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Successful Leadership Comes From Leaning Into Your Own Style

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Does it Matter if you Hit your Launch Date?

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Projects don’t always make their scheduled Launch date. More important than the date is how you approach the risk and your partnership with your sponsors.

Project management would be so easy if we could create a plan and simply follow it. Dates would be hit because we’d considered every risk, we had the correct number and type of resources, and the budget was unlimited.

Ever had a project like this? Me, neither. They’re as rare as a neon Pegasus.

Those of you new to project management may be looking at your more senior colleagues and wondering when you’ll be able to glide through a project like they do.

But the reality is, projects never get easier. With experience simply comes the ability to handle them with more grace (hopefully).

One of the toughest parts of project management is selecting a Go Live date and sticking to it.

When we start a project, the first thing management wants to know is “When will you be done?” Unless you really luck out with your execs, you’ll be required to throw out an estimated Launch date…which tends to stick in everyone’s mind, even though you made it before the basics are known—such as requirements and resources!

I get it, some projects have a date that can’t be missed for a very good reason—a divestiture is final, a service contract is up, or a major advertising campaign is counting on it.

But many times, when you do go Live is…a bit arbitrary.

As you move through your project, you may find hitting your chosen Launch date is going to be a stretch. You need to determine whether to drive super hard to make the date or push it out.

It’s not an easy decision. It comes down to the impact on your people, company culture, finances, risk tolerance, and stakeholder patience.

When faced with this situation, I first take a look at what exactly is being launched. Does any part of it need to hit a particular date? If so, what would happen if we missed it? If a month delay is fine, but 2 months is bad, I take that into consideration.

What about my team? Are they already maxed out? Am I just pouring more water into an already overflowing bucket? How great is the client’s pain (end users, business sponsor, other stakeholders)? Can they hold on for a little while longer or would that be devastating?

If we push out the date now, what’s the likelihood we’ll need to push it out again? One time may be tolerated, but pushing it out over and over erodes trust in you, your team, the project, and whatever it is you’re rolling out.

I always make sure to consider a third option: phased roll-out. This works in many organizations. If it’s an option where you are, consider whether launching pieces of your project over time will work. As an example, what about launching during a slow period so you can handle the volume of calls if something goes wrong. Or go Live with the base process and then pull in the less frequently used pieces later. You could also opt to open up into different geographical regions at different times (vs. a “big bang” approach).

When determining whether a phased launch will work, think through any additional communication needs. You’ll need answers when someone isn’t part of the initial Launch, and additional support if only part of the process is Live. Do you have resource time allocated to this?

So now you’ve done the research and you have a good idea of the impact of each option: strive for the original date, push out the date, or switch to a phased roll-out. It’s time to ask:

Who is responsible for making this decision?

You can make your recommendations and help work through the pros & cons, but the decision is up to the Sponsors or your Executive Committee.

How do you help ensure they’re making the “right” decision? Nothing fancy, nothing magic, just good, old-fashioned communication.

  1. Keep your execs informed throughout the project. Remind them that the timeline is a draft until it’s finalized. This is a great place for a visual. You likely have an update slide of some sort. A bold “DRAFT” text box is simple but effective, as are non-specific date formats (i.e. “Feb” for a milestone).
  2. Be transparent about the risks. This doesn’t mean complain every time you meet. But management needs to—wants to—know the risks so they can help mitigate them. (And, of course, mitigating them helps you hit the date!)
  3. Present the options with all the pros and cons of each. Even if they’re obvious, include them. It’s much easier to discuss if it’s all visible. And what’s obvious to you may not be to them—it’s a matter of perspective.
  4. Always treat your executives as if they’re important and have valuable insight…because they do. No matter how “in control” of our project we are, our point of view is narrow and deep. Theirs may be shallow, but it’s broad! They understand what’s going on in other parts of the company. They’ve been in strategy meetings and talk with their peers.

I’ve found that this level of communication helps my sponsors feel like part of the solution, not just a gatekeeper. If they have a personal connection, they’ll do whatever they can to make the project successful, whether it’s pushing out the date, bringing in resources, cutting scope, staging the roll-out, etc.

We can’t always avoid pushing the date. But coming up with a solution together gives us the best chance of success.

And speaking of success, no matter what happens with the Launch date, if you’re working with your sponsors all the way through, your reputation can still grow. You won’t be remembered as “that PM whose project didn’t go Live on time.” You’ll be recommended as “the PM who is always on top of things, no matter how challenging the project gets.”

What does Archaeology have to do with Knowledge Transfer?

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Providing documentation is important. But what happens when you’re gone and no one can find it?

When you start a project, what’s one of the first things you do? Before creating a schedule, before planning out what needs to be done, you look for evidence of what happened in the past.

It’s like an archaeological dig.

What are they doing now, why, what happened to make it that way? If your client is in pain, how did it get this bad?

Once you have a few hints, you start to dig a little deeper. The greater your discovery, the more you treat your “find” with care, asking questions that might be sensitive. 

Sometimes you’ll hit the jackpot—that evidence that helps you understand the why and how.

Most of the time, unfortunately, you won’t find much of anything. A pottery shard letting you know something was done, but you don’t have enough evidence to piece it together.

You’re still in the dark, for the most part, trying to help solve the puzzle with most of the pieces missing. If only someone had left documentation behind. Trained the right Super Users and left a note about why the quirky process is the way it is!

I was talking with a new Project Manager at a client. Mike had a ton of experience and was hired to pick up where the old PM left off. I asked him how things were coming along and he expressed his frustration that there was no documentation—no requirements, no meeting notes, nothing! I was taken aback because I’d received some very nice templates from the former PM. We hunted around the system a bit and as it turns out, all the documentation was complete, but no one showed the new Project Manager where to find it. He was digging in the wrong place!

It’s a good thing Mike expressed his frustration to the right person. Pure coincidence that I knew where all the documentation existed. What a waste of effort if Mike had to start over from scratch, figuring out what decisions were made and asking endless questions about the current process. Not to mention the old PM’s extensive documentation would have gone to waste. (Hey, they do call it “artifacts” for a reason!)

When we close our project and roll off, not only is proper documentation important, but so is Knowledge Transfer. KT includes much more than training end users. Anyone who is impacted by the project can benefit from a proper hand-off.

Here are a few groups that benefit from a solid KT:

  • The Support Team. Most projects these days include some type of software. If a user has a question or problem, they’ll call the Help Desk or their favorite IT source. Make sure they are looped into what you’re doing, when you’re going Live, the type of system it is or may impact, and, if appropriate, give them a list of people they should inform if they get a call.
  • Super Users. Your Super Users require more than extra user training. These folks will collect comments, questions, and requests for changes to the process. The more you arm them with what, why and how, the more they can keep the “clean” process you’ve designed from getting messy and inefficient. Super Users stand between a well defined & documented process and the quicksand of “tribal knowledge.”
  • End User Managers. The end users will have the most to say about the new process. Talk with their managers about the new process and the impact to their team. Don’t leave them in the dark. No manager wants to hear their team’s role has shifted after the fact. And remember to loop them into the other groups receiving KT, especially the Support Team and Super Users.
  • The Process Owner / Sponsor. This person doesn’t need to know the nuts and bolts. They may never even use the process themselves. But they’re likely to own the budget for the area, and they need to understand the impact of the project on the end users and other processes. They may also be responsible for future enhancements, so show them where to find the original requirements and hand them a simple process for gathering future requests.
  • Owners of process on the front and back end of yours. Everything in business is interrelated. What happens before your process begins? (An order is placed? A call is made? Something is shipped?) What happens after? (A bill is paid? A shipment is made? Something is produced?) You likely talked with these process owners back when you were gathering requirements. Close the loop and let them know how it all turned out. Make sure they understand who to go to with questions or issues in the future.

As you are planning your Knowledge Transfer, remember that not everyone requires the same information or the same level of knowledge. For example, a Help Desk will benefit from a high-level overview so they can pass along issues to the right person, but they probably won’t need to be trained to fix issues themselves.

Consider a KT plan as part of your overall documentation strategy. Start thinking through the groups who need to be informed before you start planning your Go Live and Close, and leave time for it in your overall schedule. You don’t want to skimp on this vital area of communication!

Take heart, though. Knowledge Transfer doesn’t need to take long, and the documentation you’ve written along the way contains most of the information required. If you can’t hand over a document as-is, it’s usually a matter of cut & paste or simply reformatting it.

Finally, make sure part of your KT is telling people where to go for the information. Is it a Team Room?  A shared drive? A department site? Wherever it is, leave a map, or at least some breadcrumbs. The next Project Manager will be looking for it. Don’t let them dig in the wrong place!

Dumbledore and How to Avoid Mistakes

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As we grow, our mistakes become “correspondingly huger.”

We’re big Harry Potter fans in the Buttiglieri household. (Our dog is even named “Lumos,” which is the spell for lighting up the end of your wand!)

One of the most impactful quotes from the series comes from Albus Dumbledore, the school’s Headmaster, genius wizard, and complete icon. He says, “I make mistakes like the next man. In fact, being–forgive me–rather cleverer than most men, my mistakes tend to be correspondingly huger.”

It’s not much different for mere “muggles,” either.

When we are just starting in our careers, our mistakes are plentiful…but their effect is typically minimal. They may be embarrassing but only require an apology and a quick fix. (I remember one time I saw a shelving unit in a storeroom with old books sitting on it. I thought, “Great! We need this to house our marketing literature!” and took it. Little did I know the Documentation Manager was using it to store her old materials. Ouch!)

As we gain more responsibility, the mistakes that were simply cringe-worthy start to impact our project: Incorrect data analysis; forgetting to include someone in a critical meeting; sending out the wrong training dates; purchasing a software application that isn’t the right fit; ignoring a risk until it blows up and we need to call an emergency executive meeting. These grow “correspondingly huger.”

We’re professionals, so when something happens on our project we scramble to do what it takes to set things back on track.

But there is another consequence: our reputation suffers.

We spend years working to build trust within our teams and our companies. We’ve built our reputation as someone reliable and knowledgeable.

The loss of reputation can be far worse than the mistake itself.

Of course, it doesn’t take one misstep to bring it all crashing down. But as we string them together, seeds of doubt can start to grow in our stakeholders’ minds.

How do we avoid this?

  • Write it down: If you struggle to remember dates or actions from a meeting, make sure you take good notes and refer to them when you’re using that information in the future.
  • Enlist a second set of eyes: The more important the communication, the more eyes should be on it. (If I take the time to have someone proof-read my Leadership Notes blog, the less I need to worry it will have the wrong subject line ;-).)
  • Trust your gut: If something feels “not right,” don’t ignore it. You may not know what is wrong, but take a step back, maybe take a little time, and then look at the task or issue from another angle. If you still need to move forward despite the “something’s not right” feeling, make sure risk mitigations are firmly in place.
  • Take your time: It’s easy to rush through communication because we have ten other things to do. Or toss some budget numbers out there because “they’re good enough.” The extra time is worth it – ten minutes can save two hours of re-work later.
  • Avoid tough work when your brain is tired: Personally, I struggle to be creative in the late afternoon and evening. I’ve learned to schedule my day so presentation slides and blog posts are drafted before lunch, saving the afternoon for edits or more analytical tasks. Take the time to learn your most efficient pattern. If your project updates are more easily written at 8 a.m., or if you work best after the household is asleep, follow that pattern.

All these suggestions are simple and aren’t new concepts. The question we should ask ourselves is: how often do we follow them?

Do we ever tell ourselves “it will be fine” and send out an important communication…even when our gut is telling us otherwise? Do we ever think “I’ll get to it later” and then forget key information from a meeting?

Recognize that mistakes will happen. Set up your own mitigation practices. And follow them consistently. Your project will run better, your reputation will remain intact, and you’ll have fewer apologies to make.

Metrics and Philosophy in the Board Room

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Metrics.

Done right, you can tell which projects are on track, are chewing up resources, or will put the rest of the portfolio in jeopardy.

But that’s the key: “Done Right.”

Often, project managers are asked to track all sorts of metrics…and it takes intense work to get that information collected and formatted for the executive team.

Then, six months later, there’s a new twist, or an entirely new set of metrics to gather. The PMs go crazy trying to chase that new rainbow, frustrated because their project isn’t any better or worse for the metrics they’ve already collected and presented.

What’s going on?

The executive team isn’t being flighty. They’re not trying to give their already busy managers more work.

They’re doing what they can to understand the impact of multiple forces on the success of the company.

And whatever metrics they were using just didn’t provide the answer. Or, they worked for some projects but not others.

Let’s go back to the key: “Done Right.”

It typically comes down to the goals and values of the company, as expressed by the executive team.

And I don’t mean what’s on the publicized mission statement.

I’m talking about the heart of the company. For example, is it a relentless pursuit of growth? Or a cadence of new product releases? Is it employee satisfaction and longevity with the company – or perhaps that of the client?

Even within the C-Suite there could be differing viewpoints. Marketing – IT – HR…they all naturally have a different focus.

Whatever the goals and values may be, they’re not “wrong”.

The struggle comes when they’re not aligned.

Misalignment brings conflicting metrics.

Sometimes “compromise” metrics are added to keep all executive stakeholders happy. When the real corporate goals and values aren’t clearly expressed and shared amongst the executive team, the metrics they choose won’t really hit the mark. They won’t tell the health and trajectory of the projects.

What’s needed is a hard look at the real goals and values of the company before the metrics are chosen.

Here’s how:

  1. Start with the past. What were the most successful, notable projects in the past? Why? What happened with them?
  2. Look at the stated mission and goals. Did those super-successful projects actually support what’s been publicly posted? How? If not, why not, and what values did they represent?
  3. Look to the future. What does success look like? Will your current goals and values help you get there successfully?
  4. Look around you now. Do the current projects fit into this vision of the future? How can you tell?

Past, present, & future. External & internal.  Review the company’s goals and values from all angles.

It may not be easy, and it may mean taking a step away from the office with a facilitator to do it. But this clarity is absolutely essential to success.

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.