Failure is not an option – Part 2

In the previous post we started discussing about the project problems and ways to deal with them. Let us discuss some more issues related to project problems in this post.
Diligence helps you in progressing towards success. . If you know you are right, make it a habit to stand for your cause and don’t give up until you resolve the issue. This helps people in considering your cause and helps them in understanding your sincerity for the cause which they might not have considered till then. This technique often leads to success.

A Good Project Manager...

Good project managers are relentless in getting things done. They always look forward for the ways to improve their work. They eliminate ambiguities and bring more clarity to work. As a Project manager stay skeptical as well as optimistic in the issue of problem-solving. You have to apply enough intensity and focus to solve issues. As a project manager you need to be clever and confident on your actions. Look for smarter ways to resolve problems. Donot assume doing everything by yourself, share work with others and make effective use of them.

As a Project Manager...

Project managers must pay attention to environments such as social, political, and organizational in which they are in. You need to adopt right approaches according to the environment you are into. Some of the situations where a project manager has to be confident and mindful are in:

Ø Motivating and inspiring people
Ø Organizing teams and planning for action
Ø Settling arguments or breaking the deadlocks
Ø Negotiating with other organizations or cultures
Ø Making arguments for resources
Ø Persuading anyone of anything
Ø Managing reports (personnel)

Failure Is Not an Option - Part 1

A problem or issue can occur at any point of time in a project. When a problem occurs in project, how many of you really put your time and energy to find out a solution and rectify the problem?

Usually, what happens in most of the projects is, either the team gives up or accepts a partial solution, and then drag the problem to make it more worst or start blaming each other. If you are a successful project manager, you take the problem head on and come up with a suitable solution. It requires lot of energy and patience as you have to reorganize the dysfunctional team to agree on goals. A dysfunctional team has various opinions and disagreements on certain decisions. In such situations, as a project manager, you are forced to question your team members to seek the truth regardless of the matter that how uncomfortable they might feel. There might be people with specialized roles who are reluctant to take other responsibilities, which are beyond their scope. It is your responsibility to make them do things which they don’t like.

Conflicts are part of projects. You must know how to resolve disputes between team members. Sometimes, you have to push your team to come up with alternatives and to focus their energy to find out best solutions. An effective project manager always tries to question the assumptions that were left unchallenged by others. One of the best ways to clarify assumptions is ask the question, “How do you know about what you know?”

Believe yourself that 99% of the time, there is a solution to the problem. Sometimes, you may not find a solution at hand in the first attempt itself, you need to go deeper or probe questions that need to be answered for the success of the project. You have handful of alternative solutions, just pick up the right one. Take ownership of the problem, then you will be confident enough to make decisions on solutions. Remember that solutions never come to you; instead you have to hunt for them.

It’s all about decisions about decisions-Part 2

In the previous post we discussed about the importance of decisions in projects. We discussed some tips that help in sizing up the decisions for the projects. In this post we will discuss some more tips which help in sizing up project decisions.

Allot reasonable time
Make sure that you allot reasonable time for decision making process. If you procrastinate your decisions then you end up with minimal choices. Therefore, ensure that you do not waste so much time in decision making process. Sometimes, big decisions need to be taken in short period of time. You may be forced to make tough strategic decisions quickly due to limited number of opportunities you have. In most of the projects, situations are made in which speed of decision making matters more than the quality of the decision.

Admit your ignorance
If you find a task difficult or you don’t have an idea on how to do it, communicate the difficulty to your senior person. Hiding your ignorance is not the solution for that problem. Admit your ignorance. Admission about your ignorance symbolizes your courage. Such behavior helps your team to identify the inexperience you have with the decision and seek help from outside department. Honesty among the team members will improve the quality of decisions.

Consider others opinion too
You may be a better decision maker than others. However, that doesn’t mean that you are the only best decision maker in your team. Appreciate people who know things more than you and seek their consultation whenever necessary. Try to bring such people in the discussion table and value their opinions. Make a collaborative decision rather than a personal decision.

Be careful
You need to be very careful in making project decisions. Collect feedback from various people before you decide on something. Sometimes, trivial decisions will be complicated due to the vested interest of the stakeholders and authorities.

It’s all about decisions about decisions–Part 1

Life is all about the decisions we take from the choices available to us. People choose and make decisions according to priorities in their life. This simple principle applies to the decisions in project too. However, one need to realize that the decisions we make have a longer or deeper impact on the project and people related to it. Most of the people feel decision making is energy consuming aspect keeping in mind about the impact levels of those decisions.

First step in decision making process is to assess the consequences of decisions. Sometimes, we have to make instant decisions which might be right or wrong. In such situations, only after making the decision we can think about its consequences. How can one make right decision instantaneously? I’m sure that many of us must have asked this question to one own self several times. In this post we shall discuss some tips that can help you in sizing up the decisions for the projects.

Analyze the problem first
Most of the times, issues arise due to minor mistakes. So to have a proper understanding, find out the root causes for the real problem to get the actual decision that needs to be made. Re-defining your problem and decision can enhance your decision quality. Keep yourself calm and patient in making decisions for urgent issues.

Assess the impacts of decision
You have to consider the intensity of impact of your decisions that you make. Major decisions can have deeper impact on the entire project. For example, introduction of a new technology into the project will have greater impact. A small decision will have a limited way of impact with less intensity. It is always good to make major decisions at the early stage of the project. Such long-term decision requires lot of patience and rigor. At the same time, small decisions look for speed and clarity.