Eyes & Ears: The PM’s Power Tools
Project management tools are abundant. It's easy to find tools for scheduling, team management and coordination, risk, and testing control. They’re useful in the drive for project success. But the ultimate project management power tool doesn’t need a software license…it’s using your eyes and ears. Being a project manager who is a keen listener and observer can help discover many things that aren’t obvious, including:
Surfacing hidden problems or opportunities. While the purpose for many projects is well understood, others can have unstated objectives. The PM who listens carefully can hear hints for when this is the case. An example is hearing vague statements like “that will clear things up” where the things â€needing to be cleared up’ aren’t shared. You might also hear people uncomfortable with change refer to keeping the current process, when in fact new processes would generate improvement.
Identifying senior stakeholder conflicts - Projects can create opportunities for some areas of the business while creating perceived impacts on others. Listening to stakeholders carefully can reveal conflicts about impacts that aren’t being discussed. Often taking the form of lukewarm endorsements, probing to determine underlying concerns can bring these conflicts to the surface. The resulting discussions can save time and tensions later in the project lifecycle.
Observing the project’s mood by noticing changes in behavior- Project pathways are rarely linear. Scope changes, issues, resource adjustments, and business pressures can change the way stakeholders feel about the project. Because they aren’t always verbalized, listening and watching for behavior changes can reveal these concerns. Enthusiastic participants in meetings can become more reserved, or people who are excited about task completions change their focus to wanting to understand plans going forward. Noting and understanding what’s behind these behavioral changes can help the project manager and sponsor act to restore confidence in the project.
Detecting unspoken fears - I once worked with a very good sponsor that had an obstacle to overcome. His manager was very difficult to reason with, and it affected his actions as a sponsor. While he would agree that a proposed action was reasonable, if he wasn’t sure he could defend that action to his manager, his vocabulary would change. When detecting this change in behavior, the project team would provide extra status details to help justify alternatives presented to the difficult manager by our sponsor. Listening carefully to pick up fears helped support the sponsor and move the project forward.
领英推čŤ
Additional tips can be found in my project management classes on LinkedIn Learning, including:
·??????Project Management: Technical Projects which can be found at: https://www.dhirubhai.net/learning/project-management-technical-projects-2021/what-is-a-technical-project?autoAdvance=true&autoSkip=false&autoplay=true&resume=false&u=2125562
·??????Project Management: Healthcare Projects, available at: https://www.dhirubhai.net/learning/project-management-healthcare-projects/overview-of-healthcare-project-challenges-2?autoAdvance=true&autoSkip=false&autoplay=true&resume=false&u=2125562
Not a member of LinkedIn Learning? You’ll get to view the introduction to the course and will be given the opportunity to get a free trial which will give you access to the entire LinkedIn Learning Library of courses.?
Project Manager - Commissioning Manager
3 ĺą´Totally agree, and many times we have to make an effort to be a good listener! Thanks for the article
ANTI-BULLYING is my specialty. It doesn’t matter what your strategic objective is if your people aren’t engaged and anyway, Duty of Care is a legal & human responsibility. Let’s talk 0407 827173
3 ĺą´aaarh, LISTENING, such a simple word but oh so complex. MY ALALA approach helps people break their habit of defending their thought, over-talking, and just plain 'not listening'. see DevelopThroughLeadershipTHinking for how ALALA works - and it does! Connecting with people is foundational, it is difficult to listen if the interlocutor doesn't feel safe in sharing. Every you wrote in your article Bob is important and right on the point, as always. The challenge is to move the thoughts into 'doable' actions, ALALA does that. Also, deBono's six thinking hats - workout the hat your interlocutor demonstrates mostly and approach them through that lens, you will be amazed at how their listening improves - in sync.
Researcher, Change Management, Root Cause Problem-Solving Solutions Expert for Remediation of Risk Planning and GRC - CIO Controls Management Overarching and Executive Summary Reporting | PMP Accredited Certifications
3 ĺą´Love this week's newsletter!! Thank you for sharing materials links, Bob!! ?