Tag Archive for: #projectpointers

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Conflict isn’t fun for most people. Emotions are high and substantial outcomes could be at risk for both business and stakeholder relationships. Constructive conflict can be beneficial and should be used, instead of being suppressed. Here’s how to recognize constructive stakeholder conflict. 

• The issue and intended outcome are clear. Conflicts that improve project outcomes have a common characteristic: the issue and desired outcome that are the source of the conflict are well-defined and understood by all parties. Only in that case can discussion lead to an agreeable and lasting resolution. I’ve seen a conflict where a marketing director was arguing for more money to boost sales and the CFO was arguing to reduce costs. When the discussion started, neither senior leader was focused on what was better for the business. When they finally agreed on the best outcome for the business (overall profit), they were able to make constructive progress on resolving their conflict. 
• People share and respect truths. The best outcomes come when people involved in a conflict recognize and respect the viewpoints of all parties. Constructive conflicts are an opportunity for people to share their experiences in an open and non-judgemental way. If anyone in the discussion ignores others’ opinions or experiences, conflict resolution isn’t likely. Make sure that everyone can share their specific experiences and explain how they relate to the issue under discussion. Provide time for questions to ensure that everyone understands the context of others’ experiences and viewpoints. The best outcomes come about when stakeholders spend time collecting experiences and viewpoints to consider and then use that combined experience to make a decision .
• Emotions are recognized but aren’t the focus of the conflict. It’s important to recognize that stakeholders’ emotions could be triggered during the discussion. Recognizing and acknowledging those emotions (without making them the central theme of the discussion) leads to the best outcomes. It also ensures the discussion focuses on the appropriate issues, not personalities. Here’s an example of a statement that recognizes emotion while guiding the discussion toward the central issue. “I sense that this situation is making you nervous, and that’s understandable. What is the business situation that concerns you the most so we can focus our discussion on a solution that addresses that situation?”
• The conflict resolution has no strings attached. Constructive conflicts produce a resolution that is agreeable to everyone without anyone owing anything to anyone else. Everyone can walk away satisfied, knowing that the next time an issue arises, a level playing field exists for all stakeholders involved. Here’s an example of an attached string: “Ok, I’ll agree to this, but next time we discuss something I want more funding for my budget.” That doesn’t close the conflict, is not really constructive, and will lead to less than ideal outcomes.
• A process to measure success considers all viewpoints and is agreed to by everyone. Constructive conflicts end with an agreed-to resolution and a method for measuring whether the resolution was successful. The metrics should be focused on the issues or concerns stakeholders brought to the conflict. For example, a stakeholder agrees to a resolution but is concerned that it might increase costs for a part of the project. You should include separate cost tracking measures to focus on those expenditures. This demonstrates support for the stakeholders and confirmation that their concerns are valid.

Extra credit if you realize that this article includes hints for ways to turn an unconstructive conflict into a constructive one. Share your examples of the constructive conflicts you’re experienced – or tips for making discussions more constructive.

For more about dealing with conflict, check out the Develop Conflict Management Skills learning path.

Coming Up

I finished recording the update to my Advanced Microsoft Project course and I’m really excited about it. The videos are more to the point, and the course has a new, more substantial example project. It should be out in a few months!

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This article belongs to the Bonnie’s Project Pointers newsletter series, which has more than 46,000 subscribers. This newsletter is 100% written by a human (no aliens or AIs involved). If you like this article, you can subscribe to receive notifications when a new article posts.

Want to learn more about the topics I talk about in these newsletters? Watch my courses in the LinkedIn Learning Library and tune into my LinkedIn Office Hours live broadcasts.

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Limited budgets, required scope, hard and fast deadlines, and quality standards. These constraints make project delivery challenging! Wouldn’t it be great to manage projects without the pressure of constraints? Not so fast. Here’s how constraints help us deliver our projects. 

• Budgets drive perceived value. A non-profit I volunteered for used to hold an intro training session free of charge. People would sign up and then no-show. When we began charging $5 for the session, the same number of people would sign up and show up! Likewise, an unlimited budget for producing project deliverables might lead to stakeholders taking what we deliver for granted. We would get endless change requests to add more functions and capabilities to our deliverables. Completing a project would become a minor miracle!
• Scope guides us to the finish line. Without a well-defined scope, we would never know when we were finished. New business demands could lead to endless mandatory requirements. Sure, we want to be responsive to new business demands. We also need to deliver and stabilize products before addressing additional requirements. In an agile environment, you can do this promptly, but not if delivered features aren’t yet working as intended. Scope definition and management helps us ensure business capability moves forward in a stable fashion. Leaps in capability are limited to what stakeholders can absorb, and organizational change management can be effective.
• Deadlines drive priorities and project staffing. How many times have you had staff start working on tasks at the last minute? When operational personnel step out of their day-to-day roles to work on projects, the organization struggles to deal with their absence. So, managers try to avoid that stress as long as possible. Without managed schedules and deadlines, getting staff for project work would become even more difficult than it already is. We need deadlines to set expectations for when business change will occur and to prioritize staff assignments.
• Quality standards guide task definition and testing criteria. The quality needs of stakeholders helps define project activities. And those activities vary based on the quality required. Without quality standards, we can’t be confident that we have appropriate tasks and test plans. For example, word-processing software doesn’t require perfection. A glitch in a word processor isn’t likely to cause significant risk or expense. In contrast, an anomaly in air traffic control software could be devastating on people’s lives. Therefore, an air traffic control systems requires more testing and performance verification tasks, driven by the need for quality. 

What other reasons have you found to love project constraints? Share with us in the comments section.

For more about project constraints, check out my Project Management Foundations course.

Coming Up

Join Chris Croft and me on August 22, 2023, at 9am MT for our live broadcast “Do You Need Project Management Certifications, and If So, Which Ones?”

One of the most frequent questions Chris Croft and I get is “Do I need project management certification?” quickly followed by “Which certification or certifications should I get?” Everyone’s journey is different, just like Chris and I took very different paths. So, we’re going to explore whether project management certifications are valuable, what else you can do to make yourself stand out, and finally, which certifications to look at if you decide you need them. Bring your questions to this informative and fun session. By the way, this topic is just one that we explore in our new course, How to Launch a Career in Project Management. 

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This article belongs to the Bonnie’s Project Pointers newsletter series, which has more than 44,000 subscribers. This newsletter is 100% written by a human (no aliens or AIs involved). If you like this article, you can subscribe to receive notifications when a new article posts.

Want to learn more about the topics I talk about in these newsletters? Watch my courses in the LinkedIn Learning Library and tune into my LinkedIn Office Hours live broadcasts.

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Providing opportunities to team members makes them individually more capable, which leads to more organizational capability for delivering projects. Here are things you can do – TODAY – to create this win-win environment. 

• Encourage sharing of risks and issues that may arise. Project status can change based on what’s been completed, what’s delayed, what stakeholders are talking about, new ideas, and risks that arise. And you’re more likely to hear about them when you support your teams. Here’s how. Whether updates are positive or negative, thank people who share this information. Your first response should be “Does something need fixing?” followed by “What can we learn from this?” That way, you not only address project issues, but also create learning and growth opportunities for your project team members.
• Build in discussions of risk and learning. One agenda item for every project status meeting should be the status of existing risks and potential new risks. Periodically, include an agenda item for a team member to share something they’ve learned. This presents project work as a way for project team members to learn and grow. It also improves your project outcomes and provides incentive for people to join your project teams in the future.
• Help team members understand the business relevance of their project work. A WBS and short task names don’t convey the relevance of tasks to your team members. Take the time to help them understand how their deliverables fit into the big picture to improve the business. The deliverables you receive will be on target and your project team members will expand their business knowledge and opportunities for growth.
• Share the business’s impressions of your project. Often, project managers shield their project teams from business stakeholders, especially when business pressures cause wild reactions to status changes or preliminary project change ideas. But you, as project manager, should share how the business views the project and how its outcomes will be used. That deeper perspective helps the team grasp the strategic relevance of the project and builds capacity to produce results on future projects.

I’m a big fan of win-win approaches, so I know this is an abbreviated list of how to promote and benefit from a win-win focus. How have you promoted win-win in your organization and what other benefits have the organization and individuals received?

For more about working with teams, check out Daniel Station’s Project Management Foundations: Teams course.

Coming Up

One of the most frequent questions Chris Croft and I get is “Do I need project management certification?” quickly followed by “Which certification or certifications should I get?” Everyone’s journey is different, just like Chris and I took very different paths. So, we’re going to explore whether project management certifications are valuable, what else you can do to make yourself stand out, and finally, which certifications to look at if you decide you need them. Bring your questions to this informative and fun session. By the way, this topic is just one that we explore in our new course, How to Launch a Career in Project Management.

Register for the Office Hours session here. (The session recording is available on the event page after the live broadcast ends.)

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This article belongs to the Bonnie’s Project Pointers newsletter series, which has more than 42,000 subscribers. This newsletter is 100% written by a human (no aliens or AIs involved). If you like this article, you can subscribe to receive notifications when a new article posts.

Want to learn more about the topics I talk about in these newsletters? Watch my courses in the LinkedIn Learning Library and tune into my LinkedIn Office Hours live broadcasts.

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The people who work on your project are both a significant factor in its success and a significant cost. So, it’s a good idea to analyze resource plans with an eye to maximizing success while minimizing cost. Here are a few things to think about to make your resource plans shine.

• Get skill levels just right. Most project managers are concerned about not having enough skilled team members. Turns out, being over-skilled can lead to problems, too. It’s great that highly-skilled folks will “do things right the first time.” But they might not do the job any faster. So, a higher-skilled person (who usually costs more) can increase your project cost without shortening the schedule. For the nest results, review your resource plans to make sure you have the right mix of skills you need. If necessary, supplement skills with contractors.
• Are your resources really available? You might rejoice when you get a talented staff member assigned to your project. But these rock stars are often busy with day-to-day operational tasks. Work with management to confirm that “the talent” will be available to your project over the long term.

If their longer-term availability isn’t assured, consider a different approach. For example, assign a lower-skilled, yet capable team member to the project. And arrange for the higher-skilled person to review their work. That way, you’re more likely to stay on schedule while still obtaining the benefit of the talented team member’s knowledge.

• When projects run in parallel. Team members can be pulled into multiple projects. If several projects need the same critical resources, plan your project alongside your fellow project managers. This avoids resource conflicts and undesirable schedule delays.
• How do key stakeholders perceive your team members. Skill isn’t the only criterion for selecting team members. The right attitude and how key stakeholders perceive them is important, too. When key stakeholders don’t trust someone on your team, their confidence in the project could be low.

What if you need someone with critical, scarce skills who doesn’t have the best reputation with stakeholder? Build and share stakeholder management               plans that address the trust issues and maintain confidence in the project. For example, you might include additional reviews of their work or help the team member communicate more effectively.

• Leverage contractors to build skill. Project requirements might necessitate hiring contractors because the appropriate skills aren’t available within your organization. To maximize long-term benefits, require contractors to provide skills training for your staff. That way, skill-building becomes part of the resource plan, expanding capabilities and reducing costs.

Note: Some people aren’t good at training others. If you’re going to have contractors provide training, require that the companies you contract with provide people with training experience.

Do you have questions about resource plans or tips for crafting awesome resource plans? Share with us in the comments section.

For more about resource plans, check out Chris Croft’s Managing Resources Across Project Teams course.

Coming Up

Office Hours: Great Meetings Build Great Teams July 11, 2023, 11am MT

Although great meetings won’t guarantee project success, poorly run meetings could lead to project problems. In this Office Hours broadcast, I’ll be talking with Jim Stewart, PMP and Rich Malzman, PMP about how to keep your necessary meetings from becoming necessary evils. Join us for a fun and informative session. (Bring your questions for a chance to win a complimentary eBook of Great Meetings Build Great Teams. Sign up here:

Office Hours: Gen AI: The Project Manager’s Edge July 19, 2023, 9am MT

AI is transforming project management in several ways, such as taking over the creation of complex and realistic schedules through analysis of all available data. As a project manager, you may wonder how to harness generative AI applications in your work and how to implement them successfully. Join me and my fellow LinkedIn instructors, Doug Rose, Dave Birss, and Christina Charenkova to explore how to put AI to work on your projects. Sign up here.

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This article belongs to the Bonnie’s Project Pointers newsletter series, which has more than 41,000 subscribers. This newsletter is 100% written by a human (no aliens or AIs involved). If you like this article, you can subscribe to receive notifications when a new article posts.

Want to learn more about the topics I talk about in these newsletters? Watch my courses in the LinkedIn Learning Library and tune into my LinkedIn Office Hours live broadcasts.

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Want to make project goals achievable? Start by making sure they’re clearly articulated and supported by key stakeholders. That’s no guarantee though because other conditions can affect their achievability. Here are actions to help ensure your project goals are reasonable and motivate your project team.

• Include training and experimentation tasks in your plan. You will attract the best team members if your project offers learning opportunities. Include training and the chance to practice new skills with some experimentation in your project plan. This expands team members’ understanding. New skills also pique team member interest in project goals. Businesses must innovate to remain competitive. So, treating projects as learning opportunities in addition to enhancing business capabilities means more value that your projects can deliver to stakeholders.
• Develop success measurement approaches before creating success criteria. A common mistake made by project managers is to define success criteria without understanding how those criteria will be measured. For example, some criteria can be assessed only with subjective measures. This often causes conflict instead of uniting the organization around success. Create the measurement process first, then determine what result will be considered success. Your success criteria will be meaningful and allow you to track your degree of success.
• Focus on business processes, not tools or IT systems. Project staff are more likely to understand project goals when they’re tied to existing business processes. Focus on the new or revised business process objectives. This helps team members understand the direction they need to take to meet project goals. Difficulties occur when goals focus on tools. For example, the goal “Implement a new warehouse security software system” leaves out the problem that needs to be corrected, or what opportunity the business wants to achieve. 
• Set practical timelines. Project team members are more likely to support practical, non-arbitrary deadlines. A practical deadline means the timeframe reflects durations proven achievable in past projects. However, a tight deadline for legitimate reasons can be considered practical if management supports new approaches to help meet the deadline. Tight, but practical timelines require motivated teams, so explain the rationale to them to gain their support. (Think Apollo 11 landing on the moon prior to the end of the decade!)

What else do you do to create achievable goals and obtain support for them? Share with us in the comments section.

For more about defining goals, check out my Project Management Foundations course.

Coming Up

Great Meetings Build Great Teams

Although great meetings won’t guarantee project success, poorly run meetings could lead to project problems. In this Office Hours broadcast, I’ll be talking with Jim Stewart, PMP and Rich Malzman, PMP about how to keep your necessary meetings from becoming necessary evils. 

Find out why you should create a project plan for a meeting, how to handle people who behave differently in meetings. Learn about the science of meetings and how to use it. Listen to lessons learned from real-life meeting experiences. 

Join us for a fun and informative session. (Bring your questions for a chance to win a complimentary ebook of Great Meetings Build Great Teams. Click here to sign up: https://www.linkedin.com/events/7079138489325268992

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This article belongs to the Bonnie’s Project Pointers newsletter series, which has more than 40,000 subscribers. This newsletter is 100% written by a human (no aliens or AIs involved). If you like this article, you can subscribe to receive notifications when a new article posts.

Want to learn more about the topics I talk about in these newsletters? Watch my courses in the LinkedIn Learning Library and tune into my LinkedIn Office Hours live broadcasts.

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