Blog Posts - The QuasiPM

The QuasiPM

Evolution of a Process

7/17/2009

I know that I promised to begin looking at the tools I believed are important for a "Quasi" or "Accidental" Project Manager to have, but as you will learn in later posts, flexibility is important. Since this opportunity presented itself, I just couldn't resist.

This week, our section implemented a new code tracking system. As they pointed out, the implementation of this process was being mandated by the Federal government as part of the Transparency in Government initiative. Now besides including a funding and job code, we must add a code for each aspect of a project's life cycle.

To introduce the process, each manager held a series of meetings. These meetings lasted about an hour. Management went over the why and how to undertake the process. They also explained how this would help us to better integrate our project and online time tracking systems. Those that attended left with what they believed an adequate understanding of how the process worked.

The next morning when I sat down to complete my timesheet for the month, I discovered that based on my current project load, I had to worry about 18 total job codes. It also quickly became apparent that my activities did not fit neatly into the predetermined tracking categories (as you will discover not unusual for a Quasi PM). Long story short, what was suppose to be a relatively straight forward process, took me over 2 1/2 hours to complete.

Frustrated by the process, I turned to the one friend I know that can help me when my emotions are elevated...humor. The following link will take you to a tutorial on the Evolution of a Process. I got my inspiration from looking at a diagram that showed the process for cloning monkey embryos (note the irony of that). When you read this, just remember that it is all in fun (humor is another important trait to have as a Quasi PM).

Accidental Project Manager?

7/1/2009

The other day I signed up to attend a free webcast offered by the American Management Association. The webcast was entitled, "Project Management Skills for the Accidental Project Manager." In the description it stated that the presentation was geared toward those individuals that had recently fallen into a project management role.

After signing up for the webcast, I began searching the Internet for more resources dealing with accidental project managers. On Amazon, I found reference to a book by Patricia Ensworth entitled, The Accidental Project Manager: Surviving the Transition from Techie to Manager (John Wiley, 2001). After reading the reviews, I decided to order the book to see what it was all about.

Since encountering this concept of the accidental project manager, I started to think about its meaning. I agree that many times we can find ourselves thrust into a project manager role by management. Many times this is done to save a project that is failing or one that has taken a wrong turn. However, does this make you an accidental project manager? I would have to say, no. Why do I believe this?

First, it is no accident that you were given this opportunity. The actions you have taken in the past to further your development have prepared you to take the lead. These include your education and training (both formal and on the job), your attention to communication (written, spoken, and listening), your flexibility, and your willingness to accept advice from others.

Second, being recognized by those in charge is no accident either. By building your brand through hard work, a willingness to accept assignments, and networking, you have positioned yourself to take on this leadership role.

Third, you have taken steps to build co-worker and colleague support. These connections have placed you in a position to be successful. As any project manager learns early on, they can't do it all. You need the support and assistance of others to complete a successful project.

As you see, it really is no accident that you have been placed in this position. You have been preparing for it your whole life.

With this idea of preparation in mind, I am going to begin a series of posts that explore what I have discovered to be some skills that all "accidental" or as I prefer "quasi" project managers should have in their toolboxes. You may discover that you have more, but these basic skills and concepts have served me well over the years.

The Foolish Will Lead

3/16/2009

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I draw upon several areas of my life to help me in my leadership journey. Among these is my spirituality. As John C. Maxwell points out in the introduction to the Maxwell Leadership Bible, many of the best leadership lessons can be gleaned from the lives of those men and women who are discussed in the Bible.

Today in church, Reverend David Hartsfield’s message was on “The Wisdom of Foolishness”. The main idea of the message was that from the beginning of Christianity, those who followed the movement were viewed as foolish. One statement that he made really stuck with me. According to Reverend Hartsfield, “God will use the foolish to save the wise”.

To support his statement, Reverend Hartsfield demonstrated how those that God chose to undertake his most important work of spreading the gospel, freeing his people, or healing the sick were not always those with the best education, the best training, or even the best reputation. Examples he gave were John the Baptist, who by spending most of his life in the desert could be considered anti-social; Moses, who killed a man and was a fugitive on the run when called; and David, who was the smallest among those on the battlefield that could face Goliath.

As I listened to the sermon, I thought of other examples of unlikely leaders throughout history. Like those mentioned by Reverend Hartsfield, these individuals would not be the first chosen if someone came looking for a leader. These included Paul, who previously had been a persecutor of followers of God. Paul went on to become the founder of the Christian Church. Joan of Arc was just twelve when she joined the effort to liberate France from English occupation, but eventually won a decisive victory that freed Orleans and lead to the crowning of King Charles VII. Winston Churchill was born with a speech impediment, but his words of inspiration during the Battle of Britain helped English citizens to hold on in the face of continued bombardment by Nazi Germany. Audie Murphy, the son of a Texas sharecropper, lied about his age to join the army during World War II. Just nineteen when the war ended in 1945, Murphy had earned 39 medals for his efforts, including the Congressional Medal of Honor for single handily fending off a German attack and leading a counterattack that drove the enemy back in France.

While I would not consider my life experiences equal to the individuals listed above, I too have been an unlikely leader. Early in my career I accepted a job as an administrative assistant in a medical supply company. At the time I joined the company, a new manager had just been hired to turn around my branch office. In spite of his best efforts branch sales continued to suffer.

A couple of months after joining the firm, the manager started looking to staff members for assistance. In spite of having no formal business or management training, I stepped up to the plate. I created a marketing plan, developed marketing brochures, and made sales calls. Working closely with other staff, I helped with improving customer service and getting a better handle on our inventory to control costs. When I left the company a year later, we were the second most profitable branch.

Now don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that I alone turned this branch around. That is not possible. It takes team effort to pull off that feat. What I am saying, however, is that for a team (whether it is a group of missionaries, an army, or an entire nation) to be successful, it must have a leader with the energy, determination, and vision to see the effort through to the end. This leader must also have the ability to articulate that vision and inspire the best in others. Many times, that leader is the most unlikely of individuals. Just something to remember the next time an opportunity to step up and lead presents itself.

Don't Look Behind the Counter

3/9/2009

I am sure you have had one of those moments in your life where you questioned if you were doing the right thing? Afraid of the potential consequences for making a wrong choice, you decide to take a few extra precautions...just in case. This happened to me today.

From the time I turned on my computer at work, I had been writing the IT portion of the continuation application for the grant that funds my position. Since this document needed input from other IT staff members, I placed it on our department's newly implemented SharePoint site. As you can imagine, the opportunity to collaborate through a Web 2.0 technology excited me. Finally, I was able to use a tool that I had been taking advantage of on the national level for over three years.

When the end of the day arrived, I saved the document and checked it back in. Just as I was about to close out the site, I got that nagging feeling. Should I trust that this site is going to be backed up? I have put a lot of effort into this document, am I sure that it will be available when I access SharePoint in the morning? Finally succumbing to my doubt, I pulled out my secure thumb drive and saved a back up copy.

A colleague who saw me backing up the document asked me why I had done this. Pulling from my past, I told him that ever since my early employment as a fast food worker, I had been leery of eating out. As I said, once you have worked behind the counter that hamburger just doesn't look appetizing. I guess, I explained further, that it was the same with Information Technology. Once you have worked in IT and saw what goes on behind the interface, you no longer view technology with the same sense of awe and trust.

My reaction was nothing new. Doubt and lack of trust are natural human reactions. It is the same reaction that some individuals experience when they are presented with their first opportunity to lead. Having observed other leaders and seen "what goes on behind the counter" they quickly turn away. It doesn't matter if this reaction was brought on by fear, a dislike for office politics, or plain old apathy the result is they never realize their full potential. In the end, not only do they lose...but so does society.

It has been several years since I last worked as a fry cook. While it was difficult, I eventually learned to eat hamburgers again. I am happy that I did, because I would have missed one of life's little pleasures.

In a similar fashion, when an opportunity presents itself for you to step up and lead, I urge you to seize it. You may feel a lot of apprehension when you finally say yes. Don't worry, I felt the same emotions when I made the conscious decision to eat hamburgers again. While I can't promise you that all of your fear and doubt will go away, as seen by my reaction with SharePoint, I can tell you that it will get easier. So don't hold back. Embrace the opportunity and challege. This is the first step in becoming a true Quasi Project Manager.

Using Web 2.0 Technologies in Project Management

3/2/2009

During a recent trip to a conference in Washington D.C., I had the opportunity to attend a conference sponsored event at the Newseum. While on a self-guided tour of the facility, I came across a mother and her two small children. The children, I estimated to be six months and three years old, were riding in a double stroller. When the mother reached a small touch screen kiosk, the three year old jumped out of the stroller and immediately touched the first button. After watching the video, he touched another button, and another, until he had watched all the short segments. I just stared in amazement as the child worked this kiosk as if he had been using it for 20 years. Noticing how amazed I was at the actions of her child, the mother smiled and told me that he had games at home that operated similar to the kiosk.

It is amazing how far technology has advanced over the last few years, especially when it comes to supplying information. The development of Web 2.0 technologies like wikis, social networks, and blogs provide project managers (even quasi ones) with endless possibilities for meeting the needs of both their customers and their staff members.

During the past five years, I have had the good fortune of being involved in a project that is developing a network and portal for CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking initiative. As part of this effort, I have served as the co-chair of a national committee working to implement a descriptive metadata standard to assist in the discovery of data resources on the network. Leading this group has definitely been a challenge, because its members are geographically dispersed throughout the United States. However, these challenges have been greatly reduced, and in many cases, eliminated due to the use of Web 2.0 technologies.

At the conference in Washington D.C., I joined Kochukoshy (CK) Cheruvetollilof Ross & Associates Environmental Consulting, Ltd in presenting on how Web 2.0 technologies have been utilized in the development of the Tracking Network. The presentation below describes how these technologies have helped with maintaining standards documents, and with undertaking a nationwide training effort.

Harnessing Web 2.0 to Develop the Tracking Network

Leaders Stand Up for Their Convictions

2/18/2009

Two events in recent days have reminded me of an important truth about leadership. Being a leader often requires standing up for your convictions, even if it is unpopular or means jeopardizing everything you have worked so hard to achieve.

No matter your opinion on the recently passed stimulus package, the bold stand taken by three Republican Senators is a good example of true leadership. In the face of extreme pressure from the heads of their own party, Senators Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, and Arlen Specter decided to reach across the aisle and work with their Democratic colleagues to craft a compromise bill.

In a statement released on his Web site, Specter explained why he decided to buck the wishes of his own party and many of his constituents.

“My vote was cast recognizing the very substantial political peril that I face. I know that there are many on the Republican political spectrum who do not like the vote. I remember, obviously, the tough primary fight I had in the year 2004. But I felt in the final analysis, given the very severe consequences which might befall the country, that my duty was to look out for the public interest and not my own personal political interest. That is why I voted as I did.” (1)

Susan Collins is no stranger to taking a stand for what she believes is right. In 2003, Collins worked with Democrats to craft a deal that would send $20 billion in relief to state governments. During the negotiations, she was called in the office of House Speaker Dennis Hastert. When she arrived, she not only found Hastert, but also Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney gave her a very strong warning about compromising with the Democrats. In discussing her efforts six years later to craft yet another compromise relief bill, Collins said, "My constituents did not send me here to sit on the sidelines.” She went on to say that, "I see it (my efforts) as an affirmation of the approach I take to governing.” (2)

Like Specter and Collins, Senator Olympia Snowe believed that the times called for bold leadership. As she said, "Facing one of the worst economic downturns in our nation’s history, inaction was not an option….” (3)

The second event, the crash of Continental Flight 3407 just outside of Buffalo, New York on February 12, 2009, took the life of an unlikely leader. On the morning of September 11, 2001, appearing before Congress was the furthest thing from the mind of Beverly Eckert. However, the tragic events that day that ended in the destruction of the Twin Towers and death of her high school sweetheart and husband Sean Rooney, forced her to find the courage to stand up against the political leadership of the day.

In 2003, Eckert and several other widows, mothers, and children of 9/11 victims chose to forego the payoff from the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund and instead filed suit to request an official Congressional investigation of the events that lead to 9/11. In an official statement to USA Today, Eckert stated:

"I've chosen to go to court rather than accept a payoff from the 9/11 victims’ compensation fund. Instead, I want to know what went so wrong with our intelligence and security systems that a band of religious fanatics was able to turn four U.S passenger jets into an enemy force, attack our cities and kill 3,000 civilians with terrifying ease. I want to know why two 110-story skyscrapers collapsed in less than two hours and why escape and rescue options were so limited.

I am suing because unlike other investigative avenues, including congressional hearings and the 9/11 commission, my lawsuit requires all testimony be given under oath and fully uses powers to compel evidence.....

By suing, I've forfeited the "$1.8 million average award" ..... Nor do I have any illusions about winning money in my suit. What I do know is I owe it to my husband, whose death I believe could have been avoided, to see that all of those responsible are held accountable.
So I say to Congress, big business and everyone who conspired to divert attention from government and private-sector failures: My husband's life was priceless, and I will not let his death be meaningless. My silence cannot be bought." (4)

Even though government leadership in Washington D.C. and public opinion were against her, Eckert joined other family members of victims of 9/11 to form “Voices of 9/11”. She worked tirelessly lobbying Congress members to gain passage of legislation that authorized the formation of the 9/11 Commission and lead to sweeping reforms that overhauled the United States’ intelligence efforts.

President Ronald Reagan once said “A leader, once convinced that a particular course of action is the right one, must be undaunted when the going gets tough.” (5)These four individuals are definitely examples of this statement in action.

Are You Worthy of the Leadership Role?

2/8/2009

Recently, my minister asked the entire congregation an intriguing question. “You may be the only Bible that another person ever sees,” he said. “Are your actions worthy of that particular role?”

As I drove home from church that particular day, it became clear to me that this question could also be asked of leaders today. “I may be the only leader that another person ever sees. Are my actions worthy of that particular role?” This is a very timely question to be asking. Today, we have CEO’s giving themselves bonuses, buying corporate jets, or taking hunting excursions, while at the same time asking for bailout funds from the federal government and laying off thousands of workers. Are these actions worthy of others to model?

Early in my career, I experienced first hand what can happen when employees model the behavior of their leaders. I had been hired to run a records facility. As I was told during the interview, a big part of my job would entail improving both the storage and access to these records. The interviewers told me that the facility had been losing materials to neglect, theft, and from being misplaced. They wanted to guarantee that these materials would be available for not only themselves, but also others to use.

With this mission in mind, I accepted the position and immediately began my evaluation. After a couple of weeks, I presented the results of my evaluation and the recommendations for improvement to agency management. Believing that I had their full support and backing, I began implementing the recommendations. However, over time it became clear that all was not well. All came to head when I demonstrated the revised records management database.

As part of the reorganization process for the records facility, I had been asked to work closely with department IT personnel in updating the previous records management database to prepare for the 2000 date change. To help with the effort, I solicited staff input. However, nobody volunteered to help. I later learned that my supervisor had been meeting informally with several of my colleagues telling them that he did not like the fact that I was forcing the system's use on him. He told my colleagues that he would never use the revised database.

While not the ideal situation, the contractor and I decided to put together a prototype to demonstrate. We hoped that this would lead to more input. However, on the day of the demonstration, it became clear that many staff were uninterested. Then, at a meeting called to discuss design changes with my supervisor and his staff, tensions elevated as some staff began spewing a tirade of remarks that not only attacked the system, but me as well.

In the days following the meeting, the atmosphere of the office continued to deteriorate. Staff members started refusing to follow the procedures that had been set up to safeguard the records. They told me they did not have to follow these procedures, because my supervisor had issued a new set of policies for the facility in an email. Then my supervisor failed to invite me to staff meetings where decisions were made that systematically dismantled more policies. Letters of support from public users and contractors touting the vast improvement in the facility were of no help. In the end, my colleagues treated both the records safe guards and me as irrelevant.

While this episode in my life was a very trying time, it also taught me a valuable lesson. I learned that a leader has great influence on the actions and attitudes of those around him/her. With this in mind, they need to model those types of behaviors that set a good example and are the behaviors that they would want shown to them. Leaders must also ask themselves, would these actions make my loved ones proud of me? Going one step further, maybe they should also ask themselves, would my actions be well received in the Kingdom of God.

Let’s Gather Around the Candy Dish

2/7/2009

It started so innocently. I had gone to a minor league baseball game while out of town for training. The promotion that night honored the service (support) dog program in St. Louis City. The give away was a dog bowl with the logo of the team, and the logo of the program. Being fairly new to my job, I decided that to get to know folks a little better, I would buy a bag of mints and place them in my cubical. The new dog dish seemed like the natural place to put those mints.

Over time, I started to notice that more and more people were stopping at my cubical. Soon the amount of mints and the frequency I had to buy them increased over time. Unknown individuals then started leaving bags of mints and even money on my desk. Notes left behind said that the mints made them smile or helped them get through some bad events that happened that day. Others thanked me personally for providing the quick pick me ups.

An unforeseen benefit of providing the mints was that the level of customer service I received from those individuals improved. If I needed something done, my project somehow got pushed closer to the front of their to-do lists. As one colleague told me, they were more than willing to help out someone who showed them appreciation.

This is the same results that were identified during an online survey undertaken from January 26, 2005 – February 7, 2005. The Life Savers Dish on Office Life survey talked with 1,290 workers over age 18 that worked in an office setting. (1) They discovered that the candy dish had replaced the water cooler as the congregating place. The survey went on to say that if you found the location of the dishes, you locate the “key to success” in most offices.

Those who owned candy dishes were perceived to be friendlier (41% of respondents). It was also noted that 43% of those offering candy received bonuses as opposed to 37% for those who did not. Raises were also more likely to go to candy dish owners. Of those that responded to the survey, 60% of candy dish owners reported obtaining a raise during the past year, as opposed to 49% of non candy dish owners.

Ronald Regan also knew the power of the candy dish. From the time he served as Governor of California, he had been eating and making available jelly beans. In a letter he wrote the chairman of the Herman Goelitz Candy Company (now Jelly Belly), he stated, “we can hardly start a meeting or make a decision without passing around the jar of jelly beans.” When he became President he continued the tradition of having Jelly Belly packets on his desk and sent jars of the beans to dignitaries. First Lady Nancy Reagan said after the President’s death that the beans “had a way of putting a smile on everyone’s face and putting them in the mood to work cooperatively.”

In my situation, has candy lead to a bonus or increase in my paycheck? Well, not yet. Has it lead to me being elected President of the United States? That is highly unlikely to happen. However, it has helped me to get to know my colleagues better. It has also helped to increase morale during this time of economic uncertainty. Even if I never receive another thing from providing candy, helping to improve the day of another human being is definitely worth it. As Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

The Power of a Leader Who Believes

2/2/2009

No matter how you feel about the outcome of the Superbowl, one thing is certain. This post season we watched what can happen when a team is inspired by a leader that believes, and can effectively communicate that belief.

When the season began, who would have thought that the Arizona Cardinals would even make the playoffs, let alone the Superbowl. Yet this perennial also ran came within a few seconds of being crowned the Super Bowl champs. Much of this year’s success can be attributed to the inspiring leadership of journeyman quarterback Kurt Warner and to the excellent organizational skills of Coach Ken Whisenhunt. These are two men with strikingly similar stories to success.

Although constantly counted out, Kurt Warner has continued to prove skeptics wrong. Most everyone knows his story. Cut by the Green Bay Packers, Warner is forced to take a job stocking shelves in a grocery store. To help pay the bills, he plays football for the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League. After taking them to two Arena Bowls, he is signed by the St. Louis Rams and is sent to their NFL Europe team. In 1999 he is the backup for starter Trent Green. After Green goes down with an injury, Warner takes the Rams to two Super Bowls, winning one of them. Released in 2004, he was signed by the Giants to serve as the backup for Eli Manning. Released in 2005, he was picked up by the Arizona Cardinals to serve as the backup for new draft pick Matt Leinart. Given a chance to compete for the starting job, Warner rose to the occasion and showed his team how to believe.

Like Warner, Ken Whisenhunt had a long path to greatness. Drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in 1985 as a tight end, Whisenhunt would eventually play for the Falcons, Washington Redskins, and the New York Jets in his short nine year career. After a stint as a coach for the Vanderbilt Commodores, he would become a transient coach in the NFL. He coached for the Baltimore Ravens, the Cleveland Browns, and the New York Jets. Finally, in 2001, he was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers to coach their tight ends. In 2004 he became the Offensive Coordinator for the Steelers. When head coach Bill Cowher resigned in 2007, Whisenhunt was the heir apparent. However, he was passed over for the job. He then accepted the head coaching job of the Arizona Cardinals, and in two short years took a team that went 5 -11 in the year before he was hired to the Superbowl.

Just like Warner and Whisenhunt, I have seen the difference a leader who truly believes can make. During my senior year of college I was provided with the opportunity to student teach at a medium sized rural school. During a meeting with the principal, he told me that I would be teaching four different subjects for grades 8-12, but the bulk of my preparation would be for three World History classes.

He went on to tell me that each of these World History classes would be unique. The first class, he stated, was made up of college bound students. This would be my best class. The second class was made up of average students. The typical class I would see throughout me teaching career. The third class would be my worst. He told me not to expect much out of this group, because he didn’t. These students were trouble makers and individuals who would likely drop out of school.

Like any new teacher, my first few days were a little rough as I attempted to settle in. However, I continued to prepare my lessons and remained positive. I adjusted my teaching style to fit the various classes in an attempt to find the right fit. When the date of the first test arrived, I didn’t know what to expect. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that all classes did well. The biggest surprise was the third class. They seemed to respond to the positive feedback and actually scored as high as the college bound students.

At first, my supervising teacher thought this was just a fluke. However, the same happened on the next two tests as well. This result prompted a call from the principal’s office. Telling me that both the supervising teacher and he thought I was being too easy on the students, the principal said that the supervising teacher would develop and give the final. This, he stated, would help to level out the grades. Imagine their surprise when the students did just as well on the final.

The point of this story is not to say I was a good teacher. That I leave to interpretation by those students I have taught over the years who might run upon this blog. The point I wanted to bring home is that a leader who believes, and can effectively communicate that belief to his/her team, can make anything happen. Whether that be taking a perennial also ran team to the Superbowl or helping children to succeed. All you have to do is believe.

The Great Reversal

1/5/2009

As I have discovered, you can find opportunities to learn almost anywhere. All you have to do is be open to the possibilities. For example, one place that I frequently find leadership lessons is in church sermons. Take for example the sermon from this week.

In honor of Epiphany (when the three magi visited Jesus), the minister talked about the irony of men of higher status bringing gifts to the offspring of two commoners (Joseph and Mary). Even more ironic, was that God chose Joseph and Mary to be the surrogates of the "King of the Jews", instead of someone of higher birth. According to the minister, this demonstrates what he calls "The Great Reversal".

As the minister stated, God takes ordinary people (like Joseph and Mary) and does extraordinary things through them, in his own way, and in his own time. Even if the person he calls does not have the proper skills or means to meet the task requested, God empowers them with what is needed.

Just as God recognized, leaders do not have to come from the top echelons of your organization. They can come from anywhere. All that you need to do is be on the lookout for these individuals. Once you find them, provide them with an opportunity to show you what they can do. Then (and this is extremely important) empower them. Provide them with the necessary resources to be successful. If you are willing to do this, you just might be surprised what extraordinary things they accomplish.