Project Management 411

Last post was about being able to answer the question “who are you?” This foundation is necessary before taking steps to be more effective with people. Otherwise, your interactions can become a messy mix of confusing messages that you will have to clean up- which takes a lot of time. You may get things done but you will perform, and lead, less effectively. I had another opportunity to co-present with a Director of Manufacturing who also is a leadership expert. This man knew who he was- he immediately demonstrated a confidence that drew the audience to him and caused them to hang on every word. Observing this was great in and of itself. He put himself in a position to “lead” the group he spoke to with wisdom and excellent advice.

Once you have your demonstrated foundation of personality and value awareness, you can learn about and deploy people effectiveness skills and techniques. More on this in future posts, but now I want to emphasize that leading is also lifelong learning. You will not know everything about projects you work on. That same Director of Manufacturing was hired in spite of his lack of knowledge about design and manufacturing of the products produced by his company. He advised “don’t be afraid to say you don’t know”.

He also had a good answer when asked how he could manage the operation without this experience. He said that his expertise is in managing and leading people and that he can learn about the other things. He still learns- e.g., he attends training sessions on new design and manufacturing techniques with his people. The lesson is that you truly have to understand who you are and why you are valuable to your organization or project- and keep on learning.

Share your leadership experiences especially the ones where “you didn’t know” something about the project you managed.