I’ve been helping quite a few people review their resumes lately. In this tough economy, some of you may be tempted to change your resume to get noticed. There are a lot of good techniques for doing this, but I want to caution you on getting too creative. When looking for employment, you want to ensure that you truly are what the company is looking for. Don’t stretch the truth or give your future employer a false impression of you. It will only come back to haunt you later.
Look at your potential employer as a future spouse. I know that sounds a bit weird, but it makes sense. You are entering into a relationship with them. Would you want them to go out with you, based on some made up characteristics or qualities? Well, ok… some of you may have been desperate before and gone down that road, but how did it turn out? Probably not very well.
Despite your best creative writing skills or acting ability, if you get hired based on a beefed up resume or a false persona, your employer will eventually see through it all and you will be in one of two places. You will either be on the street again looking for another job, or you will be miserable at a job where you can’t understand why you aren’t being promoted.
Do yourself a favor – be who you are. You are worth hiring. You have skills, talent and can make a contribution to the right employer. Sure, sometimes we need to take a job to get by. Just don’t stretch the truth too much to get in the door.
During the project management class I taught last night, I discussed the project management triangle. The basic concept being that if you change any one of the sides, that you must change at least one of the other. For example, if you increase your scope of the project, you must increase the time or cost, or both.
After class was over, one of my students came up and told me her daughter had learned another triangle in high school that day. The triangle dealt with being emotionally whole and it looked like this:
To maintain your edge as a leader, you must balance each side of the triangle. Unlike the project management triangle, if any one side of the wholeness triangle is out context you cannot compensate for it by increasing activity in one of the others and your performance suffers.
Ensure you are performing at your best by attending to your spiritual, social and physical needs. When was the last time you worked out? How about got out? How are you attending to your spiritual needs? Take some time to come up with a plan that ensures all your needs are being fulfilled.
As a seasoned Project Manager, here are the Top Ten Things that I do that makes me successful.
Take time to assess the big picture. Why this project? Is now the right time?
Understand the organization’s culture and tailor what you do to be most effective in it.
Assess stakeholder expectations/fears AND manage them.
Define what a successful project outcome looks like in real terms (Not on budget, on schedule). What does the organization want this project to accomplish?
Determine organizational roadblocks to meeting project success and mitigate them.
Develop a project strategy. How will you manage the project?
Ensure the project has effective executive sponsorship.
Take time to get the right people on your team.
Establish clear roles and responsibilities.
Use an appropriate project management methodology.
Before revealing the most important leadership attribute, we need to define leadership. There are obviously a lot of definitions out there, but let’s define it this way:
Leadership is the ability to lead others in making the world a better place to live for all. It shows no favoritism towards race, gender, age, or status. Leadership supports improving the quality of life of everyone while upholding peace through a general acceptance of core values. These values include the sanctity of life and the freedom to choose one’s belief system, as long as this belief system harms no one. Leadership ensures that people are compensated fairly for their labor and acknowledges that while some may have more than others, that there is a responsibility of the rich to assist the poor.
The point I want to make here, is that leadership is not just about getting results. Why? Because people like Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein were all leaders, who achieved tragic results. With the dangerous technology that leaders have at their disposal today, we must start to define leadership differently. We cannot afford to continue on our current course.
For those of you in business, we also cannot afford to continue our current practices. Confidence of the American people in their government is at an all time low. Business leadership is turning capitalism into a joke. If leadership is all about making a profit regardless of the expense to the environment or others, then we might as well go back to having royalty and serfs. For society to thrive leaders need to have one important leadership attribute – compassion.
Compassion is a must. Without it, leaders will go astray. Compassion will help leaders balance their actions to benefit as many people as possible while hurting relatively few. Compassion will increase our ability to deal with our differences in a civil manner. It will allow for power, as long as power is used appropriately. Compassion will ensure that the poor will be take care of as the rich will have compassion on them. Compassion does not necessarily mean an end to war. In fact, it may call for war if there are those out there who oppress others. But, war will come less often, and when it does, we will treat our enemies with compassion.
What about you? Are you compassionate with those that you lead? Or, are you leading just for the accolades? The money, the power, the prestige? Are you leading compassionately, even to those who may think differently? Do you “hate” your opposition? Management? Unions? Employees? Consultants? Government Workers? Do you “hate” those with a different religious belief system? Or, are you compassionate?
Compassion. We are all in this world together. It is a melting pot of many different views and opinions. We must learn to have compassion for each other if, as leaders, we really hope to make a difference.
Wow – a LOT of people have been reading my blog on overcoming defeat. With that in mind, I just want to offer a short note of encouragement to anyone out there who needs it. Growing up in Hawaii, we used to say “Hele (Hell-ay) On” when things got tough. Hele-On basically means to move. It can be used in various ways, but the one I want you to walk away with is to move on, or keep on truckin.
If you’re discouraged and alone, send me an email. Sometimes all you need is a friend. If you have friends and family, turn to them for help. As Thomas Merton so vividly stated, No Man Is An Island. A lot of people are going through tough times. You’re not alone. For some uplifting news, check out Gail Goodwin at Inspire Me Today.
Remember, the present is only temporary and things often change in a moment, often when we least expect it.
I wrote an earlier blog on Boeing’s Dreamliner and said they were due for more bad news. I hate to say it, but guess what… more bad news. And, there will be more to come.
Today the Wall Street Journal announced that Boeing stopped production on the Dreamliner’s fuselage almost two months ago, due to problems with structural integrity where the wings join the fuselage. Boeing made the announcement only after the website Flightblogger reported the delay.
What bothers me is that Boeing claims these kinds of problems are typical and that they didn’t release the news earlier because there was no impact to schedule or cost. Yeah – right! Again… obviously, the schedule is being driven by executives in the C-Suite, not by project managers. How can you possibly stay on schedule, AND on budget, after finding a critical design flaw. Stay tuned for more bad news as Boeing’s management team struggles with telling the truth. The project will be delayed and will cost more than initially planned.
As a Chemistry major in college I learned how to assess and analyze data using the Scientific method. What I learned is that there are many ways of crunching numbers and presenting facts which often makes the truth hard to find. Yet, the truth is still out there. What I’ve also learned, is that the ability to decipher and assess information seems to be a dying art. Wherever I turn to nowadays, be it the television, tabloids, newspapers or the internet, it seems like arguments are being made on nothing but hyperbole, rhetoric, emotions and just plain old bad logic. An example, I have such a hard time believing that there are people out there, who still believe that President Obama is not a US Citizen.
I was prompted to blog about this after watching a video of an AARP meeting gone bad.
There are several things to take away from this video:
I am always suspect when a video is edited as it creates suspicion on my part as to what was left out. I appreciate the need to edit a clip to make a point, and also to keep down bandwidth on the internet, however… what was left out of the video?
The AARP representatives need more training. If you are going to speak in public, especially about a divisive topic like health care, you better be prepared. These representatives were not prepared.
The audience was on a mission. I don’t know if the audience was organized or not, but… it seems odd that they were emotionally charged from the beginning. I can only surmise that the emotions came from listening to talk show hosts, reading tabloids or not doing their homework. There is a good article in the Chicago Tribune on health care reform myths that are scaring seniors.
The people in the meeting were mixing politics/emotions with the discussion at hand, which should have been health care reform. One gentleman stated he was concerned because he feared that the proposed health care legislation would cause a loss of his freedoms. While I understand the concern of big government, this does not solve the underlying problem which is that health care costs are increasing at a fast rate. In addition, he gave no good reason for feeling this way. What freedoms will he be losing? If he’s worried about the federal deficit, perhaps he may have a point. But, this is a different fight to fight. With the country already $10 Trillion in debt, the question really becomes how much debt can America maintain, and still be sound economically? If he’s worried about his freedoms, he should be asking why the Federal Reserve can print money at an astounding rate, without any oversight rather than fighting health care legislation.
I realize I just blogged about this last week, but think that rational thinking regarding health care reform is a must. We cannot continue along the path we are currently on, and just hope that everything will work out.
As a leader, I encourage you to do your homework, be prepared and discuss things rationally.
Sigh – they’re at it again. This is why I dislike politics so much. Yes, I understand that politics is unavoidable, however the antics this past week at several town hall meetings are disturbing. Why? Because they were organized attempts to instill fear in the general population through the use of lies, rhetoric and just plain ol’ stupidity.
I think that America is a great country because we all have the ability to have our voices heard. Town hall meetings are great, because it gives our leaders the chance to hear from the general public. However, if the Republican party is behind the organized attempts to disrupt the meetings so that we cannot have a rational discussion about health care, then our country is doomed.
Pretty strong words, but please heed my warning. Our health care system is in dire straights. So is medicare and social security. If we cannot come up with some viable alternatives to fixing these, in 20 years our country, your country, will not be the shining beacon of hope that it once was.
What do we need to do? Our political leaders need to stop the showboating. This is not about President Obama or the Democrats. This is not about winning the next election. This is about saving our country. I’m not saying I agree with all the President Obama is proposing, and yes, I have some serious doubts about how much it will cost to implement health care reform. However, we need dialogue, and by disrupting the town hall meetings, all we have is noise and confusion.
To our political leaders – let’s agree to to disagree without being disagreeable. Can you not put your differences aside in the interest of moving forward. If not…. why are you in office?
In today’s tough economy, many project managers are facing the dilemma of changing industries and I often get asked about this when teaching project management classes. Can project managers (PMs) switch industries? My answer… it depends. It depends on your individual situation and your goals and aspirations.
Before I give you advice on switching industries, let me give you the perspective of employers on this topic. This is based on my experience in project management as a hiring manager, not on a survey, so take this for what it is worth. Based on what I’ve seen over the past 15 years or so, I would say…
Project management spans across industries… project managers do not.
This is grim news for those of you who are contemplating a change. However, to give yourself a good chance of succeeding, you need to understand the challenge that you are up against. The reason why I don’t think project managers can “easily” span industries, is that a good PM understands more than just a methodology.
To be a great PM, one has to understand the industry. How are you ever going to manage risk, estimates, quality assurance, procurement and all the other things that fall outside of a project schedule… if you don’t know the industry?
When I was younger, I used to think I could manage any project. While I could probably manage just about any small project, I now realize that any significant project requires some understanding of the industry. This is an important distinction in understanding your chances of succeeding in transitioning to another industry. If you are at an early stage of your career, you may be able to make a lateral change by taking on smaller projects. If however, you are 20+ years into your career, to expect to be in the same position of authority, making the same amount of money, in an industry you don’t know very well… well… you get the picture. I’m not saying it can’t be done, just that you need to be realistic in your expectations.
When contemplating switching industries as a project manager there are several things you need to take into account. First of all, you need to ask yourself, do you REALLY have the skills necessary to succeed in the new industry? Some industries are easier to learn than others, and you need to ask yourself if you have the qualifications to effectively do the job. As an example, it would be much more difficult to move into an industry that requires technical competency of some sort.
Many people are thinking about moving into “green” industries (solar energy) or healthcare technology. These are not easy industries to break into without some training or expertise in the area. If you are going to target these industries, you should take some classes from a local university. For example, in healthcare, you need to have a basic understanding of billing, claims, benefits, enrollment, medical records, and membership. You should also have some understanding of medical coding.
In a more technical industry such as solar power, you have a better chance of succeeding if you are an engineer or come from a technical background. If you don’t have this background, you should ask for informational interviews with a company you may be targeting, and ask them what skills are they looking for, then look for ways to acquire these skills yourself.
A second consideration is to target a specific niche in project management. You may excel at managing schedules, risk or quality. There are certifications that you can work on that show your expertise in these areas. However, before you jump in and work on a certificate program, do your homework and ensure that there is a demand for the skill you are going to target.
As you go about trying to switch industries, it is vital that you understand that you are going to have to really work at selling yourself. You may even have to take a position with less responsibility and pay at first. I wrote about my experiences as I transitioned out of the Navy in 1992 in another blog. You may find the perspective interesting.
As a leader, you will inevitably inherit a poor performer. I have had my fair share of them over the years and have built a reputation for being able to raise the performance of both individuals and teams. As I tend to have a knack for raising the performance of others, I am going to share some observations and methods that have proven useful to me over the years.
First Things First
If you have a poor performer, the first thing you need to do is to determine if this person is salvageable. This requires sitting down with the individual and putting on your detective hat. Here are the things should be trying to ascertain:
Is this person really a poor performer? If you haven’t seen the movie Remember The Titans, go rent it. There are a lot of great leadership tips in the movie and one in particular is relevant here. The movie is a true story about a high school football team facing integration during the 1960s. In one particular scene, the team captain (Gary) is challenging another team leader (Julius) to step up. The bottom line, poor performance, is sometimes caused by poor leadership. Is this person really a poor performer? Or – is lack of leadership the real cause?
Are there extenuating circumstances contributing to poor performance? How are things at home? Are there financial concerns? Is this person healthy?
Getting the Right People on the Bus
I really enjoyed Jim Collins’ book, From Good to Great. In it, he says that you need to get the right people on the bus. If after meeting with this individual you determine that this person is not salvageable, then you need to let him or her go. Too many managers dodge this responsibility. You owe it to everyone involved to let poor performers go after they have been given a reasonable chance.
You don’t want to make a project of someone who can’t be saved. It is a waste of your time that could be better spent elsewhere. Remember, you cannot “make” someone want to be a high performer. In the 1960s, McGregor developed what has come to be known as Theory X and Theory Y with regards to motivation. Theory X says people are self centered and lazy. Theory Y says that people want to perform, they only need the chance. Reality? Some people fall into the X category, and others into the Y. It is your job to figure out where this individual falls.
Improving Performance
If you determine that this person is salvageable, here are some things that you can try that will help improve someone’s performance.
Lay out the facts. Be honest. In a non-threatening manner, tell the person that their performance has been called into question. Let them know that you think he or she can turn this around with your help. Ensure that any possible ramifications are laid out. If letting this person go is a possible outcome, they deserve to know that.
Show Respect. No one likes to be put down. You can deliver criticism in a way that doesn’t berate or belittle the individual. As a leader, you must continually observe your behavior to ensure that you are not becoming part of the problem.
Determine Roles and Responsibilities. Many times poor performance is a result of lack of clarity and understanding. Ensure roles, responsibilities and expectations are understood.
Display trust. Once roles, responsibilities and expectations are set, give the individual the opportunity to prove themselves. Don’t micromanage them but give them enough room to let them know that you trust them. Funny things happen when good people know they are trusted.
Don’t be overly critical at first. If someone feels like a poor performer, they will perform poorly. Meet with the individual regularly and give both positive and negative feedback.
Promote the individual positively (if warranted) to others. People gain a bad reputation, sometimes unfairly. Others get into the habit of reacting to certain people in certain ways. You need to help break this cycle, by letting others know that the individual’s performance is getting better.
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