Tag Archives: Project Management

NLP, Project Management, Project Management Books, Project Management Communications

Secrets of powerful teams: Revealing ideas of NLP and the use of words

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The ongoing challenges of creating the magical bond between team members in small and big endeavors can be elusive. What more, in the last few decades it has become increasingly challenging, since we have been moving from emphasis on social skills and communities to technical and managerial skills, as a result the lore concerning the magic of teams has been lost.

When I’m facilitating workshops for business professionals, project managers in software development, seminars for finance and IT professionals, consulting with marketing and supply chain experts, I am surprised to witness their low propensity for soft skills literacy. They know the hard aspects of what needs to be done, however they remain clueless when required to lead the teams that help them accomplish the required objectives.

As most of these teams are cross functional in a matrix organization, it is likely that the leaders and managers of these teams do not necessarily have direct hierarchical control over the team members. Requesting deliverables from the team members becomes challenging. Even when the managers do have hierarchical power, the contemporary concepts of empowerment and motivation prevail, making direct commands unpopular to say the least. Yet again requesting fulfillment of the objectives and deliverables becomes tricky. It is quite remarkable that simple concepts for creating positive interactions outside the business world are hardly ever used within business and project teams.

In order to lead through the challenges of both collocated and virtual teams we can use concepts from Neurolinguistic programming (NLP). It is a powerful technique with proven results.

We will explore only a fraction of what NLP is about, specifically several words that are used redundantly in almost each and every team interaction. These words are mostly negative, yet common in team interactions, create noise in the communication, confuse the message, and carry a baggage of ill-considered meanings.

The first word we will examine is – Try

The first word that is used quite often without understanding the implication is: Try.

For example: ‘we will try running this test next week’ or ‘please try to have the results by Wednesday’ or even ‘I tried really hard’.

To understand the issue with- try – view this link: http://bit.ly/18MnRcM .

Try – masks the intent and carries an element of implicit failure within the message. As Yoda said, you either do it or you don’t there is no try. Either you’re going to run the tests next week or you’re not going to run them next week. When you’re saying that: you are going to try to run them next week, most like you’re not going to do it. When I’m telling you: please try to have the results by Wednesday, I’m actually saying that it is fine that they’ll come in by Thursday or Friday or even next month.

Let us look at an email example written by Mark, a team leader:

We have indeed defined a way of work, but we also defined a process for completion of tasks, that we should try to stick to.

What is Mark saying? Did we define a process just so we should try to stick to it? Or did we define a process that we must stick to? By using try, Mark undermines his authority as a team leader; he defined a process so that the team members will follow it.

The abundant use of the word try in many teams, both co-located and virtual, is a sign of fear that both leaders and team members have of stepping up and asking for commitment and responsibility.

Bottom line – drop the TRY it does not add anything to the communication!

The second word we will examine is – Should

The second word that is used quite often without understanding the implication is: Should.

‘Should’ has a flavor of admonition, guilt, and manipulation, especially when other people are using it; by blurting out-loud a general statement with the word ‘should’.

For example: “you should always finish what you’re eating and never leave anything on the plate”. Also: “this should have been completed by now”. And yet another: “you should not get up before the manager has left”.

Let us look at a meeting, where Tina – a production lead, is saying:

Tina answers: “we should focus on production levels as this is what is driving the transfer to production, trust me I’ve been here and have seen these projects many times

In this case Tina is using ‘should’ to reprimand the team and also to have it her way by defining an imaginary rule and enforcing it upon the team. Actually what Tina is saying: “I want to focus on production levels”. Many times people use should instead of ‘I want’, this is the case with parents and children. The admonition of: “you should be nice” is actually saying: “I want you to be nice”.

Observe the power and direct impact of the second sentence as opposed to using ‘should’. People use the word should to mask their wish or need. Instead of directly stating what they want, they construct a stipulation without naming a person responsible for carrying it out.

In families we often hear such a ‘should’ sentence: “the lawn should be cut”. This is indirect communication that with time can create resentment. Actually the person would be better off asking directly what he wants to happen: “please can you cut the lawn now”, is a much better question. Notice that this question can lead into conflict as the other person might rebel and disagree. By using ‘should’ we are avoiding the conflict between our wishes and the other person’s wishes. The truth is that the conflict is not avoided; rather as the communication is not direct it is unclear what the person wants the other person to perform. The conflict thus is exacerbated and not mitigated. The extensive use of ‘should’ stipulations occurs in families, in couples, and naturally also in teams.

Monitor the ‘shoulds’ in your teams, they are barriers to effective communication and reduce the potential power of the team.

The third word we will examine is – Why

The third word that is used quite often without understanding the implication is: Why.

Why carries a sense of blame to it. for example: “why did you break the glass?” One can see that the usage of ‘why’ here is not about receiving an answer but more about rebuking for the actual breaking of the glass, since there is not a good answer for this question. A wisecrack answer might be: “because I like to see you get mad…” actually, it is just the right answer for a question with the word ‘why’ and often an answer we receive from teenagers for ‘WHY’ questions.

For example, at the same meeting, Ashley the project manager is answering:

Ashley tries to gain control back and asks Tina: “why do you think this is now relevant for our meeting? Let’s try to get back on our planned agenda!”

In this case Ashley is blaming Tina by asking her the question. Ashley would have been better off saying: “Tina, I would like to revert to our defined agenda, I think these are relevant issues for another meeting”.

The word ‘why’ carries guilt and finger-pointing into our team communications. It is better that we leave it out of our messages as it doesn’t have any positive impact on what we are saying. Rather it is clearer to state what we want to achieve or alternatively ask information gathering questions using the word ‘how’.

For example Ashley might ask: “Tina, can you please explain how these figures impact the transfer to operations?”

Notice that while ‘why’ structures a closed ended question, ‘how’ questions are open-ended and investigate as to the process that led to a certain consequence.

The ‘whys’ don’t contribute to clear communication instead they add guilt and finger-pointing, drop them!

Michael NirWant to learn more about the secrets and more NLP words? Six Secrets of Powerful Teams A practical guide to the magic of motivating and influencing teams (The Leadership Series) , available on Amazon

Find Michael’s other publications on: http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Nir/e/B00B0S45W0

Michael has been providing operational, organizational and management consulting and training for over 14 years. He is a certified project management professional and Gestalt process facilitator, offering training, consulting, and solutions development in project and product management, process improvement, leadership, and team building programs
Michael’s professional background includes a significant amount of work in the telecoms, hi-tech, software development, R&D environments and petrochemical & infrastructure business.

Event Management, Observations, project benefits being realised, Project Management War Stories, Project planning, Stakeholders

Event Management – the Project Management underdog

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Event Management is a complex field and is often overlooked by the traditional sense of Project Management due to its relaxed approach to structured delivery. However this is a misconception, as with all project managers – we all approach things differently! Events can be fairly straightforward pieces of work for training weekends and new product launches etc but the rise of large scale events such as festivals and industry conferences demanding a structured approach to presenting a business case, planning, resource management, risk & issue management, change control, reporting and stakeholder management. The role that was once deemed a “write requirements on the back of a cigarette packet” has had to change its ways, especially as even large scale festivals have had to cancel due to lack of interest – wasting time and resources. A failure in the research element could be put to blame here as the market has been flooded by such events – a huge revenue earner but only deeming real success when big names in music are headlining, and with so many to choose from naturally the greater band lists attract the majority.

Such pressures mean that events which are running need to go without a hitch – bad press for chaotic amenities and cancelled acts can damage future ticket sales.

Event Management

Here’s a word cloud taking in some of the considerations for Event Management, now that is a project plan I wouldn’t want to manage – certainly testing the length of any Excel spreadsheet and the patience of an Event PM.

The Event Project Manager, not such an underdog after all – expert Planner, Benefits Manager, and Stakeholder Specialist a great big must!

CV Tips, Project management CV, project management resume, Q&A

Struggling to articulate yourself on your Project Manager CV – Q&A

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Hi Nicola, I have over 15 years experience delivering system integration projects as an interim. I had my CV professionally written a while back by a generalist, however I have not received any contact from my applications over the last 3 months and I am beginning to worry now. I feel my CV is clear but there is something wrong otherwise I would surely be getting calls and interviews?

The reason I originally went to a CV writer was because I struggle to put my experience in a format which meets the terminology and expectations of employers. Can you advise? Rebekah, Project Manager; London

Hi Rebekah, many thanks for getting in touch – I know it can be hard to articulate a great deal of information into a clear and concise document. Having reviewed your CV I can see that there are a few reasons why you are not generating any interest from employers and recruiters, first of all the document is written in the first person which is often frowned upon in a professional environment. The profile doesn’t give the reviewer a clear view of what it is you actually do, this is the introduction into your CV so it is important to make sure it draws the reviewer in to want to read on. The detail about what you were set out to achieve with the projects is quite good, although it is a little long winded so needs reducing. The main issue is with the “responsibilities” bullet points, stating a list such as:

  • Business Analysis
  • Change Management
  • Budget Management
  • Risk & Issue Management

Although you will be hitting the mark with some keyword searching, the reviewer has little information to go on in regards to context, it does make for a good starting point, but you should look to add in further information such as with budget management – how much? Do you hold full budgetary responsibility / P&L? How is it managed? By pulling together a short statement, you are telling the reviewer a lot more about how you work and the complexity of the piece of work.pic 1 (2)

You state a few key achievements which, again, do not tell the reviewer a great deal about the involvement, having since discussed the project you have told me the challenges you have overcome in order to achieve success – now this detail is what makes for a great achievement. Taking these achievements out of the body of the CV and moving them to underneath the profile will highlight to the reviewer how you add value and will certainly set you apart from your peers. I agree that project management is almost a different language and that you need to grasp the lingo in order to gain interest from hiring managers – look back to your formal PM certification/training and start to match the language up to your experiences and you will soon generate some interesting bullets. It is hard not to get too embroiled in the PM language and I know from talking to you that you prefer a more direct approach to communication but striking a balance between the two is key to success.

guest blogger, Project Management Software

Advantages and Disadvantages of using a Free Project Management Software

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Projects are a sequence of some planned activities which an organization undertakes for the attainment of some specific objectives. Accomplishment of a project will likely result in monetary, commercial, intellectual, organizational, social or other gains for the organization.

A project has to be researched and planned about before execution. In online project management important aspects like the team members, budgetary allocation, starting date, closing date, tasks, activities, responsibilities and duties have to be properly defined and documented. The sponsors, consumers and other stakeholders have to be determined and effective communication has to be maintained with them. Every minor detail which is going to play a significant part in a project’s execution is given due attention.PM Software

A project manager is appointed as the head of a project who is going to track, control and oversee the operations involved in a project. He is responsible for the conduct of the project and has to play an active role in coordinating and organizing men, resources and other processes involved in a project.

A project manager has to arrange meetings, read emails, inform members, review progress reports, meet and brief the sponsors and communicate with the customers. Managing these tasks manually can be cumbersome and can result in some serious flaws in communication and operations of a project.

Online Project Management Software are the tools of assistance which help a project manager in performing his duties diligently and with more control.  Project Management Softwares can perform a variety of tasks like documentation, communication, arranging tasks lists, sending email notifications, arrange to-dos and highlight milestones with the help of some useful features contained in them such as Calendars, Dashboards, Gantt charts, etc.

These Project Management Softwares are extremely useful tools in managing projects, but organizations have to shell out a huge sum of money for using them.

Providers of such software spend million of dollars in their research and try to recover the costs by offering them at a huge price.

Only the organizations which are financially well off can afford these.

The organizations which are new and are in not so good financial health cannot go for them due to their high price. But their projects are also too complex and in need of such highly priced software. But where is the solution.

Free Project Management Softwares have been specifically designed for these kind of organizations.

All they have to do is to visit the site of a free project management software provider, download it and install in their organizations and use them.

But these free software have their own share of problems and limitations.

A free project management software might be providing some very basic features which may not serve an organization well enough or they might be full of bugs which can put additional financial burden on the organization.

But at the same time, there are some very useful and unique free project management software which have some very useful features which cannot be matched by even paid software.

Another disadvantage of using these free software is that there is no provider support available when needed. An organization might come across situations when it needs provider support, especially when it faces some technical problems or if it needs to enhance the functionality of a free software. In these cases, there is no help available from the provider’s side. **This can result in a major problem at times when an organization has spent a considerable amount of time in using this and cannot shift to other software at a short notice.

Organizations can also switch to a free software on a trial basis. If an organization is thinking about using project management software for the first time, it is a nice idea to start with free software. Once they get the experience in using them, they can switch to paid software for better productivity in the long run.

It is a great practice to read a lot of reviews about the free software to choose any free software. By reading other users experience, you can make up your mind about choosing a particular software and how it can be of benefit to your organization.

Now the question arises why a company which is pumping million of dollars in research for inventing a new project management software is offering it free.

This might be a marketing strategy to popularize it. When a lot of organizations start using it, the providers can come up with a new and paid offer.

An organization wanting to go for a project management software has to analyze and study which software it should opt for paid or free. Only a truthful analysis can be a better guide for an organization in choosing the project management software that can prove productive for its working.

 

Sharon is a business manager of a ProofHub.com, a web based project management software that provides features like discussions, time tracking, file sharing, inbuilt browser chat and more. Her interest includes blogging, traveling and exploring new places.