I Can See Clearly Now

I Can See Clearly Now

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On the way home from work the other day, I stopped by the eye doctor to get my eyes checked and update my prescription. After a few minutes of Is this better? and other miscellaneous tests to check my eye health, I wound up with a new prescription and some new lenses for my glasses. Driving into work this morning, I couldnt help but notice that I could see things a little more clearly, and the glare of oncoming headlights had diminished a bit. Ive worn glasses since I was fourteen years old and have come to appreciate that visibility is a good thing.

It really doesnt matter what kinds of projects you are involved in, visibility is critical for making informed decisions. Whats more, achieving real project visibility isnt something that just happens because we wish it to be so. Sometimes (not unlike my eye exam) it takes a little experimentationIs this better?

That being said, I think achieving real project visibility requires us to think outside the box. Whats more, the linchpin to achieving real insight into whats happening in projects isnt the software tool used, the work management methodology employed, or even the project managerits all about individual team members. Once were able to make it easy and valuable to team members to participate in the project management process, project and business leaders will enjoy an uninterrupted stream of accurate and timely project data.

Thats right, I actually suggested that getting team members to participate in the process involves showing that it has some kind of value to them if we expect it to be successful.

Lets face it, as project leaders, weve been begging, cajoling, ordering, and expecting team members to contribute accurate project data since the first project team. Unfortunately, team members have demonstrated that they perceive it as a waste of time or even an unnecessary burden added to their workdaymaking the methods weve used for the last 40 or 50 years ineffective. Many project groups actually have individuals whose only responsibility is to personally communicate with every member of the project team to collect status data. I dont think that could be considered real visibility in any project leaders book.

Successfully engaging the team doesnt just happen, but it isnt rocket science either. It does require us to step back and look at the project management process with fresh eyes (or at least with a new prescription). The traditional way weve looked at managing people from the top down just doesnt work, resulting in project information that executives dont trust and an overly structured work environment that people dislike. Whats more, this environment frustrates project teams whose accomplishments often go unrecognized and basically kills moraleand worse, it creates project teams that are unable to think critically about their work and begin to simply, mindlessly, exist at work.

In my opinion, there are three keys to successfully encouraging project teams to invest in the project management process. If these three things exist within a project environment, people are more willing to interact with the process and provide the valuable, accurate and timely information executives need to make decisions and successfully lead their organizations.

1. Empowerment: People want to be empowered with ownership and flexibility regarding their deliverables and deadlines. A more team-centric task assignment model enables team members to contribute to the establishment of benchmarks and time-lines while creating a greater sense of responsibility among team members.

2. Confidence in the Data: Managers and executives consume qualitative information about projects, which provide deeper insight into real project status (the real story). Business leaders who leverage solutions that facilitate free-form conversations around assignments capture better information to help them keep an accurate pulse on their businesses and make more proactive decisions.

3. Recognition: People take pride in their work and they care about what their managers and peers think of them and their accomplishments. Organizations that facilitate the recognition of individual team member accomplishments and contributions foster and environment where team members are more inclined to participate and provide the information needed by executives to make informed decisions.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great.

Engage the team; give them a good reason to contribute (and a big stick is NOT a good reason). Experiment for yourself and see if your project teams will respond to a little more autonomy and sincere and legitimate recognition for accomplishment and see if you cant establish a constant flow of accurate and timely information for informing decisions. You might be surprised.

You just might enjoy your new pair of glasses.

About the Author:
As an accidental project manager and marketing veteran with over 25 years of experience, Ty Kiisel makes the concepts and best practices of work management software accessible to both the expert and novice project professional by weaving personal experiences, historical references and other anecdotes into daily discussions around effective leadership approaches that maximize the effectiveness of project teams. Ty is also the host of the popular podcast, TalkingWork.com.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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