February 4, 2008 – When the Plan Fails

In an on-shore / off-shore set up you need to expect the unexpected. Half you your team is in a foreign country, half way around the world. You’re never quite sure what time it is where you live, let alone where ever they are. Languages, especially English, can lead to confusion. Names are redundant (there are four Toms where I now work). I’m not sure how you could possibly have seen the following surprise coming, though.

Picture yourself sitting at your desk on Monday morning, pulling together reports from the weekend and getting ready for the week. Fred comes by with a new face and introduces you to Gupta . The name sounds familiar. "I have a team member by that name, where are you from?" you ask.

"That is me," is the reply.

"What are you doing here? Don’t you normally work from India?" you ask, bewildered.

"Yes, but I am going to be the project manager on a different project here on-shore now."

True story. Talk about putting a crimp in your plans.

Resources quit. Scope gets breached. Bugs happen. Systems go down. Priorities change. So what do you do when life throws you a curve ball? Hang on for the ride and follow these steps.

Take a deep breath. Before you react, take a moment to calm your blood pressure before you say or do something you might regret. It might save your health as well as your job.

Confirm it. I hate it when I start yelling about something only to find out I have the facts wrong. Take it to the source and, calmly, get some answers.

Assess the impact. If the issue is scope related, determine the gap factor. Resources can be difficult to replace. Is there a more junior member of the team that might be easier backfill? Can she step up to the role?

Check the schedule and budget to determine what the damage will be.

Identify Options. Don’t work in a vacuum to figure out what to do. Invite your team and other stakeholders to help develop strategies to stay on track.

Present Options. Take your findings and options to the Sponsor or Steering Committee. Explain the challenge facing the project and ask them how we, as a group, should resolve it. One of the things I stress is that the project manager does not own all of the problems. They are "our" problems and "we" have to take steps to resolve them.

Get approval. If a Change Request is necessary, file it and get it approved. Get the go ahead to make the resource changes. Confirm commitment by getting approval.

Learn. Figure out the root cause and take actions to keep it from happening again. You can’t keep a team member from taking a better job offer, but you can make the current position better. Scope is drawn to determine when it does change, not if it will. You can take steps to manage it better.

Move on. It is better to get beyond the issue than to dwell on how things should have been. Once you have taken steps to keep it from happening again get on with successfully completing your project.

Stuff happens. You can’t control the surprises but you can control your reaction. If it were simple, anyone could do it, right?

January 5, 2007 – Evil Alter Ego #2: Ms. Bellows

The superhero gene inherent in project managers can mutate and become something ugly. Such is the case with Ms. Bellows. Instead of discussing, she yells. People leave her office in tears. Behind her back people call her Yelly Kelly.

The problem is that she is successful. People jump when she says to and projects get done on time. This makes upper management happy and she is rewarded, reinforcing the original problem. Eventually no one willingly works with her and some of the best resources leave the department, company or even country.

If you see this trait in you, how can it be stopped?

This is a tough problem because there are so many factors tied in to it. Family origins, bullied as a child and inferiority complex are prime examples. I’m sure through psychoanalysis Freud would determine that she was deprived of Starbucks in junior high. Some of the blame obviously falls on the environment that allows or even fosters her behavior. Because everyone expects this attitude the cards are stacked against change. But if you see some of Ms. Bellows in your actions and want to break out of it, there is hope. Here are a few things you can implement to reduce the volume.

1. Acknowledge that it is a problem. Look at the negative impact it is having on your team and your ability to lead. Your feelings are legitimate. There are things that make us all mad. The problem is the action.

2. Address the causes. Sit down and make a list of the things that really tick you off, like dropped commitments, missed dates and unforeseen issues. You know what your hot buttons are. Now train yourself and your team to deal with the root causes of these problems before they happen. Record action items in meeting minutes so commitments are clear and expectations are set. Refine estimation techniques to set realistic dates and track to them. Use risk mitigation to identify potential issues and address them before they happen.

3. Take a deep breath. When you are ready to let fly with a verbal barrage take a hearty breath in through your mouth. This does 2 things for you. First, it is very hard to make your vocal cords yell when you are breathing in. Second, it gives you a brief chance to relax and change what you are going to say.

4. Replace yelling with a catch phrase. Instead of yelling, imagine if you said something like “I would normally be yelling by now, but….” Most people hear better when they are not being yelled at. The natural tendency is to become defensive or tune out. Catching them off guard like that may help them listen this time and do things differently next.

NOTE: Screaming is abusive and doesn’t belong in the work place. If you are a victim of a yeller and feel like you are in a hostile environment, speak to your HR department. If you recognize it in yourself, seek help.