Excel 2007 for Project Managers P2

Establishing Project Management FundamentalsProject management has matured from the tactical to the strategic. It still requires tactical skills to manage the day-to-day activities of project work, but increasingly, projects are viewed from the perspective of the organization as a whole and the value they add to the organization or its customers.
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Excel 2007 for Project Managers P212 Chapter 1 Establishing Project Management Fundamentals Project management has matured from the tactical to the strategic. It still requires tactical skills to manage the day-to-day activities of project work, but increasingly, projects are viewed from the perspective of the organization as a whole and the value they add to the organization or its customers. Because of this maturity from the tactical to the strategic, it’s more imperative than everthat project managers have a well-rounded set of skills. As we said, a project manager’s skillsare first and foremost built upon leadership abilities. Without solid leadership skills, it’s dif-ficult to impart vision, gain support for that vision, and inspire project teams to perform attheir best. We’ll look at leadership skills in the next section.Leadership SkillsWhat’s your definition of a leader? Is a leader a leader because they hold a position of author-ity? Do you know leaders who don’t hold a managerial title? Our guess is your answer to thislast question is yes. Leaders don’t necessarily have a position of authority in the organization.Nonetheless they are leaders in their own right. These are the go-to folks in the organization.They’re the ones likely to inspire project team members to say, “I wonder what [fill in theblank] thinks of that idea,” and to follow their opinion on the topic. Leadership is more than getting people to do what you want them to do. Dictators don’thave any trouble performing this feat, but their followers aren’t usually happy about it.Successful project managers know that certain key aspects of leadership are important. Imparting a vision of the project’s value to the organization Imparting a vision of the product or service of the project (the project’s end result) Gaining consensus on the goals and deliverables of the project and other issues that arise as the project progresses Establishing direction and a clear plan for meeting the goals of the project Managing the expectations of stakeholders, management, and team members Inspiring others to perform at their best Backing the team and their actions when it’s appropriate Removing obstacles from the project team’s path Managing conflict Building trustworthy relationships Most of these factors probably seem obvious. At a minimum, they make sense. However,don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you’ve accomplished these things, as we’ve seen manyproject managers do. They lull themselves into believing “everyone” knows the plan or thateveryone knows you’re there to help with issues and conflicts as they arise. Make it a habit Key Project Management Skills 13to ask. Ask your team members. Ask your stakeholders. Ask questions such as these: Do youknow the goal of this project? Are there any problems I should be aware of? Don’t assumeanything. Institute an open-door policy and stand behind it (the policy, that is). You’ll besurprised what people will tell you when they see your leadership qualities and you havegained your trust and respect. Project management processes are important, but people are even more important. Members of high-performing teams have a high level of respect and trust for their leader and for each other. Strong leadership skills along with clear communication will go a long way toward building that trust. Leadership involves many aspects and it’s beyond the scope of this book to go intoeverything leadership entails. Mastering the skills listed previously and remembering toactively engage your team members and stakeholders will help your project progress alongthe successful path.Communicating SuccessfullyA very close second to leadership skills is communication skills. Actually, we don’t know howyou can be a leader without being a good communicator. It’s possible to communicate withoutbeing a leader—we’ve all got our war stories about bosses like that—but being a leader with-out being an effective communicator isn’t really possible. So let’s examine some of the keyskills needed for effective communication in the project management arena.SendersCommunication at its basic level is an exchange of information. Notice the word exchangein that definition. Communication requires a sender, a transmission of the message, and areceiver. Yes, the project manager can speak and no one may listen, but according to ourdefinition, that isn’t communication. We won’t go into the mechanics of the communicationmodel, but keep in mind that information that is distributed but isn’t read or acknowledged bythe receiver hasn’t accomplished anything. If, for example, you know before opening an emailthat you’re likely to get sucked into a 20-minute reading marathon to try to find the point, youmay not read it. At best, you’ll skim through it and may miss the point. So how can project man-agers avoid some common communication blunders? We’re glad you asked. Here are a few tipson making your communication as effective as possible when you are the sender: Write clear and concise documents and stay on topic. Create communication that’s appropriate for the audience. Executives like bullet points— use them. Rehearse important topics or meetings beforehand. Ask someone to critique your rehearsal if needed.14 Chapter 1 Establishing Project Management Fundamentals Make certain you define terms that are not familiar to the receiver. Leave negative emotions at your desk but take passion with you. Communicate the right information and the right amount of information to avoid receivers tuning you out.ReceiversOn t ...