A Solid Launch Consulting

A Human-Centered Approach to Leadership & Team Development

Effective Leadership

What Sets Your Virtual Meetings Apart?

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My PM mentoring program ran a virtual panel discussion recently. The topic was Lessons Learned…or Retrospectives, if you’re Agile-minded.

9 a.m. on a Saturday morning and 16 people took time out of their short weekend to hop on a call and talk project management!

You’d think the conversation would be, well, sleepy, at least. But it was an amazingly quick hour and we could have easily talked for another.

I was reflecting on what made it such a great meeting.

Yes, the panelists were knowledgeable and gave us practical advice. And yes, there was a feeling of camaraderie amongst the attendees. And, certainly, there was A LOT to talk about!

At the end of the meeting, one of the participants made a special mention of how great our Moderator, Helen, was.

This called to mind a conversation I had a few days ago with my father. He has been on a ton of Zoom calls lately. Like all of us, he’s getting a little “Zoomed out”. 

He told me in many of his meetings it’s hard to follow the flow of conversation or to know when to jump in with a comment or question. It takes extra effort to be focused and active in the discussion.

I asked him why.

He said that when you’re in person, you pick up on cues from other people’s body language. 

If you need to be heard, you can let the manager know with a simple action like raising you hand or catching their eye. And it’s easier for them to control the flow of conversation, too.

But when everyone’s virtual, it’s tougher to pick up on those cues. You need to rely more on the facilitator to guide the discussion. You can’t use eye contact to capture the manager’s attention well. And there’s no guarantee they’ll see a hand being raised on screen.

I get it!

If you don’t have someone skilled leading the meeting, it makes for a long hour.

What set apart the Lessons Learned discussion was the pacing and flow. Helen gave enough time for each panelist to answer a question and then moved people along, noting who hadn’t had a chance to participate and including them in the discussion.

She set the tempo and everyone followed. This allowed our panelists to share their advice and insight – and for all of us to take it in before we moved onto the next topic.

Whether it’s a Lessons Learned, a Team Meeting, Kick-Off Call, or any other interaction, the person in charge needs to, well, take charge. To lead.

The goal of a meeting is to make sure the objectives are met.  (Why else would you be holding the meeting, anyway?) Our role as Project Manager is to help the team achieve them.

At our best, we shift the spotlight away from us and concentrate on the needs of our team. Are they actively involved, focused, and moving together towards the goal?

We moderate. We facilitate.

We work hard to make it look easy.

Why is that important? 

Because we want the team to concentrate on reaching the objective, not worrying about how they’re going to make their point, or trying to follow everyone’s frantic grab for airtime.

The next time you’re a participant in a virtual meeting, observe how it’s facilitated. Is everyone sharing? How is the pacing? Is anyone allowed to drone on? Does it all feel rushed – or slow?

Then, during your own meeting, pay close attention to the cues your team is sending. Make adjustments if you need to. 

Remember that you have a big part in the success of the meeting, just by setting the pace and flow.

Clocks, Pie, and People

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First things first:  

Did you remember to turn your clocks forward?

For those of us who live in an area that still follows Daylight Savings, we shifted our clocks ahead one hour last night.

This elicits a groan from most people, and I honestly don’t know a single person who enjoys this semi-annual “mess up your internal clock” ritual.

And I have not heard a good argument for keeping it, now that we have harnessed the power of electricity (fun fact: Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb in 1879).

Next:

Happy Pi Day!

I love Pi Day – it’s a great excuse to indulge in my all-time favorite pie…apple! 

My dad always loved chocolate cream pie…just checked, and it’s still his favorite. My husband enjoys apple – though pumpkin comes a close second.

None of us like pecan.

So you might be wondering, what does this have to do with Leadership?

Not everyone is going to like the same things. On your project, there will be some people with whom you just don’t connect.

Like turning our clocks ahead, maybe there is an executive who insists on 8 a.m. meetings (or 6 p.m.) or wants a detailed report of what every team member worked on for the past month, down to the half hour.

Or enjoying a slice of pie after a nice meal, sometimes you are served you own personal version of pecan. It could be a team member who knows what they’re doing, but you just don’t feel that connection. It’s tough to communicate with them. Or you find yourself on edge around them.

The reality is, to do our job and complete the project, we need to deal with these folks.

How do we handle working with them without frustration, resentment, or stress?

We can’t suddenly stop working with these stakeholders, just like we can’t suddenly love pecan pie. But we can get used to working with them and to make the best of the situation.

Here are some techniques:

  • Learn their motivation. Observation is your friend. Why does that one executive need detailed reports? Pay attention to what they focus on in the report itself. They could be wrestling with a particular resource issue and really need the data. Or they’ve been burned on a past project and now they’re overly cautious. Once you understand their motivation, there may be more efficient ways to help them achieve their goals or reduce their stress…and achieve the same for you!
  • Stick to business. Bottom line here is that we’re not on the project to make friends. Yes, we will be closer to some team members, but at the base of it all is the work to complete the project. When there is a stakeholder I don’t quite connect with, it’s much easier to focus on having a pleasant interaction that only involves the task at hand.
  • Pay attention to how others react to them. Your responsibility is not only to get the project completed, but to help everyone achieve their best work. Are other team members avoiding your outlier? I take a look around the room and in the mirror: if a resource hits me wrong, it may only be me. As a consultant, I’m always heading into a new team. There are times when I’m put off by a team member’s actions or reactions, but learn “that’s just the way they are” and everyone else has figured out how to work well with them. Taking my cue from others helps me quickly adapt.
  • Put it in perspective. Is this resource critical to the project or an extended team member? Do you need daily interaction or just a periodic check-in? Is meeting at 8 a.m. once each month really that big a burden? Take a step back – is the issue really as big as it feels?
  • What’s the real impact? If your team member doesn’t communicate, are they avoiding responsibility? Or do they always tell you when something’s complete but aren’t inclined to check in just to…check in. The opposite could be true, as well: a team member demands too much communication and that doesn’t hit you right. Consider whether the extra communication is providing an ROI – spending the extra 15 minutes each week may help close some items faster, with fewer issues.

At the end of the day, each stakeholder on your project is uniquely human. You will get a blend of personalities, back stories, and preferences. Sometimes you get apple, but every once in a while you’re served pecan.

At the heart of leadership is seeing your team’s strengths and traits and knowing how to combine them to achieve the best project outcomes.

How Do You Retain Critical Resources?

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I was reflecting on a recent project and the struggles we had with resources. As a lean company, there weren’t too many options when someone was out for some reason. It was a big impact on our schedule and caused more than a few “creative moves” to keep the project on target.

Part of the issue stems from this simple fact: Project Managers rarely own their resources. Many projects span departments and have a blend of employees and contractors. And businesses are constantly over-allocating! Even the best Project Managers fail without enough resources.

So how do you obtain – and retain – these critical people?

Resource allocation is one of the trickiest facets of project management. The resources named in the Charter aren’t usually the ones you Launch with. The more you understand your company’s culture, it’s priorities and projects, and the way it handles resource shortages and fire drills, the better equipped you’ll handle the next resource complication.

One of the most effective ways to get the inside scoop is to meet with the direct managers of your resources. These folks aren’t always part of your management team, so you may need to seek them out. Get to know them, their priorities, and how they run their departments. Learn what’s going on in their world and you’ll have the knowledge – and relationship – to mitigate risks to your project team.

3 Key Questions to Ask Resource Owners:

  • How is their department structured? If everyone is cross-trained, the hit from your project is minimized. But if there’s “1 key guy” who knows some legacy system and he’s on your team, you can bet he’ll be pulled for emergencies! This will drive your allocation plan.
  • Have there been any big hits lately? Life happens: people move, have babies, take vacation. Business also happens: restructuring, product launches, audits. Even if your resources aren’t directly involved, they may be affected: Joe covers for someone who leaves; Suba is assigned to a task force. If you’re aware, you won’t wonder why Joe’s work is falling behind or why Suba isn’t answering her emails…knowing is the first step in resolving issues.
  • What other projects are on-deck? A big project may compete with yours or put a strain on the whole department’s resources. Knowledge gives you options. If the projects are running in parallel, you can work with the resource manager and the other project’s PM to align your schedules or find alternative resources.

If resources are your biggest project risk, call it out early and often. If you see a spike in resource needs coming up, put it on the Risk Register so the Sponsor and Steering Committee know. Talk with your team about it; show them the plan and work on mitigating it. They may think of solutions you wouldn’t have considered. You do not need to come up with the solution by yourself.

And remember, no team member wants to disappoint their manager – including their Project Manager! If you know about your team’s schedule and help them balance their work, your resources will be more inclined to tell you when they’re having other conflicts. The trust relationship will grow, leading to an increase in participation and output.

9 Tips: How To Be A Successful Project Management Consultant

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I was participating in a Facebook Group today about project management. Someone responded to a comment I had made about being a consultant. She asked me, “I’m currently working full-time as a PM and thinking about going back into consulting bc the pay is much better. But there are pros and cons, especially w benefits and job assignments ending. Can you give me tips on how you’ve managed successfully over the years?”

Here was my reply:

There are definitely pros & cons! But…for tips on how to remain successful, here goes:

  1. Financially, plan on ~40 weeks employment per year. Everything else is awesome. Save it for a rainy day or use it intentionally – it can be the difference between your current salary and where you want to be!
  2. Financially, remember that insurance is part of your monthly expenses (mainly medical) if your partner doesn’t carry it.
  3. Plan vacation weeks…and take them! It’s more difficult to take vacation as a consultant because if you’re ending 1 project you want the next to start asap! So plan your time off and schedule it during an engagement (non-milestone time, of course)
  4. Maintain a relationship with your recruiters. They may not have something for you now, but if you find a good one, keeping in touch can pay off
  5. Get good at ramping up quickly. As a consultant, you’re always “the new guy”. Use it to your advantage by asking a lot of questions – about the company, stakeholders, expectations, to get to know your team…the new person is forgiven for asking questions
  6. Track your hours! One of the reasons for jumping to consulting is to be paid “more per hour” than an FTE. If you give your clients extra time each day/week, your hourly rate essentially goes down. So be careful. After 1 or 2 contracts you’ll have a better sense of how many hours something will take and you’ll be able to estimate your contract with more accuracy.
  7. Truly enjoy moving around. I wouldn’t go back to being an employee if you doubled my salary. I love going from company to company, learning about different products and getting to know new teams. And when I’ve done what I set out to do? I get to move on to the next adventure!
  8. Believe you can help – that’s why they’re hiring you! I can’t overstate this one. We all feel more comfortable working with people who have a “can do” attitude. But as a consultant, it’s doubly important. We have a resume of past clients, but each new company requires we prove ourselves to a new group of stakeholders.
  9. Put your client first. This final tip may seem obvious and something any good employee would do. Along with believing you can help your client, your focus on their needs increases their trust in you. This begins a virtuous cycle of trust -> responsiveness -> success. Putting my clients first has led to follow-on projects (and job offers) after all of my contracts.

If you’re a consultant, or are thinking of joining our ranks, let me know which of these nine tips impacted you the most. What’s your biggest takeaway?

Is It Sabotage?

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I was talking with a friend the other day. He is working on a renovation project. The team gathered requirements, reviewed options, had a lively discussion (or three), made decisions and then sent the final plans to the architect.

If you’re a PM you know what’s coming…

Yup, 2 days later, one of the team members sent an email to everyone: “I don’t think this is going to work. Here’s what we should do instead…”

UGH!

I felt so bad for my friend. And I could complete empathize!

It happens all the time on a project, unfortunately.

But why do certain people always seem to sabotage a project? And what can we do to prevent it?

The “why” is pretty easy: we’re human. And being human means we’re subject to frailty and influence…and we don’t always do what we should, even if we know better.

Here are some common reasons for the late entries:

  • Shyness. Some people don’t like to speak up. They work up the courage to speak but it’s well after the deadline
  • Introversion. As opposed to shyness, these folks may not speak up in a meeting, but need some time to reflect. And they may feel more comfortable writing or meeting 1:1 to discuss
  • Power. Let’s face it. Some people – consciously or unconsciously – feel the need to step in and take over. They may believe they have the better answers and it’s “my way or the highway”
  • Temperament. This one feels like Power, but it’s more about how they communicate. I know plenty of folks who honestly don’t realize they’re disrupting the very thing they’re trying to accomplish – they think they’re helping by bringing up additional suggestions or solutions, regardless of who they’re stepping on or how much re-work they’re causing

Having these late additions go unchecked can disrupt the project and the good will of the rest of the team. People may even leave the team completely – they refuse to work with the “disrupter”.

And as the Project Manager, if you don’t rein in the late entries your reputation takes a hit, too.

Each case is unique, but given the four common reasons above, there are a few pretty simple ways to minimize the occurrence, or at least the disruption:

  • Set up a short meeting with the known disruptor pre-decision meeting. Ask their thoughts and if there are any risks they see. Make sure to bring up these risks during the meeting so they’re addressed
  • Set up a meeting with the disruptor post-decision meeting. Ask for feedback again – you can play on the “did we cover it all” angle
  • Hedge your bets by giving the decision a “draft”. Give the final decision a buffer period for “new information”. I use this one with requirements. Sometimes we’ll schedule a “soft freeze”, knowing things will come up right after we freeze the requirements – even without a “saboteur” on the team!
  • Simply don’t allow it. Politely but firmly tell them it can’t be changed without \approval from the executive team. This one is tough to do unless you’ve planned for it. I always set up a change control process early in the project: process, documentation, decision-making. And make sure everyone is aware of this process throughout the project

Identifying project risks is important, no matter when they are raised. Our goal is always to bring the project forward, with everyone on board. Seeking to understand why a team member gives you a late entry helps lead you to the most appropriate response.

Are You The Hub? Or Just A Spoke?

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I usually lead software implementation projects. They have the classic waterfall stages (Initiate, Plan, Execute, Close) with gate decisions that close one stage and open the next.

This morning I was thinking about a recent project. I was hired to help two teams come together to complete a series of milestones.

While it’s definitely a project, and I can “see” the stages, there is no need for rigid gating. Classic project management is not necessary and if I was strict about it, the project would probably fail.

What is completely essential, however, is the leadership component.

All teams need that person who sits at the center of the project and coordinates, communicates, raises risks, and links people to solve problems. That go-to person who understands the elements and how they fit together…the one who keeps everyone moving forward to achieve the goal.

Here’s an analogy: if the project is a wheel, the Project Manager is the hub and the team members are the spokes.

Each spoke has a particular function, a singular touchpoint to the wheel – the project itself. But the hub touches all the spokes and connects the spokes to each other. The PM is the hub that keeps everything working together, and this function is what allows the wheel to turn.

Our goal is to bring the team successfully from point A to point B. Whether we are in a project that uses Waterfall, Scrum, Lean, Hybrid, or none of the above – it’s our commitment to keeping the wheel spinning that powers its success.

If you’re in a situation that doesn’t fit “classic” project management, know that it’s okay. Keep your focus on providing that connection for the team. Add the elements that help reach milestones. Be strict or set aside formality when it makes sense.

If you do that, your project will run more smoothly. Your leadership allows the team to focus on their own roles – they can get the actual work done on the project, knowing you’re keeping that wheel turning.