PM Tales #4: From Cloudcuckooland to Digital Transformation: a Journey Through Project Leadership
Valerio Pianella
??Connecting People ????Passionate Project Management Enthusiast ??PMP? ?? Lean Six Sigma Black Belt ??Digital Payments Expert ??Poet ??Newsletter Creator
In this transformative era where the boundaries between the tangible and the virtual blur, project leadership has never been more pivotal. Our journey from Cloudcuckooland — an idyllic realm of unfettered imagination — to the tangible achievements of digital transformation represents the essence of project management. It's a path that weaves through the human spirit, innovation, and the relentless pursuit of excellence.
In this fourth edition of PM Tales, we dive into the heart of project leadership, exploring the multifaceted challenges and triumphs that define our era. We delve into stories of transformation, leadership, and the power of nudging behavior towards better outcomes. Join us as we navigate these narratives:
As we traverse these stories, our hope is to illuminate the path for project managers and leaders forging ahead in the digital age. Whether you're orchestrating a team from across the globe, steering transformational changes, or seeking to inspire and lead with empathy and insight, this edition is crafted for you.
Let's start!
?? Interview with Elisa Pogliano: Navigating Change with Hen's Milk
In an illuminating conversation, Elisa Pogliano , founder of Hen's Milk, delves into the art of leading transformational change. Drawing from her rich tapestry of experiences, she shares insights on fostering project management principles outside traditional roles, managing projects with empathy, and the pivotal role of trust and communication in remote teams. Hen's Milk, symbolizing rare and precious support in digital marketing and eCommerce leadership, emerges as a lighthouse guiding through the storms of change.
Who is Elisa
Before our deep dive with Elisa Pogliano, let’s briefly meet the digital transformation expert behind Hen's Milk. With a rich 19-year career across global brands like P&G and Mattel, Elisa is a luminary in the digital marketing, eCommerce, and media landscapes.
Quick Glance at Elisa:
Elisa’s journey from leading digital initiatives in multinational corporations to founding her consultancy embodies the spirit of transformation and leadership we explore in PM Tales.
After an impressive experience in large corporations, you founded your own company, Hen's Milk, aimed at supporting managers in other companies to lead change, transformation, and continual evolution. "Hen's Milk" is quite a unique and curious name. Could you share the story behind this name choice?
[Elisa] Hen’s Milk is an expression that was used for the first time by Ancient Greek playwright?Aristophanes, indicating something hard to find, precious, and delicious. I have called my business “Hen’s Milk” because I intend to offer Digital Marketing & eCommerce senior leaders something I personally struggled to find when I was in their shoes – someone who could understand my strategy (and help me refine it), but also be hands-on, move projects forward for me, take chunks of work off my full plate.
With your rich experience in digital transformation and leadership, how do you recommend introducing project management concepts to professionals who don't traditionally operate in project management roles?
[Elisa] I personally like using my 1:1 business coaching workshops for this purpose. I work 1:1 with Digital Marketing & eCommerce leaders, understand their objectives and what is preventing them from achieving them. Through this coaching process, we get to define their enablers – what needs to be true to unlock a given objective? Which is another way of saying, what is your “definition of done”.?
If the enabler is a complex one to achieve, we may then reflect on how to break it down into manageable chunks – in project management, you may call them “iterations” or “releases”. Finally, once we have defined these, we redesign together the transformation roadmap.?
I find that getting a business leader to think more like a project manager helps them achieve more profound and sustainable transformation.
Considering your career in consumer goods and digital strategy, what fundamental project management principles do you believe are essential for every professional to understand and apply, regardless of their field?
[Elisa] Having an overview of everything that is going on, understanding resources allocation and trade-offs, making priority calls. You’d be surprised how many leaders react in shock, when they get asked what they would deprioritise in order to make space for their latest bright new idea! Also, the notion of chunking down a project into smaller iterations that still deliver a meaningful benefit – the proverbial elephant that can only be eaten one bite at a time.
Many professionals experience a form of psychological resistance when first introduced to project management tools like Planner, Trello, or ClickUp. Based on your observations, what are the common reasons behind this resistance, and how can it be effectively addressed?
[Elisa] That’s so true! This kind of resistance is a common indication of a poor, low-maturity company culture. In general, the biggest resistance comes from the work becoming transparent: suddenly, everyone is being held accountable for deliverables being late or falling short of the “definition of done”. It’s essential to create a climate of psychological safety, where team members try their hardest, but are also not afraid of flagging when something won’t get done on time.
It’s not just about the fear of other people seeing the status of your deliverables (and judging you). Sometimes, people only have a vague sense of how many tasks and projects they have embarked on – until they organise them all in one place. At this point, they may feel overwhelmed, as they get confronted with the fact that their workload is not achievable. Only with time and coaching, they start seeing the benefits of having this visibility and being able to make deliberate choices.
Reflecting on your extensive background, could you share a memorable instance where you helped a team or individual overcome their apprehension towards using project management tools? What strategies proved most effective?
[Elisa] In my line of work, I often find myself acting as a “mediator” between a client and their marketing or media agency. In one occasion, the agency team was consistently missing deliverables and the client was constantly chasing them. They claimed to be using some internal task management tools to keep track, but this process was not transparent and not shared with the client.?
The tool of choice was Microsoft Planner, which is a fairly basic software, but the only one that both the client and the agency could access, due to their IT policies. I used it to structure a Kanban board with some smart tags and plot all active projects and deliverables on it. I then explained the principles to everyone involved and we started running weekly reviews.?
Initially, the agency team looked sheepish and disgruntled in these calls, which were only making it more obvious that they were missing deadline after deadline.
However, after a few weeks, the magic happened. The agency realised that this was not a tool to punish them, but something they could use to manage the client’s expectations, or to flag items that were blocked due to a lack of client input, without the fear of sounding confrontational.?
This is not something you can just explain in words – you have to show it. To achieve this, I would ask questions like: “Hey agency, I see you have committed to delivering X, Y and also Z by the end of the week. It sounds like they all depend on the same person, do you think it’s realistic? Client, which one of these can we deprioritise?” Or: “Do you have everything you need from the client to complete this task?”
As someone who is both a subject matter expert and a project manager, how do you navigate the challenges that come with managing projects outside your area of expertise?
[Elisa] There’s a school of thought that a project manager is someone who can manage any projects, without knowing the subject matter. Personally, I disagree with this idea. Sure: as a project manager, you can’t know all the details of what every specialist who is involved in the project team does. In the simplest terms, your job is to ask them specific questions, so you can understand enough to break the project into chunks, identify dependencies and anticipate roadblocks. Therefore, you should know what you don’t know. If you are operating in a field where you don’t know what you don’t know, managing a project is still possible, but you’re unlikely to be effective. This is why I have chosen to specialise in Digital Marketing, eCommerce and Media projects.
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In the realm of digital marketing and eCommerce, how critical do you believe it is for a project manager to possess subject matter expertise in the projects they oversee? Could you provide examples from your own experience where this was particularly beneficial or, conversely, where a lack of expertise posed challenges?
[Elisa] One issue I have often noticed is that Digital teams and agencies are increasingly staffed with junior teams. These may have subject matter expertise in their respective specialist areas, but lack an understanding of the bigger picture.?
This works well for “business as usual” operations; for example, if you are managing paid ads on a given social media platform, being hyper-specialised pays out.?
When you manage a complex project, it’s usually because you are trying to start something new, or change something, which involves different stakeholders and processes. Team members who don’t have sufficient breadth in their expertise won’t be effective in managing such projects. That’s why I’m very thankful for the Account Management and Commercial Strategy assignments I did early in my career, which gave me a broader understanding of how brand marketing & sales teams work and think.
From your viewpoint as a transformation expert and digital strategy voice, what are the most significant trends in project management and digital transformation that professionals should be aware of today?
[Elisa] I think trends are overrated. The word “digital transformation” itself was trendy at one stage, but ended up getting a bad reputation. Why? Because it became an excuse for huge investments in software, often led by IT teams without the necessary close partnership with business leaders, nor the right level of expertise and resources allocated to change management. Turns out that spending millions on licensing a new piece of tech and not budgeting for ongoing adoption support and maintenance doesn’t work so well.
You think the industry would have learnt from this the importance of taking care of the human aspect, of ensuring that tools have a clear business benefit and get adopted correctly. Instead, I fear we are falling into the same trap with GenAI. Everyone now is rushing to say they are “AI-first”, or wondering what their “AI strategy” is. What they should pay attention to is what parts of their existing business strategy and model should be enabled by AI, or need to change because of it.
What advice would you give to emerging leaders in digital and eCommerce spaces regarding driving change and managing projects effectively, especially when dealing with cross-functional teams that may not have direct project management experience?
[Elisa] Skimping on project management & change management resources is the definition of false economy. Sure, you can (should) get your existing team trained on project management basics, but understand that this will take time. If you need to drive change now, and you don’t have enough skilled staff in-house, look for outside expertise. By the way, observing a more experienced project & change manager in action is a great way for your team to hone in on those skills for the future.
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?? Theodore and the Sentient Project
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?? Book Review: Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness
In this post, we explore "Nudge," a compelling work by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein that delves into the power of subtle influences on our decision-making processes. The book review illuminates how understanding and leveraging these nudges can lead to better choices in health, wealth, and happiness, presenting a fascinating intersection with project management and leadership. Through the lens of behavioral economics, we uncover strategies to guide teams and stakeholders toward more beneficial outcomes, shaping a world where better decisions create a brighter horizon.
Join our community
The journey from Cloudcuckooland to the realms of digital transformation is both a challenge and an opportunity — a testament to the power of project leadership in shaping the future. Through tales of innovation, transformation, and leadership, this edition of PM Tales aims to inspire, guide, and celebrate the project management community. May these stories light your path as you navigate the complex, yet rewarding, seas of project leadership.
Until our paths cross again in the next edition, may your projects thrive and your leadership illuminate the way for others.
Valerio