Project Management & Sports
The Story
The idea for this article came up while I was preparing myself for my PRINCE2 Foundation examination and while I was taking breaks to train.
As a daughter of a military father and part of a family that has always been practicing sports, a lot of military practices and books were thrown my way while I was growing up.
While reading the theory behind PRINCE2 suddenly things connected with one another and I started comparing the Project Management practices with all the sports practices I have stumbled upon while reading books or while training. Therefore, I decided to share my insights with you.?
In this paper you will read about:?
Lessons Learned
There is a question that every manager got asked, if not on a weekly basis, then on a monthly basis for sure - "How do you find motivation to move on and how do you keep getting things done?"?
Every time someone asks me this, my answer is always "I don't know". What I can tell them though is that my punchline is: What would you do if you could just do it all the time?
My answer on this are two things: doing sports & being surrounded and communicating with people. I do not know how good of a PM I am but I can tell one thing for sure - I am good with people and I strongly believe that it is so because of the discipline and the team work sports taught me during the years.?
Everybody is the happiest when they get to be doing what they want to be doing. When you get to do what you want to do, you've won. However, there's naivete existing in the world that just because you do things and you tell people what to do (this is what all the PMs are supposed to be doing and are perceived to be doing), then people are going to listen. This is wrong. You actually have to be good. You have to be a good team player and you have to be a fantastic role model?when leading projects.
To lead and manage projects equals?taking ownership first of yourself and then on the others. This is the fundamental learning?point that training volleyball for 8 years has taught me - you cannot help the team win, without taking responsibility for:
Training volleyball for 8 years and practicing modern dances over 5 years gave me a lot. We've had many wins, we failed a lot, but guess what - the same fundamentals apply for the Project Management as well -?at the end of the day it is going to be what it's going to be. It isn't just results that matter but also your work ethic that is being built during the way. How did people around you feel about you? How much did you contribute??
One book that literally changed my perspective not only on sports but on leadership as a whole and has a huge impact on my PM actions, is the book by Jocko Willing and Leif Babin, "The Dichotomy of Leadership".?There are four Laws of Combat outlined there with which my volleyball coach was trying to lead the team.?
Hard work is the first, second and the third part of the formula of everything you want to do and it doesn't matter whether it is for business, trainings or whatever. When you have the audacity to be the best part of yourself, you need to put in the work. Work is the variable of success in everything. Work.?The work trumps everything. It's the one non-debatable. You can debate talent, you can debate luck, you can debate circumstance but you can't debate if somebody's putting in the work. It's the same in business and in sports:
"Hard training and hard work are the solemn duty of trainers and leaders every day."
Why PRINCE2 fundamentals
When preparing for my PRINCE2 certification I found out that the PM practices look alike with the sport practices a lot! Let's see how so.?
But first, let's start with what is PRINCE2.?
The abbreviation of Prince2 stands for PRojects IN Controlled Environments.?
Why is Prince2 used so widely??
Projects are the means of introducing a change in organizations. Compared to the sports, every competition can be looked over as a small project with an end goal and a timeline to be fulfilled.?
Structure of PRINCE2 & Sports Principles
The PRINCE2 Structure comprises four integrated elements:
Project Environment → Principles → Themes → Processes?
Fig. 1: PRINCE2 Structure
In project management, the project environment or tailoring is the approach to the project environment processed.?
The principles and the themes are the most important aspects of project management. But why?
Principles
In PRINCE2 they are the guiding obligations or the pillars of the project. There are seven principles in PRINCE2 which are (USE) - Universal, Self-validating, Empowering.?
In sports, the principles are the leading power of every athlete. In his book "Chasing excellence" Ben Bergeron has three principles of coaching as well: Awareness, Intention and Action.?
In project management these principles are:?
Themes
Themes provide insight into how the project should be managed. They can be thought of as knowledge areas, or how principles are put in practice. They are set up at the beginning of the project and then monitored throughout. Projects are kept on track by constantly addressing these themes:
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Processes
Each process is overseen by the project manager and approved by the project board. Here is a breakdown of each stage:?
2. Initiating a Project (IP) - this stage is about realizing what needs to be done to complete the project. The project manager outlines how the following performances targets will be managed:?
3. Directing a project (DP)?
4. Managing Product Delivery (MP) - this is how the communication between the team manager and project manager is controlled. MP comprises these activities:?
5. Managing Stage Boundaries (SB) - Project managers and the board review every sage. The board divides whether to continue the project. The project manager meets with the team to record lessons learned for the next stage. In their book "the Dichotomy of Leadership", Jocko Willing and Leif Babin underlines that what makes the best leaders and best teams great (and the best executed project) is that when they make mistakes, they acknowledge them, take ownership, and make corrections to upgrade their performance. Which each iteration, the team and its leaders enhance their effectiveness.?
6. Closing a Project (CP)
I practice CrossFit for over 3 years already. Ben Bergeron is one of the best coaches in this sport. When preparing athletes for CrossFit Games, he follows a hierarchy of development in the pyramid below. I deeply believe it is in the core of every project manager's principle as well.?
Fig. 2: Chasing Excellence Pyramid?
It starts with the development of the person, of the character traits necessary to achieve at a high level. These character traits enable the athletes to follow a rigorous process designed to use every minute of every day toward improvement and progress. The process allows to maximize every ounce of their abilities, which shapes the strategy.?
Project Management, Leadership & Sports?
Project Management and sports are interconnected in so many ways. Most of the times just the principles or the processes are not called in the same way, however their meaning is the same.?
Sports breed the leader in you and a project manager without leadership skills is doomed to failure.?In most cases, rather than extremes, leadership requires balance. Leaders must find the equilibrium between opposing forces that pull in opposite directions. Being aggressive but cautious, disciplined but not rigid, a leader but also a follower - it applies to almost every aspect of leadership (and in PM and in sports (being the mediator)). Achieving the proper balance in each of the many dichotomies is the most difficult aspect of leadership and management.?
Here are some points I can outline- these are of crucial importance for both Project Management & being an athlete.?
Conclusions
If you have made it through the article so far, thank you and congrats! :)
Here is what you have gone through:?
Based on my professional and sports experience so far, I have concluded the following traits as most important ones if you want to be a good PM, manager, leader, person:?
Hard work
Consistency
Right attitude
Everything else can be achieved in time. It's a process. And you know what, if you are good enough - nobody is stopping you? If you are a minority, if you are female, if you're transgender, even if you are an alien - the market and the business do not care! If you lead and behave the best out of you - you will win.?
Being good at something, let's say successful, has several variables. I think self-awareness is number one.?If you don't know yourself and you don't know what you are good at, you've got no shot because you are going to be spinning your wheels. Simple as that.
One of the biggest problems I observe in business and in sports is that people are afraid to deal with the reality of every situation. Dwelling, pondering and crying will not help you.
People are just scared to fail in front of other people.
However, the best part is that if you fail hard in front of everyone - you will eventually (and if you have the growth mindset) learn from your mistakes.
And hey, as Gary Vaynerchuk says in his book Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence-and How You Can, Too,
"Battle scars are attractive!"
Beat that.
And as Matt Fraser's book states (and is on my sneakers, no joke here!) - HARD WORK PAYS OFF.?
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4 个月This gave me a heads-up about what I really want to do. Thank you for shining light on a path.
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3 年Very insightful! ????