Reach for the Edge

Hi all, this is Chapter 3 in a series of articles describing what I believe to be the Most Important Characteristics of Successful Project Managers. These articles are based on material that I presented at a local PMI conference several years ago, and they are motivated by my desire to share a bit of knowledge from my 20+ years of leading projects and interacting closely with stakeholders. If you benefit from these leadership principles or can apply them in any way, my mission will have been accomplished! 

Your Edge is a Moving Target

When I first started my career as a young project engineer, my supervisor, David P. Smith, would stop by my desk nearly every week and say, “Wendlandt, are you gainfully employed?” After seeing the perplexed look on my face, he explained that he was trying to find my “edge,” meaning my workload capability limit. He went on to say that my edge was going to move out a little further each week, meaning my capability as an engineer was going to grow quickly, and that he intended to keep challenging me more as that happened. He would always conclude our little talks by saying,

"I want to push you to the edge, but not over the edge.”

This was great imagery to start my career with, and I have carried it with me ever since, using it as a reminder to always resist complacency and reach for new challenges, both in my professional life and my personal life. Yes, Mr. Smith, I am still gainfully employed thanks to your help.

Keeping the Mindset

We each have a personal edge that shifts and increases over time as skills are developed, and we each have a different natural level of risk tolerance, in terms of accepting challenges and stretching ourselves toward aggressive goals. Regardless of where your starting point is, you can learn to stretch further than you ever imagined. This is very similar to a runner training to reach a personal best time in a 5k race. Yes, it is important to know where the leaders finished in the race, but it is at least as important to know that you are making improvements toward your next personal goal i.e. moving your edge. As your skills improve, your goals can become more aggressive. 

One of the most satisfying things in life is reaching a challenging goal. These kinds of goals revive us, push us, and keep us wanting to give our best every day. For instance, one of the best feelings for an engineer who has conceptualized a new product is to walk down the assembly line when the project is over, see the product flowing down the line, and know that he/she was there at the beginning of the process months or even years earlier. I have had that privilege a few times and it never gets old. If we ever get to the point where we feel like “we have arrived,” and that we no longer have that desire to push our edge out further, then our level of job satisfaction and performance will surely suffer. Pushing our edge outward is hard work, but it is also extremely gratifying and rewarding.

A Revolutionary Moment

Project Managers sometimes reach a crucial juncture on a project where a pivotal decision must be made, and they must decide whether they should “go for it.” Sometimes this moment is related to a design decision (do we do it this way or that way), or maybe a new manufacturing process, or perhaps a completely new requirement in the middle of the project. These can be gut-wrenching, loss-of-sleep type decisions; I have been through my fair share of these late-night calculations and schedule analyses at the kitchen table. While I haven’t always made the perfect decisions in these moments, I can tell you that the times I have chosen to stretch myself have been the most rewarding, pivotal moments in my career. My “edge” moved in a significant way as a result of decisions like those. It always starts with a decision of the will - choosing to lead your team down the aggressive path or the safer path. Context must always be considered, of course, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all “right” answer.

One such pivotal decision came to me several months into the development of new x-ray system called the Revolution, which is a motorized “cart” driven around a hospital to places like the ICU. After collecting extensive voice-of-customer information for this project, an idea for a new feature was birthed. Like a bolt of thunder out of the blue, it became apparent to the team and our stakeholders that this new feature would be a game-changer for our customers, allowing them to drive the cart without the obstruction of looking around the x-ray column. One minor problem - it would drive a major change and creative challenge for the design team, cutting across mechanical, electrical, and software engineering disciplines. A decision had to be made quickly and the risks were enormous. As the Technical Project Manager, it was my responsibility to lead the team through the assessment process - should we accept this pivotal change to the design… without changing the product launch date? This resulted in a weekend of lost sleep, soul-searching, and risk analysis, which ended with the team deciding to embrace the new challenge.

This was a watershed moment for the project - my edge was about to move!

There were a few major bumps in the road, but the team executed at a high level and launched a very successful product. I look back at that weekend of lost sleep as one of the best decisions of my career. Every Project Manager reading this can probably relate to this type of decision, but even if you look back with regret on one of those decisions, use that as learning for the next one. Keep reaching for your edge and pushing it outward. 

Striving for Excellence

Some find it easier when they are early in their career to take on more aggressive goals because they are trying to establish themselves or prove their value, but complacency can set in easier than we think. Striving to move our edge even in the middle and later stages of our careers is just as important (and maybe more rewarding!) As I have progressed through at least the middle stage of my career, I have found that my motivation for moving my edge has changed. It used to be weighted 70/30 toward trying to establish my value, but as I have matured, it has flipped to 90/10 in favor of doing excellent work simply from an integrity standpoint and trying to utilize any gifts or talents that I have to their fullest extent. Whatever your motivation, establishing a habit of reaching for your edge will result in tremendous personal and professional growth, while making the ride a little more interesting along the way. I wish you all the best in your journey toward exploring the edge of your potential!

Continuing the Conversation

Have you been around PMs who pushed themselves or the team to the edge of maximum performance? What effect did that have on you as a team member or as a stakeholder? 

Best Regards, Bill

Photo Credits: Hands Reaching (Kovalvs, Royalty Free License from Megapixl.com); Man Thinking (Royalty Free License from iStockPhoto.com)