Forward Momentum: Delivering Results

By Craig Covello, PMP

During the course of my long career as an IT project manager, there have been a few times when circumstance and opportunity translated into a strange role that could be accurately described as “Shadow Project Management”.  It’s something like the Twilight Zone.  This Shadow Project Manager has all the responsibility normally assigned to the official project manager, but without the title.  Instead, this position in the Twilight Zone is usually described as some type of special “consultant”.   If Rod Serling was alive today, he might offer this description:

“Submitted for your approval is the tale of a project in trouble which requires a “special consultant”.  One who ends up filling the void of effective vision, leadership and delegation.  It’s a void between shadow and light that transcends space and time.  Its limits are only those of the mind itself.  Ladies and Gentlemen, you’re entering the wondrous dimension of Shadow Project Management… next stop, The Twilight Zone.”

Perhaps that’s a little dramatic, but you get the point.  So why would I accept a position like that?  Because it’s for the greater good, as described in the following scenario -

• An enterprise wide, high-profile project is either in trouble or has a very aggressive timeline dictated by upper management.

• Due to corporate politics or possibly lack of good managerial judgment, the project manager picked for the position does not have the experience and/or skills required to successfully complete the mission.

• Project sponsors in the organization believe someone else may have the capability to successfully lead the project team to completion, and therefore, would make a good “insurance policy” if installed as a special “consultant” to the effort. This avoids the pain or political embarrassment of replacing the official project manager.

So when these opportunities come along, I usually accept them without much hardship.  The truth is that planning and execution under the Shadow Project Management framework is actually no more difficult than stepping into the role as the official project manager.  The Shadow Project Manager usually garners the same level of respect and responsiveness from the team, since there is a natural human tendency to follow individuals with the vision, confidence, experience and skills to get the job done.  Titles are secondary.   Everyone on the team wants a leader who will create a favorable climate that facilitates task execution and efficiency, while producing a successful project outcome.  In my experience, even the official project manager takes direction from the Shadow Project Manager.   So there’s a silent acknowledgment established among stakeholders and team members, which implicitly authorizes the “consultant” to stealthily act as the PM.

Admittedly, it is flattering when asked to quietly step in and manage a critical or troubled project and I enjoy the process of successfully completing the mission.  But it’s also understandably a little less satisfying to have someone else take the credit at the end of the day.  I tend to value the recognition for a job well done as much as the salary that comes with it.  Perhaps you do as well.

Then again, it is for the greater good.  And occasionally that means denying yourself recognition and entering The Twilight Zone of Shadow Project Management.

By Vicki Wrona, PMP

One paragraph in an article I recently read really hit me. The paragraph is:

We often lose our purpose. We plan the path to a goal, start traveling that path, and then forget the end goal and obsesses about the path. A radio talk show host worked on Saturdays. Why? “So someday I can spend more time with my family.” Yet if he stayed home on Saturdays, he could have time with his family now.

The article discusses a business book by Stever Robbins called The Get it Done Guy’s 9 Steps to Work Less and Do More. This made me think about managers and project managers. How many managers do this very thing?

They determine or are told the end goal, develop a path to get there, and then proceed to forget to focus on the goal and instead fixate on the path, treating it like a goal in itself. The object is not necessarily to get the job done in exactly the same way that the original plan laid out or to get it done YOUR way. The object is to get the end goal accomplished as a team, without undue stress, with a sense of accomplishment rather than exhaustion when the work is finished.

This often happens to new managers or those who are not as secure in their positions or with their staff. They know how they want to get to the end goal and focus on that. That’s great, but how THEY would perform the work may not be the same way that their staff would perform it. If a staff member or team member has an approach that will accomplish the end goal, it doesn’t make it wrong just because it is not YOUR way. As long as the approach accomplishes the goal you’ve outlined, it should be considered.

The same goes with PMs who have worked hard to develop a good PM Plan. They and the team are then afraid to alter or touch it. Instead they put it on a shelf and admire it, focusing on making it happen exactly as spelled out. The trouble is, things happen and change, and we have to be pliable in approaching our plan. As Patton said, planning is vital, plans are useless. It is essential that we go through the planning and understand our approach in every detail so that when we put the plan in action and things happen, we can react appropriately and in a way that still allows us to reach the goal without a lot of fire drills and extra stress.

Have you found yourself falling into this trap? What do you do to get out, or stay out, of  it?

by Darrell Glen Stiffler, PMP

Victor Vroom’s Expectancy theory has been around about 46 years now and is consider one of staples of Motivational Theory. The subject pops up a lot when studying project management. Although Vroom’s Expectancy theory is not mentioned in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide), it is rumored to be asked about on the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification test. 

The theory is quite simple and deals with motivation and management. According to Wikipedia, “Vroom’s theory assumes that behavior results from conscience choices among alternatives whose purpose it is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Vroom suggested that the relationship between people’s behavior at work and their goals was not as simple as was first imagined by other scientist. Vroom realized that an employee’s performance is based on individual’s factors such as personality, skills, knowledge, experience and abilities.” 

It has been my observation over the years that, some Individual Contributors (ICs) just don’t know what motivates them. Oh, sure you can talk money, title, time off, more discretionary choices regarding work, etc. Most ICs will assure you that one of the standard “motivations” listed will do the trick for them. That is until you try to motivate them with one of the “motivators”. After agreeing with the IC which one of the “motivators” is the key, the IC still does not perform as agreed. They will say that they changed their mind and what they really wanted was something different. When that happens, the relationship between manager and IC goes south.

What can be done to prevent this chain of events? My approach has been not to suggest any possible motivators. Let the IC come up with a written list of top five motivators for them. It has always surprised me how many people cannot come up with three. Once the motivators have been established, be sure to set roles, responsibilities, expectations and, most importantly, metrics. Be very specific as to what the reward will be if they perform as expected. “I’ll give you some time off” is not specific enough and will create a problem later on. Never give a range of rewards, for example. “You do a good job and I’ll make sure you get a 4% to 6% raise next anniversary”. That statement is a going to cause problems. First, “good job” is not specific enough because of lack of metrics. Secondly, The IC just heard the manager say they would get a 6% increase on their anniversary, and the manager thought he said that the IC would get a 4% increase on the anniversary.

I think Victor Vroom has a good idea, but it, like many things in project management, is situational. If you have ICs that don’t know what their motivations are, be patient with them. If you both keep on trying, you’ll find something someday.

What are your top 5 motivators?

By Vicki Wrona, PMP

In September, Dr. Oz had a show on the best time to do anything. In it, he discussed several things that we can use to our benefit at work. This information centers around working with our natural circadian rhythms.

From a business perspective, I found the following information useful:

• Mundane tasks: Our analytical brain is slower on Monday, so Mondays are best for the more mundane tasks. And you thought it was just YOU who had a hard time getting into the work week. As it turns out, we all naturally do, to some extent!

• Issues: In general, morning is a better time for us to naturally deal with issues. Cortisol levels are high in the morning, which helps us deal with stress and think more clearly. Our brain function peaks in the mid-morning, so 10am is the time our natural body rhythms allow us to be most organized and able to deal with complex issues. I know those of you who are not morning people are thinking this can’t be true. But if you think about it, our internal circadian rhythms have developed over thousands of years from ancestors who better followed natural daylight. Due to lack of good lighting and the reality of their work, they didn’t typically stay up as late into the night as we do now. But that’s a topic for another time.

• Confronting problems: People are more willing to compromise at the end of the week, so Thursdays are a good time to confront those difficult problems.

• Brain Power: Our brains are most focused and rested on Sundays, which can be a good time to try a Sudoku or crossword puzzle…or study for the PMP exam!

• 2pm slump: our bodies naturally make more epinephrine at this time, which is a relaxing hormone. This is when we experience our natural slump. My takeaway here is that if I schedule a meeting at this time, I need to either keep people actively engaged or bring a snack. If I am working alone, I may need to walk or move around or stretch to keep myself awake and more alert.

Now that I know this, when I have a choice, I will choose options which work better with my body’s (and other’s) natural internal rhythms.

How do you work with yours or other’s natural rhythms or preferred patterns?