8 Simple Steps to Management Success

I found this great list of eight steps to ensure your success as a manager. I think it is a common sense foundation to all success in leading others. I hope it helps you. Unfortunately, I can't for the life of me find a citation for the original author....

STEP ONE: DECIDE TO BE A STRONG MANAGER.
Recognize this as a huge commitment. It requires time, energy, effort and consistency. It’s going to change your role at work and your relationships. It’s going to be a hard transition. You have to make sure, before you start, that you are really sure.

STEP TWO: START TUNING IN INFORMALLY.
First, stop talking about everything under the sun with your people and start talking about the work. Start by asking questions. You will start to learn who is doing what where why when and how. Second, start finding other ways to gather information about who is doing what where why when and how.

STEP THREE: KEEP TUNING IN: THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT EVERY INDIVIDUAL YOU NEED TO MANAGE.
Make a list of every person you need to manage. Remember that every person is different and you’ll need to customize your approach to managing each person.

STEP FOUR: MAKE A PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE FOR MANAGING PEOPLE.
Remember that the centerpiece of managing people more closely is maintaining an ongoing conversation---or coaching dialogue---with every person about the work that person is doing. Just like everything else, your schedule of management conversations is going to be a moving target. But just like everything else, you have to start somewhere.

STEP FIVE: CREATE A TRACKING SYSTEM.
You need a system to monitor, measure, and document each person’s performance on an ongoing basis. Over time you’ll refine a system that works for you. The most important thing with a tracking system is that you actually use it.

STEP SIX: GO PUBLIC.
Before you sit down with the people you manage, you should think about the other key people you need to prepare. Your boss would be a good place to start. Then other key managers and colleagues. Next consider a team meeting.

STEP SEVEN: START ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS WITH EVERY PERSON YOU MANAGE.
Now there is nothing left to do but start managing people more closely. This is what it’s all about. This is where you start the ongoing conversation---or coaching dialogue---with every person about the work that person is doing.

STEP EIGHT: STAY FLEXIBLE.
People change. Circumstances change. You’ll have to keep adjusting your approach every step of the way.

Try taking these actions and watch your results - it really does work!

Managing Multiple Projects

Managing multiple projects presents many unique challenges to a project manager. In addition to developing an integrated plan for a single project, the project manager must satisfy conflicting stakeholder needs and balance resources and schedules in a multiple project environment. Shared resources must be managed through project prioritization.

When evaluating and selecting projects, key business drivers and the organization strategic goals are often not considered. Learning to apply a set of “filters” to assess all projects prior to making a “go-no-go” decision to commence a specific project is one of the key skills. Another is the application of scheduling techniques such as buffer management, which can aid the project manager in producing more realistic schedules.

Challenges

Many organizations have adopted project management best practices to manage projects more effectively, but project management on its own will not bring about the changes in improved performance that organizations are looking for. Project managers might try to compete for resources that are working on other projects in order to force their own projects ahead of schedule. Some of the consequences are:

· Other projects are delayed even more.
· Key staff members are working 60-hour work-weeks.
· Priority projects that only require two months of effort now take two
years to complete.
· Most projects run late.

Where to Start?

The first step in managing multiple projects is to assess the long list of potential projects and apply a system to help in the selection of projects.

Projects are often selected and prioritized based on filters and criteria like:
· Business Case
· Strategic importance
· Benefit or value to the organization
· Return on Investment
· Feasibility
Project managers then prepare a report and make a “Go” or “No Go” decision with key decision makers to commit to doing the project.

Selection Techniques

The selection and prioritization of projects is a two-step process:

1) Develop a balanced portfolio of projects. By categorizing projects, senior management recognizes that there are separate and distinct types and classes of projects and can assign teh right people to the right projects.

2) To promote the organization's long-term health and growth, it needs to invest in projects from each category. Project selection becomes a strategic business decision.

Dance Your Way to Project Management Success

RUMBA- The Fail Proof Project Management Dance

To interact with another is a complicated endeavour; project management is likened to dancing; it is a complicated, yet unified balance which requires total focus and complete awareness. RUMBA is a key component in the success of managing an efficient project.

REASONABLE- Interaction and direction within a project team should be Reasonable at all times; communicating reasonable goals aide in the balance between progress and success of the project with the importance of personnel management. Creating reasonable goals or ideas, staff will “buy in” and personalize the task at hand.

UNDERSTANDABLE- By verbalising tasks, goals and directions in an understandable way, you will ensure that your staff and Project Team are on the same page. Many times, it will take a variety of meetings or communicative methods to unify; by providing the communication in an Understandable and clear way, success is right around the corner!

MEASURABLE- When the goal is too large or the message is too broad, teams can become disillusioned and will often give up, making it a complicated challenge for the best Project Managers. By offering ideas and messages that are measurable and realistic, the team will be able to understand how and when they will reach the goal. Once the Goal is attained and measured, there will be a sense of accomplishment and pride through the group. By creating MEASURABLE goals for your group, they will feel inspired and will continue to work towards the next measurable task.

BELIEVABLE- Believe in your project! Set the stage and demonstrate your belief in what the end result is and what the success of the project will mean. If the role, goal or direction is not a subject that is believable, what would be the point of trying to accomplish it? The best Project Managers instil a belief and expectation that this goal and project can be and will be successful. When you create belief for the project and vision, connection grows; when teams have a connection to the project, they will want to see it succeed.

ACHIEVABLE- Project Managers often lay out the plan for the whole project at the kick off meetings, yet they often leave out the crucial aspect of explaining specific and achievable milestones. How can a team buy into a goal that has a scope that is too broad? Why would they want to? A goal that is achievable is definable, measurable and offers incentive; an achievable goal should offer personal connection to stimulate the personal achievement. In order to create achievable goals, Project Managers should communicate specific milestones and offer assistance for the achievement of the small milestones and large, completed project.

RUMBA is a dance that Project Managers will need to be experts at in order to create a team that works towards the project goal as efficiently and systematically as the Project Manger does, although in this dance, someone’s got to lead! To Learn More about RUMBA and how to enhance your Project Management skills, Advance Corporate Training offers many advanced courses in the Project Management field. Contact us at our office at 604.521.5473 for more information on how you can fine tune YOUR Project Management Skills!