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Table of Contents
Management Time: Whos got the Monkey ....................................................... 2 How Centered Leaders Achieve Extraordinary Results ..................................... 4 Crisis of Silence .............................................................................................. 6 Revealing Your Moment of Truth ..................................................................... 8 Fear of Feedback ............................................................................................. 9 Managing Project Uncertainty: From Variation to Chaos ................................ 10 Why Good Bosses Tune Into Their People ...................................................... 13

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Management Time: Whos got the Monkey


Proper management of time is a key element in any managers day to day activities and for them to function effectively, they need as much time as possible to use at their discretion. To capture this time is not an easy undertaking, since time allocated with their bosses, collaborating and helping their peers cannot be borrowed as it might be at a greater penalty. The only other time available is the time spent with subordinates trying to resolve their problems. This article looked at three kinds of management times: Bossimposed, System-imposed and Self-imposed time. Boss-imposed and systemimposed time is allocated to your boss and peers respectively. Self-imposed time however, is used to do activities the manager agrees to and time taken up by subordinates; here is where the manager is able to perhaps gain some much needed time. It is suggested that managers should be in control of the time and content they share with their subordinates. Make sure that when resolving problems with your subordinates, that they do not transfer the problem to you and the initiative remains with them. In an effort to combat or reverse the transfer of the monkey, you should be clear to your subordinates that at no time their problem becomes yours to resolve. Be willing to help in the resolution, but the initiative is kept with the subordinate and if there is a need for your further involvement, let them know that it will be determine together. Be very specific about your expectations. The manager should set realistic tasks that their subordinates can accomplish. Limit the time spent trying to resolve their problems as it affects your bossimposed time and your system-imposed time. To resolve subordinates issues, schedule short meetings to discuss the problems and to seek possible resolutions that he might pursue. Importantly, after deciding on how proceed, agree on follow-up meetings to monitor and check their progress. When employees try to hand off their problems, it is often because they lack the

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necessary skills and or desire to complete their task. By helping them to develop the ability to resolve problems also build confidence, foster trust and forge better relationships. There is also a need to empower the subordinate by clearly outlining the level of initiative, objectives and time frame that you expect of him to perform his task. This all goes well, as both the individual and the organization benefits from it. Five degrees of initiative 1. Wait until told 2. Ask what to do 3. Recommend, and then act 4. Act, advise immediately 5. Act on own Five rules on "Care and Feeding of Monkeys"
1. Monkeys should be fed or shot

2. Monkey population should be kept below the maximum number the manager has time to feed 3. Monkeys are fed by appointment only 4. Monkeys should be fed face to face or by phone 5. Every monkey should have "next feeding time" and "degree of initiative"

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How Centered Leaders Achieve Extraordinary Results


The five dimensions of Centered Leadership are timely given the difficulties we are facing with the structure of our corporations and their leaders, and the declining economies both locally and international. The dimension of Meaning resonate most with me as it can transform your life totally. The thought of knowing what I do affects others in a positive way, gives me a sense of purpose and affords me the opportunity to grow and perhaps inspire others. Positive framing has a compelling quality about it, and it also helps in generating confidence in your team. It affords leaders to look beyond the leadership team and build relationships with individuals in the organization; encouraging others to take risk, speak their mind and confront the unknown without fear of failure. It can be an excellent instrument in maintaining positive organizational liveliness. A linear style of communication is no longer relevant in todays fast pace world. Connecting with people who work for and with you is a conduit where ideas can flow. It allows people to feel that they are part of the organization and perhaps become more committed to the growth and development. subordinates. Often the best ideas do not always come from the top. The article also looked at Engaging with risk, fear and opportunity. I believe that if leaders approach dramatic changes or high risk project proactively acknowledging that there is some uncertainty, thereby encouraging other to be part of the mitigation strategies, all goes well to motivate your team to proceed with a positive spin. Centered Leadership can create a path to boosting energy and extending your time. Key is finding some of your energizing activities that are not time consuming, using them for a few minutes to restore your energy level. What works for me is taking a short break and sometimes putting a smile on Leaders need to listen and interact with their peers and yes sometime their

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someones face or sharing a piece of knowledge. Energizing is not about time, it is about choices you make to refresh your energy. On further readings, another dimension was listed which I thought was valid. Vision: it is a characteristic that defines a great leader. leading his team in the wrong direction. Without vision, a leader might possess all the skills from the five dimensions, but might be

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Crisis of Silence
This article outlines common problems that contribute to poor project execution and project failure, and suggests five crucial but often over-looked conversations that are essential to project success, and recommendations for creating a culture in which these five conversations can thrive. They are: 1. Are we planning around the facts? 2. Is the project sponsor providing support? 3. Are we faithful to the process? 4. Are we honestly assessing our project risks? 5. Are team members pulling their weight? These conversations explain how sponsors, project leaders and project participants behavior effects project failure. Project Leaders disregard the hard facts, often do, skirt the issues and avoid formal decision making and planning. Sponsors go absent without leave, simply have no interest in the project, or may lack competence in the project area. Project participants fail to report project risks honestly, hoping that other participants with similar problems will speak up first (referred to as Project Chicken). They do not attend meetings, fail to meet deadlines, or lack the competence to meet goals. To address these crucial conversations, practices must be implemented that will foster a culture of candor and rapidly improve project execution. Successful leaders must acknowledge the frequency of the problems and have reliable information about corporate performance, track project costs and deadlines. Measurement is the key to focusing and sustaining the attention of management. People must have access to leaders and other stakeholders with whom they need to have these crucial conversations. There should be transparency of process. Also, it should be emphasized that that there will be no negative repercussions for speaking up. This is essential for creating a culture of candor. Leaders should assist in training team members leaders

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do not have to be experts at teaching skills, but rather, facilitators in the process of skills building. The primary job of the leader should be to influence behavior. Certainly, these practices require a change in the organizational and individuals behavior. change. People need to feel personally committed to changing behavior, and must know that they will be supported, even praised, if they do They also need to see that those who do not change will be held accountable. Organizations must provide incentives to show that they value behavioral change, and must find ways to reinforce the message of behavioral change, e.g. emails, posters, which keep these crucial conversations at the forefront of day to day activities. Recognizing and addressing the five crucial conversations will improve project performance and reduce project failure. I do stress that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect, so as to garner trust and create a culture of candor.

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Revealing Your Moment of Truth


A persons values reflect what he stands for and what he believes in. This article deals with bringing values into the workplace, and revealing moments of truth: personal experiences which illustrate where and how you learnt your values that shaped your self-awareness. A Leader is responsible for establishing and upholding the corporate values they want employees to embrace; values such as loyalty and risk-taking. In taking the risk of making oneself vulnerable and revealing a moment of truth, a leader expresses the connection he feels with the team, and the values shared can be beneficial to the organization. Immediate subordinates often mimic the actions and behavior of their leaders. Values may therefore be imitated, and these values may be reflected in the decisions and actions of employees when performing tasks. Different people bring different values to the organization, and a strong team is developed from this diversity of values. Sharing of values shapes employees behavior and facilitates the building of team spirit. When employees embrace shared values, they develop a deeper personal commitment to their work and feel obligated to take responsibility for their actions. I believe that when a leader reveals a moment of truth, it generates an atmosphere of trust, a type of invisible bond within the team, inspiring us to perform effectively and efficiently, both at work and in our personal lives.

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Fear of Feedback
Feedback lets employees know how well they are performing their jobs and whether their performance is improving, deteriorating, or remaining constant. This articles deals with how to deal with negative feedback and criticism. Receiving criticism is never easy. Our first response to receiving negative

feedback is usually emotional- anger, denial, and a desire to kill the messenger. We need to put aside these emotional feelings, acknowledge the feedback, and consider the validity or truth of the feedback. If you receive feedback from one person, you tend to reject it; hearing the same feedback from a number of people means it most likely is a valid criticism. Also, one should consider the context, and the mood of the critic, and the content of the criticism. We then need to deicide the importance of the feedback and whether to implement it, that is, whether we want to restructure our thoughts or behavior based on this feedback. When delivering feedback, there should be effective communication so that the feedback is both received and understood. We should aim to overcome the fear of feedback, using it as stepping stone to increased productivity and personal growth. Like most people, I find criticism hard to swallow. Over time, I have learnt not to simply ignore it, but to use feedback to my advantage - as a nudge in the right direction.

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Managing Project Uncertainty: From Variation to Chaos


Uncertainty is a situation in which a decision maker has neither certainty nor reasonable probability estimates available. This article deals with the managing the various type of uncertainty. There are four types of uncertainty used to create uncertainty profiles, and each requires a different style of management approach: 1. Variation Cost, time and performance levels vary randomly, but in a predictable range. 2. Foreseen Uncertainty a few known factors will influence the project, but in unpredictable ways. 3. Unforeseen Uncertainty one or more major influence factors cannot be predicted. 4. Chaos - unforeseen events completely invalidate the projects target, planning and approach. In an uncertain environment, one way to encourage good decision making is to get people to think more broadly about the issues. Recognize when a decision is not working and when it is time to pull the plug. Managers often refuse to acknowledge when it is time to move on. Focus on what is important and encourage the gathering of relevant information and informed opinion. Management of Uncertainty Create Uncertainty Profiles Build Project infrastructure An uncertainty profile is a qualitative characterization of the degree to which each type of uncertainty may affect the project. important. Project infrastructure is used to execute a plan (in the case of variation or uncertainty), or to learn from events and adjust (unforeseeable uncertainty or chaos). The project managers role and the planning and monitoring activities It is the teams subjective estimate and indicates which uncertainty types are potentially the most

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change as the uncertainty profile evolves- flexibility and the ability to communicate change is the key. Managing Variation Managing Foreseen Uncertainty

Requires greater emphasis on planning Project Manager role is that of troubleshooter, must identify deviations and push through solutions to get project back on track Control of slippage in the budget, schedule and deliverables. Account for variation during the project and build in buffers at strategic points in the project. Establish procedures for monitoring progress, tracking performance variables, and authorizing changes in the project plan.(e.g. expediting certain tasks) by using statistical control charts Project team must have the ability and authority to react. Reacting to significant deviations is more important than monitoring every small critical-path variation.

Requires greater emphasis on planning Project manager must first identify events that could affect the project and identify course of action to deal with these events as they materialize. Implement a Decision tree each branch of the tree represents a contingency plan for a major unforeseen uncertainty. The project manager shifts from the role of master scheduler and troubleshooter to reactive consolidator of what the team has achieved so far. Ensure all parties know the contingencies and, from the outset, buy into the alternative plans and outcomes. Monitor all risk and communicate them to stakeholders.

Managing Unforeseen Uncertainty


Requires greater emphasis on learning. Project Manager cannot anticipate everything; plan must evolve as the project progresses.

Managing Chaos

Teams must go beyond crisis management and continually scan for emerging threats and opportunities. Project manager must be willing to learn and then formulate new solutions. Project managers role shifts from trouble shooting to networking. Time and effort must go into managing relationships with stakeholders and getting them to accept unplanned changes and keeping them well informed.

Requires greater emphasis on learning. Project managers must have flexibility. Team must work with conceptual models that may be redefined repeatedly as feedback spurs learning. Teams must be willing to try fundamentally different approaches, either in series, or in parallel. Tracking of the project is less focused on the current status relative to its target, but more on current status of learning about basic project assumptions. Project managers need to cope with constant change. Their role shifts to that of an entrepreneur developing and maintaining close but lose contacts with customers and opinion leaders. Project managers must have a high degree of autonomy; continually verify original project idea, quickly collect feedback on new ideas and consolidate what they learn.

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Projects often display a blend of the various types of uncertainty. Managers must adopt the right approaches at the right time. The manager must find a balance between planning and learning. Planning provides discipline and a concrete set of activities and contingencies that can be codified. permits adapting to unforeseen or chaotic events. Successful managers will require effective decision making skills to plan, lead and control in environments of uncertainty. Learning

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Why Good Bosses Tune Into Their People


Importance of staying in tune with your people: Bosses matter to everyone they oversee, and their success depends on staying in tune with the people Subordinates monitor, magnify and mimic their bosss moves. Subordinates scrutinize their bosses, so they may know about you than you know about them pay attention to those who control outcomes Success of your people and organizations depends on maintain an accurate view of how others construe your moods and moves. Ways to take advantage of staying in tune with your people: (1) Convince others that they are in charge (illusion of control). (2) Boost performance by watching your peoples back: make it safe for them to learn and take intelligent risks. The Illusion of Control Leaders get more credit and blame that they deserve, largely because it is easier to treat leadership as the primary cause of performance, rather than consider the other factors that actually determine performance differences. If you claim you do not have much influence over what happens to your team, your people will lose confidence in you, therefore, you must magnify the illusion of control: Express confidence even if you do not feel it if you act confident you become more confident. scrutinized bosses. Confidence is crucial for inspiring your followers, and it is contagious, especially when displayed by closed

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Do not dither Indecision and delay are hallmarks of poor leadership. Crisp and quick decisions bolster the illusion of control.

Get and give credit- Bosses usually get the credit for their teams good performance. Use this to your advantage knowing that people want to work with a winner. When you mention your accomplishments, give credit to others; your modesty and generosity will be admired.

Blame yourself This fuels the illusion that the boss is in charge. Leaders who blame others for their problems come across as disingenuous and powerless: if you dont have the power to break it, how can you have the power to fix it?. However, do not just accept blame and apologize, but take immediate control in whatever way you can: show that you and your people have learned from failure, make and implement new plans, and make sure everyone understands that things are improving because of them.

Bolstering Performance Provide psychological safety- Create a safety zone where people can take about ideas, test them and make mistakes without fear of ridicule or punishment. Shield people Best bosses implement ways to reduce the mental and emotional load heaped on their followers, and protect them from incompetence and premature judgment of fellow bosses who can undermine their teams work and well-being. Followers who enjoy such protection have the freedom the take risks. Also, protect your peoples time, for example, by eliminating needless meetings. Make small gestures take time to express appreciation whether projects succeed or fail.

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Self-awareness is an important attribute of a good boss. Tuning into to your people is a way of enhancing this self-awareness. Become aware of your flaws, work to overcome them, and enlist others who can compensate for your weakness. Devote effort to understanding your moods, quirks, skills and action affect performance and humanity of your team, and make adjustments to be more helpful and constructive.

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