Nov12PMO Symposium 2011Posted at 09:15 in Leadership, Networking, Project Management

It has been a while since last time I posted, and I apologize to the 43 readers of this blog :p. The reason for my absence from here is that I devoted all my "free" time (whatever that is) to the PMO Symposium 2011 that was held in Orlando last week. I have been involved in the organization of this event for quite some time, but this year I was privileged enough to be the 2011 Program Chairman. That gave me the opportunity to work with a fine cast of speakers for this year's event, and to build and deliver a program that I believe best depicts the current "state-of-the-art" of the PMO's for 2011.

Their thought-provoking presentations really make this event the worldwide reference in the field of PMO's; starting with our two Keynotes from Jim Furfari and Iain Fraser (pictured above on the left, with Rommy Musch, President of the PMI PMO CoP, myself and Craig Letavec, PMO Symposium Chair). For the first time, we have webcasted Iain Fraser's Keynote that you can replay for free during the next couple of weeks. If you could not attend, please give it a shot, it is worth your time.

Another first this year was the launch of the PMO Symposium mobile application, available on iPhone, Blackberry and Android platforms, with all conference details (floor-plans, schedule, speakers bio, and networking feature), which has been warmly welcome by the attendees, despite some challenges due to a late launch. I guess there is only that much we can do.

While I will try to take a couple of hours of rest before going back to my day-job tomorrow, I would also like to extend a big THANK YOU to the PMI PMO Community of Practice leadership team (Craig, Rommy, Art, Darlene, Dan); to the team of volunteers who supported us during the event (Karen, Audra, Elise, Debbie, Scott, Paul and Doug); to the staff of Swank AV and the Loews Royal Pacific for their outstanding service; to the fantastic audience that attended the Symposium this year; and of course to our sponsors and exhibitors who enabled us to bring this conference to you.

Stay tuned, for over the next couple of weeks, I will provide some insight on what has been discussed during the PMO Symposium this year, with some invited guest bloggers.

Jul17The Global State of the PMO (Survey)Posted at 08:53 in Dubai, Leadership, My Work, Project Management, Risk Management

In March 2011, ESI International conducted a Global PMO Survey: The Global State of the PMO: Its Value, Effectiveness and Role as the Hub of Training. Some of the key findings of this survey were highlighted in a recent seminar I attended in Dubai (Risk Management Practices for Establishing and/or Sustaining a Project Management Office by Raed Hadddad):

• There is a paradigm shift from PMO Maturity to PMO Value and benefits realization
• There is a general struggle in measuring the PMO effectiveness, and in defining the appropriate metrics for this measurement
• The PMO sometimes acts as a hub of project management training, but does not measure the impact of this training in effective performance
• Most of the PMOs operate more at a tactical level and are not involved in portfolio management or benefits realization

All those topics and more will be covered during PMI's 2011 PMO Symposium in Orlando in November. If you are interested in getting more out of your PMO, make sure you do join.

Jun21Entrepreneurs: Nature or Nurture?Posted at 06:32 in Leadership

I am very interested in all topics related to entrepreneurship. My dad was an entrepreneur, I started my first venture when I was 22, started 2 other businesses since then, and I know that one day, I'll jump into it again. I have always wondered where this flame came from. Nature or Nurture? Well, a recent report published by Ernst&Young provided insights into some key characteristics of some of the world's leading entrepreneurs.

As far as numbers are concerned, from the 685 entrepreneurs surveyed worldwide, 60% have worked in a corporate environment (and half of those claim this was key to their success), 55% started their first business before age 30, and 60% are serial-entrepreneurs (they started more than 3 companies in their career to date). Some well known stereotypes are challenged in this research, and some entrepreneurial challenges are outlined: Not all entrepreneurs start their companies without completing a formal education and without any experience of corporate life; Entrepreneurship is rarely a one-off decision; Funding, people and know-how are the biggest barriers to entrepreneurial success.

While the research suggests that entrepreneurs are made, rather than born, there are some common grounds likely to be different from many others. The top qualities identified are to have a vision, passion, and drive; flexibility, a relentless focus on quality, and loyalty. Most successful entrepreneurs see opportunity where others see only risk. This optimism enables them to succeed when eveyone else is telling them they cannot.

You can find out more here.

Jun12McClelland's Theory of NeedsPosted at 06:24 in Leadership, Project Management

In 2006, I started a "series" on motivational theories on this blog, talking about Maslach's Burnout Inventory FR), Maslov's Hierarchy of Needs (FR), and later on Adam's Equity Theory. Today's topic will be David McClelland Theory of Needs. In his theory, McClelland proposed that an individual's specific needs are acquired over time and are shaped by one's life experiences, and that most of these needs can be classed as either achievement, affiliation, or power. A person's motivation and effectiveness in certain job functions are influenced by these three needs.

• Achievement
  People with a high need for achievement (nAch) will seek to excel and thus tend to avoid both low-risk and high-risk situations. Achievers avoid low-risk situations because the easily attained success is not a genuine achievement. In high-risk projects, achievers see the outcome as one of chance rather than one's own effort. High nAch individuals prefer work that has a moderate probability of success, ideally a 50% chance, and need regular feedback in order to monitor the progress of their acheivements. They prefer either to work alone or with other high achievers. High achievers should be given challenging projects with reachable goals. While money is not an important motivator, it will be seen as an effective form of feedback.
• Affiliation
  People with a high need for affiliation (nAff) need harmonious relationships with other people and need to feel accepted by other people. They tend to conform to the norms of their work group. High nAff individuals prefer work that provides significant personal interaction. They perform well in customer service and client interaction situations, or in a cooperative environment in general.
• Power
  People with a high need for power (nPow) can seek power of one of two types - personal and institutional. Those who need personal power want to direct others, and this need often is perceived as undesirable. Persons who need institutional power (also known as social power) want to organize the efforts of others to further the goals of the organization. Managers with a high need for institutional power tend to be more effective than those with a high need for personal power. Power seekers should be provided the opportunity to manage others in order to perform at their best.

McClelland used the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) as a tool to measure the individual needs of different people. Psychologists have developed fairly reliable scoring techniques for the TAT, and the test determines the individual's score for each of the needs of achievement, affiliation, and power. This score can be used to suggest the types of jobs for which the person might be well suited. McClelland's theory also allows for the shaping of a person's needs, and specific training programs can be used to modify one's need profile.

Apr27The Fred PrinciplePosted at 07:46 in Leadership, Project Management, Risk Management

I'm attending a two days workshop on IT Cost Savings & Optimization. In the afternoon, David Baumann (our host) started using a statement I made during lunch break and - funnily enough - referred to it as "The Fred Principle": There is a direct correlation between the risk transferred to a vendor in an outsourcing agreement and the economic inefficiency of this deal. In other words, if you push it too hard on your vendor, you will just end up paying more than what you might have by insurring that risk yourself in the first place. The corollary David kept using during the afternoon session actually works in a similar fashion as Occam's Razor, but in the Outsourcing context: "How would I have done it if I had kept it?".

Sep22The will to powerPosted at 19:52 in Leadership

I recently read a great article on why some people have power over companies and others don't. Climbing up the ladder has become increasingly difficult and structures and hierarchies have become more complicated in companies. Management gurus are surprisingly disappointing on the subject of "how you get access to power and how you keep hold of it once you have it" despite it being of overwhelming importance to their clients. There are however some businesspeople providing hints on the paths to power, that are outlined in the article.

Why some people have power, and why others don't? There is a general misconception that if you excel at your job, there is a direct correlation with the reward (and hence the power you get out of it), and news are full of counter-examples. CEO's who lead their companies to bankruptcy seldomly loose their job (or are gently pushed aside with a ginormous cash incentive until they are appointed somewhere else), while perfectly successful leaders in the senior management layer often get routinely cleaned out when new CEOs take over). The (sad) reality is that there are plenty of things that matter more than competence. In fact, there are three things that matter more than anything else:

• Turn yourself into a supplicant: ask for help and master the art of flattery (experiments conducted to discover at which point flattery became ineffective demonstrated that there was none);
• Turn yourself into a node: master your ability to network by starting an organization or forging a link between separate parts of a company;
• Be loyal: this is probably the most important and admirable quality you can have (a Booz study demonstrated that 80% of CEO appointments go to insiders, who last almost two years longer in their jobs than outsiders, on average).

Sadly, if all the above pays off, you're still not saved, and you get to keep power. Remember the old saying - power corrupts - and the key to keeping power is to understand its corrupting effects: cultivate a savant combination of paranoia and humility. Understand how much others want you out, and never forget your own replaceability. Also, know when to quit. Instead of crashing and burning, if you jump before being pushed, there is a good chance of leaping to another throne.

You can read the full article found on The Economist the Schumpeter's Notebook.

Sep10Adam’s Equity TheoryPosted at 23:31 in Leadership, Project Management

In 1963, the workplace and behavioral psychologist John Stacey Adams put forward a job motivation explaining relational satisfaction in terms of perceptions of fair/unfair distributions of resources within interpersonal relationships. The structure of equity in the workplace is based on the ratio of inputs (typically effort, loyalty, hard work, commitment, skill, ability, adaptability, flexibility, tolerance, determination, heart and soul, enthusiasm, trust in our boss and superiors, support of colleagues and subordinates, personal sacrifice, etc.) to outcomes (typically all financial rewards - pay, salary, expenses, perks, benefits, pension arrangements, bonus and commission - plus intangibles - recognition, reputation, praise and thanks, interest, responsibility, stimulus, travel, training, development, sense of achievement and advancement, promotion, etc.).

The Equity Theory does not assess effort and reward, but goes beyond by adding a crucial perspective of comparison with referent others: It is not so much that we need to feel that there is a fair balance between inputs and outcomes, but we do measure it by comparing our own balance or ratio with the ratio enjoyed or endured by “referents” and this comparison heavily impacts our motivation level.

When we feel fairly or advantageously treated we are more likely to be motivated; and when we feel unfairly treated we are highly prone to feelings of disaffection and demotivation. The way that we measure this sense of fairness is at the heart of Equity Theory. In practice this helps to explain why we are so strongly affected by the situations, views and gossip of colleagues, friends, partners etc., in establishing their own personal sense of fairness or equity in their work situations.

There are a couple of very strong impacts of the Equity Theory on people management: We measure the totals of our inputs and outcomes, and we ascribe personal values to those; Staff perceptions of inputs and outcomes of themselves and others may be incorrect, and perceptions need to be managed effectively; if we believe we are over-compensated we may increase our effort, or we may internalize a sense of superiority and actually decrease our efforts. As you can see, there is no easy way to make use of the Equity Theory for a manager, and its complexities are numerous.

Sources:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equity_theory
• http://www.businessballs.com/adamsequitytheory.htm

Apr27Great leaders inspire greatness in othersPosted at 09:39 in Leadership, My Work

I have recently started watching Star Wars Clone Wars, the animated series based on Lucas' universe. The first episode, "Ambush", started with the following statement: "Great leaders inspire greatness in others". The episode depicts Yohda, master of the Jedi Council, performing what he is good at: leadership. Beyond being a good leader who inspires others with confidence, he is a GREAT leader who inspires them with confidence in themselves. By doing so, he assumes the main function of leadership: to produce more leaders (not more followers). He walks besides his followers and his actions inspire them to learn more, do more and become more: He elicits the greatness that is in them already. He asks others for their ideas and suggestions, listens to others, explains himself, teaches and coaches them. He knows the way, goes the way and shows the way, takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.

In all ways, he is an example of what a leader is: A leader leads by example, whether he wants it or not, and most often he does not need to lead, he is content to show the way. Example is not the main thing in influencing others, it is the ONLY thing. When using the word "leader", you could think that there are plenty of them all around the world, but taking a closer look in your own career, you will realize that not that many of them are truly inspiring leaders. In my career, I have been fortunate enough to work for some, and there are two names on top of my list who have had a great influence in building who I am: Jim Kinsella, and Christian Perdrier. Both of them encouraged participation and initiative, rolled-up their sleeves when necessary, spoke frankly and openly, even in tough times, and led by example, always.

Can you name leaders who inspired you and describe how?

Sep18The Servant as LeaderPosted at 10:38 in Leadership, Project Management

I have been very interested in reading Bob Tarne's article in the last PMI Community Post about how to remove barriers by thinking servant first.

Recognize that you are a servant first and be there primarily to help your team. Use trust and empathy to identify and remove barriers that prevent your team from succeeding. Lead your team by coaching and active listening and avoid command-and-control approach. Focus on the development of your team members and build a sense of community among your team