Listening in ...

I read this on a post recently: "Be a Window, Not a Door"

Focusing on the value of transparency. It's not about micromanagement and continuously monitoring KPIs. It's about knowing when to take a failure bow, tell the truth, and provide real insights into the vision. As leaders/managers not to solve every problem but to enable the system. What would we do differently next time?

In a valuable, emotional post mortem retrospective with my team through an industry wide integration, these are the things that stood out the most for me:

• People, not resources, people, are our most valuable assets. Time, space, support is what people need to function.
• Having the right mix of people on your teams, with skills, balance and giving trust and autonomy to grow and trust in their own abilities. Forming teams out of the norm and going through the Tuckman model and stages
• Mental health, work/life balance, the themes of the pandemic that has come out so strongly and to create the space for this. To ask for help (whatever help means to you at the time), is not a sign of weakness
• Through all my corporate project experiences, never have I met people of this calibre with unquestionable commitment and dedication
• Open communication throughout with all stakeholders and customers. Even when experiencing environmental out-of-your-control release issues
• Scope changes, it will and it should. No PM has executed a plan that they started out with on day one and 6 months later stuck to it solidly. At some point the triangle needs to give. The cost, time and quality has changed to people, value and time.
• Respect travelling through the system internally and externally. To treat each other with respect even when irritated and under pressure. Be kind. No matter what.
• Knowing when to say NO. No by itself is a complete sentence. Not always easy as it comes with a certain amount of power to be able to say No but to say no to the things that do not add value.

As much as these are obvious and taken for granted and we should know them and not do them, if we don't listen and make these changes, have we succeeded?

Listen, from the back of the room.