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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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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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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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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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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 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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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.