leaf through the pages.  It only took me three or four minutes to realize that I was looking squarely at a “Luna Moth.”

Now, if you have ever seen a Luna Moth, you will know that its beauty and sheer size are the most distinct characteristics.  Why do they call it a Luna Moth?   Naturally, because it is out when the moon is out!

A million thoughts ran through my head.  I did not have much time to think about the consequences of my find.  Any time now the sun would be high enough that the Luna Moth would loosen its grip on the screen and be gone. My first reaction was that this was going to be the greatest insect specimen that the school had ever seen, and I was thrilled to think that I would be applauded as the student who uncovered the specimen. 

But, then a second thought ran through my mind.  What right did I have to capture this beautiful creature and inject it with alcohol to preserve it for my collection?

I had to hurry and decide.  On the one side my mind argued that since I had devoted so much time and effort to this project, I needed to achieve the best possible outcome and to share it with everyone.  On the opposite side, my mind argued that my collection with its smaller moths, butterflies, beetles, dragonflies would do just fine without it. 

Looking back on that moment today, I really did not have the option to take a picture.  Digital cameras didn’t exist.  Back then, pictures were taken when there was a deliberate need to take pictures, and disposable cameras were not available in every drug store.  Spur of the moment yielded no camera readily available for a picture.  The only camera I could hope to put my hands on was a clunky camera my family used on vacation and it was in our house a mile or so away.  So technology was clearly a variable that I was not fully aware of at the time.

I faced a dilemma.  My decision was to capture this insect for my collection.  The Luna Moth was clearly an example of an insect in the insect manual and qualified as a specimen acceptable to the teacher in satisfaction of this assignment. To this day, however, I often rationalize my decision to capture this Luna Moth because I had no idea if the biology teacher would even have accepted a “picture” in place of a real specimen.  From what I heard from those juniors, the assignment was to collect specimens—not take pictures of them.

We are faced with dilemmas in our work and our personal lives every day.  How we resolve them is a very personal matter.  But we should all consider that everyone faces dilemmas, many of which are never revealed to anyone else.

Cordell Parvin, my good friend and colleague, provides training and coaching for lawyers.  When we discussed “dilemmas” one day, he said that, in the legal context, one dilemma he faced was “whether to take a client/case when I knew I would be paid a lot of money but I did not like what the client was trying to accomplish.  Another dilemma is when I have had a client who only wanted a lawyer who would agree with him.  I call it a ‘yes’ man.  In both instances, I resolved the dilemma by not taking the matter or client.  I know that lawyers are supposed to represent clients who are bad people or who have done bad things.  But, for me I could not totally separate my feelings from our concept that even the worst of us is entitled to a lawyer.”

Project managers are no exception—you have probably faced dilemmas on several occasions. 

Have you ever stopped to think about the crucial decision elements and the choices that help you resolve dilemmas?  Consider the following dilemmas which project managers may face:

Scenario One:  An SAP project manager is planning his budget for the next SAP project.  He knows that other SAP projects have typically overrun their budgets because of the need for additional resources and project work in the “data conversion” phase.  He also knows that the PMO is controlling budgets closely for upcoming projects so he is reluctant to include a full amount for any data conversion resources which may cause the budget to seem inflated versus previous SAP budgets.  How is his planning for the project affected by these different perspectives?

Scenario Two:  A project manager who is in charge of a design team to provide a major component for a larger assembly has identified a risk in the use of the component, namely, at lower temperatures than the assembly has been subjected to thus far, and which are not normally encountered by the assembly in its usage pattern, the component may lose its elasticity and become more rigid, thus potentially compromising the performance of the assembly.  He knows that the next proposed application for this assembly will likely be in that lower temperature range.  He has alerted the Design Manager, but the Design Manager refuses to inform the contractor of the potential flaw.  His rationale is that every assembly to that point in time has performed flawlessly and there is no need to think that the major contractor would desire a redesign if the risk of a failure were very low.  He asks the project manager to confirm his analysis regarding the identified risk.  Does the project manager confirm that low risk or continue to raise a red flag about a potential failure?

When facing project dilemmas such as the above sample scenarios, what are some key conflict and decision elements which project managers should consider? 

1.  Timing

In the case of the Luna Moth, since I had a limited time in which I could capture the moth, “timing” was of the essence in forcing a resolution to the dilemma.

2.  Goal or Outcome

Often, conflicting goals are an issue.  There may be, for example, conflicts between personal goals and organizational goals, between the goals of two individuals, and between internal personal goals and externally defined peer group goals.  The experience of the individual project manager frames the project manager’s determination as to what are possible choices.  For example, in the case of the Luna Moth, having only the input from former students, I believed that the only way to fulfill the assignment was to actually collect (rather than photograph) the insects. 

3.  Perspective or Frame

We have often stated in this blog that people act in accordance with the truth as they perceive it to be.  Right versus wrong is often based on the truth that an individual defines for himself in the world.  Choices are then defined by those “truths.”

4.  Technology

In the case of the Luna Moth story, did I really at that time believe there was a technology choice to be made between taking a picture and harvesting the specimen?  Or, did I inject that into my story I told myself many years later as I recalled the incident based on my years of experience in facing other dilemmas and choices that had a variety of technologies available for deployment?

5.  Interpretation of the Facts

Two individuals experiencing the same scenario may view the events and actions of the participants in entirely different ways based on their experiences, value systems, and what they consider the “truth.” 

6.  Reality or Wishful Thinking

When reflecting on past events or experiences, we often inject our own stories into the scenarios because we are continually telling ourselves stories based on our observations, biases, values, and what we each consider reality.

Dilemmas provide us with a playground for testing our viewpoints versus others’ viewpoints. 

Roger Martin, Dean of The Rotman School of Management at The University of Toronto, has written a great deal on the topic of “Integrative Thinking.”  Integrative Thinking is a framework for evaluating conflict in scenarios.  I encourage project managers, when faced with new dilemmas, to look upon them as opportunities to grow and develop their own “integrative thinking” framework.  Think of some dilemmas you have faced in projects and share your experiences with others who have faced similar dilemmas.  You will be surprised by how many different viewpoints and interpretations will surface when you discuss your past dilemmas with others.

As I have alluded to before, John C. Maxwell has outlined the impact that “choices” make on leadership development.  The choices that project managers make in the course of their projects, in turn, make them.  Choices like responsibility, accountability, integrity, compassion, and values-based decision making can impact not only other project managers and PMO practitioners around them, but also other individuals in the organization, the organization itself, and those with whom the organization interacts.

Thank you for your attention.

I have noticed recently, in the Discussion sections of  LinkedIn’s Project Managers, PMO, and PMO Bloggers Groups, that aspiring young project managers have been requesting advice from more experienced project managers and PMO leaders as to what steps they can take to enhance their ability to move forward in the “project community” and to advance their project management skills. 

From my point of view, having worked in several PMOs and IT Project Offices, as well as having assisted in the setup of several PMOs, I would like to offer the following advice, which follows from something I read by Jillian Michaels, the very successful coach of the hit TV show “The Biggest Loser“.

Jillian once said that individuals and organizations can accomplish anything they want to accomplish as long as they are sufficiently motivated and have the “capability” to succeed. 

My advice is focused on the aspect of “capability” because there is much that aspiring project managers can do to enhance their “capability.”  Capability means educating oneself and understanding the business context within which they are operating.

By aspiring young project managers, I actually mean project team members who are qualified to move up to managing projects but who haven’t found that right project to manage yet OR project managers who have just assumed a new project management assignment for which they must prepare themselves to fully succeed.

Here are five areas in which aspiring young project managers can enhance their “capabilities.”  These five areas will leverage your understanding of the project process, as well as increase your stature among other project managers in the “project community.”

First, volunteer to record the minutes at an important project status meeting.  Be sure to find or create a template that captures the participants, the date and time of the meeting, the agenda, the actions agreed to, the assignments for each participant as well as any completion dates, any issues that were not resolved, and the date and time of the next meeting.  Too many project teams lapse into keeping very poor documentation of their meetings and therefore, accountability for completing assignments is lost.  By volunteering for this assignment, you will provide a key document to the project team from which they can build on throughout the project.

Second, at the conclusion and documentation of the project requirements, survey the sponsor and the stakeholders to understand that they really know what requirements they have signed up for and the “commitment” that is required to carry out the project.  By doing so, you will have input into any “Scope Change” that may arise ahead of the actual requirements modification.  This will increase your understanding of the project process and your stature among other project managers.

Third, at the conclusion of the first major phase of the project, insist that the project team hold a “lessons learned” session.  They will thank you later even though you may have to drag them to the table kicking and screaming to participate in the first session.  So many things get uncovered when you “shine a little light on something” or “focus” on the actions and results at this point.  Famed UCLA basketball coach John Wooden once said “It is what you learn after you know it all that counts.”  This has terrific application in project lessons learned.

Fourth, find a key “issue” that seems to divide the project team members or the stakeholders and follow that issue by recording key actions and decisions made by the team and the stakeholders.  At an appropriate point in the project, when it appears that the project team or the stakeholders or both have reached an impasse or a stumbling point, pull out your summary of the actions and decisions and review it with the combined project group.  Some may not appreciate being confronted with the facts, others may disagree with your “facts” or your interpretation–but no one can disagree with the harmony that will result down the road when they begin to see each others different perspectives and viewpoints, and the fact that a “rational, realistic” observer brought these viewpoints to their attention.  You may have won yourself a job!!!!

Your facilitation of a bumpy issue by offering extraordinary insight and “analysis” is the key.  “Analysis is the essence.”

Fifth, practice the four communications mechanisms that I discussed in one of my previous blogs:

1.  Situational

2.  Metaphorical

3.  Empathic

4.  Resonance

I use the word “practice” here because it will take the aspiring new project manager some time to understand the situations in which these four communications mechanisms will be most effective.  But they all have a place at some point in a project.  By using these communication tools, your “effectiveness” as a project communicator will be enhanced many fold.

By the way, you won’t find this advice anywhere else–it is unique to taking a “holistic” view as to what a project is all about and to understanding how stakeholders impact projects. 

Good luck to you “aspiring project leaders.”  Yes, you are and will be leaders if you follow this advice.

The Best in all that you pursue…….

Pretend for a few minutes that you are the Vice President of Program Management for your company, and that you are taking some time to “reflect” on where your PMO has been, and where you think it is going.  It hasn’t always been an easy road getting to this point. 

There were times when you thought “project management” might even be a dirty phrase, because the promise just didn’t appear to be there. 

And there was that investment in Training and Development that you authorized that really hit the budget hard when everyone else was cutting back. 

And there have been times when expectations for your PMO have fallen a little short.   But, of course, being the dynamic, forward-thinking manager that you are, you recognized that it just took a little “systemic thinking” to uncover the reasons why the group was being held back.  And once again, after that intervention, the flow returned to the group.

Now it seems that, with the challenges coming from left and right, and organizational change always in the wind, you are questioning what you can do to “motivate” this group further so that it can make that next step change.  You have authorized all the bonus and salary increases that you could, but with the recession really lingering on in your industry, you are concerned that some of those increases might be negated at the corporate level.

A friend suggested to you the other day that you might take a look at the You Tube video by Daniel Pink based on his book Drive:  The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.  You have been putting that off but maybe it’s time to take a look.  Can’t hurt.

You sit back and watch the video…..twenty minutes away from the phone and the other interruptions won’t hurt anything. 

As Daniel Pink begins to unravel his thesis using a white board and marker, the conclusion hits home rather pointedly.  When individuals who are provided greater monetary incentives to do rudimentary tasks, the old motivation theory seems to bear out; i.e., the more incentive offered, the more the person accomplished of the rudimentary task. 

But now, in Drive, Daniel Pink is making a new argument.  Better pay attention here.  When the task requires some cognitive activity and the processing of higher-level complex concepts, the old motivator doesn’t hold true.  Those who are paid more to accomplish complex tasks actually accomplish less?!!  What is going on here?  That can’ t be.  You sit up and take more notice now.

Daniel Pink continues.  He goes on to say that when people are given more freedom and autonomy to determine which projects they would work on, and when they are allowed to be self-directed in their execution of those projects, they seem to accomplish significant feats.  And then he starts to explain that people who are motivated to master a specific skill (such as a musical instrument) actually go out of their way to achieve this “Mastery”–even if it means making time in their busy lives to accomplish that mastery.

Then he goes on to say that when highly skilled people are questioned about what really motivates them to accomplish something, invariably they say that they feel that their accomplishment gives them a “Purpose” and that they want to “Contribute” to something larger than themselves.

Many of these people are considered the most competent in their field. 

Some of these people happen to be “Project Managers.”  

Daniel Pink summarized by stating that motivation can be thought of as consisting of three “buckets”:

1.  Autonomy and Challenge–”the desire to be self directed”

2.  Mastery–”the urge to get better at stuff”

3.  Purpose–”the desire to make a Contribution”

In the video, Daniel Pink cites several examples of companies and organizations which have allowed their employees to take one day a week or month in which they work on anything they desire to work on with whomever they desire to work, as long as they share it with the others in the group.  His research has shown that this has resulted in those organizations showing dramatic improvements in their processes, systems, and other value-adding components (which, to that point, have yielded mediocre results).

Suddenly, it hits you–this video isn’t just an explanation of some interesting research–it presents some very startling, actionable results.  Some very tangible steps that any organization could take.  SOME STEPS THAT EVEN YOU COULD AUTHORIZE, MR. BUSINESSMAN.

What if?  Your Project and Program Managers are some of most skilled practitioners in project methodology, and scheduling, and team building, and project lessons learned that you have ever seen!  Could they actually improve their own performance and raise the level of performance of the entire PMO and the company with something so simple as this?   Autonomy…..Mastery….Purpose.

You ponder it for a minute and then you turn and pick up the phone.

“George, would you assemble all the Managers in the Conference Room as soon as you can arrange it.”

“What’s the topic?  Motivation and our Program Management Office.  We are going to unleash the power of our most skilled Project and Program Managers and take this organization to the next level of Program Management.”

Are you ready to take the next step?

There seems to be an abundance of recent research and published information on leadership in organizations these days.  Ironically, however, during the same time that the old method of listing and evaluating “attributes” of leadership has yielded to the critical examination of actual behavior in significant leadership scenarios, there have been fundamental breakdowns in basic leadership in some highly respected public and private organizations.  Much of the recent research and writing has focused on these breakdowns and their underlying causes.

Many of us have observed both good and bad leadership in evolving PMO settings and I am sure we have stopped to think “Now, what could have caused that particular outcome……especially when it seemed that everything was moving according to plan for that project or program?”  In order to avoid such breakdowns in your PMO, let’s consider which criterion contribute to the emergence of key leaders in the Program Management Office (PMO).  In particular, in this blog I want to address how, in the evolutionary stages of your PMO, you can identify the leaders who will ensure the success of the PMO at steady state. 

Now, please understand that achieving a ”steady state“, in the sense of systems and process, may be an ideal situation that each of us hopes to achieve for their PMO.  In actual fact, “change” will always be the norm and leaders will have to respond to “change” in innovative and insightful ways.

In my experience working in an IT Project Office, and in a PMO and helping develop several other PMOs from “grass roots,” I have had the opportunity to work with some remarkable Project Managers and PMO Infrastructure Managers at the inception stage, the developing stage, at partial maturity, and at full blown maturity.  As a result, I have had a chance to compare my observations with the emerging leadership literature.  Make no mistake….these observations are not intended to be exhaustive and complete.  But they should help us to develop a PMO Leadership Model which we can continue to build on as we collectively view more behaviors in PMO settings.

Here is a list of characteristics for emerging leaders in a PMO:

1.  Calculated Risk Taking Attitude:  In my experience working with PMOs, those project managers and project team members who displayed a risk-taking attitude in two key areas were most often the individuals who rose to leadership positions.  First, those project managers who volunteered for the high risk projects because of a “can do” attitude were often the emerging leaders.  Second, when I was directing the development of project lessons learned for a Breakfast Forum in which the project manager addressed the PMO project community about some key lessons from his or her project, those project managers who stepped forward and volunteered for the Breakfast Forums were most likely the ones to rise to leadership positions.  In fact, the first five project manager volunteers became leaders and formal group managers.  So, if you are a PMO developer, look for the “risk takers,” while recognizing that I am talking exclusively about calculated risk taking.

2.  “Commitment” vs. “Compliance” Perspective:  In every PMO, and especially in those that are in the start-up mode, there is a range of attitudes toward the mission, vision, and values of the PMO organization.  At one end of the spectrum is “compliance,” the condition in which a person complies with the processes, standards, and procedures of the PMO, but doesn’t really buy into the overall mission.  These individuals most often come from “operationally” oriented positions which relied on “making a daily list of things to do”.  They often developed a work plan for a certain period of time which was rather inflexible in its components.  On the opposite extreme of the spectrum is “commitment,” a condition in which a person is totally committed to the mission, vision, and values of the PMO even though he or she might not be the most competent project manager in the organization, and even if the direction of the PMO has not yet been established with much certainty.  In my experience working with an IT Project Office and several PMOs, those persons who were “committed” and who demonstrated that “commitment” were most often the individuals who rose to leadership positions.

3.  Effectiveness Through Dialogue and Influence:  In every organization–at all levels of the organization–there are individuals who distinguish themselves by being extremely effective at getting things done through Dialogue and Influence.  These are exactly the people who were the object of research by VitalSmarts (which resulted in such books as Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations and Influencer.)  They are the same people that William Bridges talked about in his book Job Shift who, when faced with rapid or unrelenting change in their organizations, developed the ability to successfully take on the roles requiring negotiations, brokering, translating, collaborating, facilitating, etc.

4.  Performance Focus:  In every organization, there are individuals at all levels whose attention to management of their own performance–and that of their teams–goes beyond what is required of their individual organization’s formal Performance Management Process.  These individuals typically set realistic goals and objectives and measure the outcomes at intervals, making course corrections where necessary based upon feedback and metrics.   These people are conspicuous and stick out in every organization.  They are “authentic” and “genuine” about their beliefs in performance management.  And they rise to leadership roles in a PMO setting.

5.  Formal vs. Informal:  We have all recognized for years that the most visible structures in organizations are those organization’s ”formal” structures.  Organizations are made up of organization charts, processes, standards, and procedures, as well as the underlying principles of efficiency, scalability, predictability, controlling influences; clear, disciplined, hierarchies; and rationality.  But some recent research by Jon Katzenbach and Zia Khan, entitled Leading Outside the Lines , has identified an “informal” character of organizations that may be just as powerful at influencing organizational performance as the “formal” aspects.   The ”informal” consists of loosely defined networks, communities of individuals with like interests.  These communication and information flow mechanisms are far from formal; rather, they are adaptable, local, innovative, ambiguous, spontaneous, collaborative, and emotional.  Individuals who know how to tap into the “informal” structures in the organizations can be leaders too.  In another blog post, I mentioned a very successful project manager of a very large SAP project who recognized that his project was “integrated” tightly with two or three other projects which were scheduled to complete just before his project.  He spent a considerable amount of time ensuring that those other projects had the resources and guidance necessary for their completion because he recognized the invaluable nature of their input and information  flow to his own project.  Now, he could have relied on formal Project Review Meetings to stress to all concerned the importance of their delivery, but he instead he focused on the “informal networks” of cooperation and collaboration to gain “commitment” from everyone that all projects would be successfully delivered.   That effort showed true leadership skills.

You will immediately notice that some of these characteristics pertain to project competency, and some pertain to business and personal competencies.  This is consistent with those Project Management Competency models such as the Boston University PM Competency Model, which stresses not only PMBOK competencies but also Personal and Business leadership attributes.

As you look around your PMO, notice the behaviors of project managers and team members who are  “authentic” and “genuine” and who live the values of the PMO every day.  Through good project experiences and difficult project experiences, there will be many who stand out in the crowd and become the ongoing leaders of the PMO. 

Your comments to this post are welcome.