Most managers do too much talking and too little listening during the interview process. The interview with the prospect is a two-way sizing up. Naturally, the candidate wants the job, so candidates will give you the answers they believe will maximize their chances. Any applicant who doesn’t do this isn’t bright enough to be hired.…
Category: Project Manager
How to Manage Problem Employees
Not all employees you manage will be successful on the job. Someone who is performing poorly may require additional training, transfer to another area where the employee may shine, or ultimately, outright dismissal. Too often, in large companies, managers unload their problem employees onto another department. This is not being fair to your fellow managers,…
Managing Customer Relationships
In previous articles I have emphasized that ultimate success is not determined by weather the project was completed on time, within budget, or according to specifications, but whether the customer is satisfied with what has been accomplished. Customer satisfaction is the bottom line. Bad news travels faster and further than good news. For every happy…
Decision Making Process, Make It Your Own
Most decisions on a project do not require a formal meeting to discuss alternatives and determine solutions. Instead decisions are made in real time as part of the daily interaction patterns between project managers, stakeholders, and team members. With that said, I do feel that a formal decision making process should be at the ready,…
Building Trust the Key to Exercising Influence
We all know people who have influence but whom we do not trust; these individuals are often referred to as “political animals” or “jungle fighters.” While these individuals are often very successful in the short run, the prevalent sense of mistrust prohibits long-term efficacy and hinders them from building trust. Successful project managers not only…
Ethics in Project Management
The idea of ethics has already arisen in my previous articles where I have discussed padding of cost and time estimations, exaggerating pay-offs of project proposals, and so forth. Ethical dilemmas involve situations where it is difficult to determine whether conduct is right or wrong. Is it acceptable to falsely assure customers that everything is…
Managing Upward Relations Like A Boss
Research consistently points out that project success is strongly affected by the degree to which a project has the support of top management and that ties directly into your ability to handle managing upward relations. Such support is reflected in an appropriate budget, responsiveness to unexpected needs, and a clear signal to others in the…
Leading by Example
A highly visible, interactive management style is not only essential to building and sustaining cooperative relationships, it also allows project managers to utilize their most powerful leadership tool—their own behavior, thus creating what is called leading by example. Often, when faced with uncertainty, people look to others for cues as to how to respond and…
Management by Wandering Around
Once you have established who the key players are that will determine success, then you initiate contact and begin to build a relationship with those players. Building this relationship requires a management style employees at Hewlett-Packard refer to as “management by wandering around” (MBWA) to reflect that managers spend the majority of their time outside…
Network Building Methods
The first step to social network building is identifying those on whom the project depends for success — Mapping Dependencies. The project manager and his or her key assistants need to ask the following questions: Whose cooperation will we need? Whose agreement or approval will we need? Whose opposition would keep us from accomplishing the project?…