Leadership Fundamentals

To know yet to think that one does not know is best; Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty.

Lao Tzu, 4th Century Chinese Philosopher
Tao – The Way – Special Edition

One of the things managers frequently do is assume that because they are managers, they have all the answers. Frequently, they don’t. Even sadder is that they assume they do, based on the single fact that they are managers. Yet, it should be apparent that those who have the most critical information about a process are the very people who go through the process daily and bump their heads against its inadequacies. Why on earth would you want to change or replace a process if you don’t know why it should be changed in the first place? How would you know that the process that is replacing the original is not worse?

Getting the right information at the beginning of the project, before it is set in stone — especially if it has been outsourced and contracted for with a set of specifications — would seem to be extremely critical if the project is not going to incur cost overrun. Additionally, you can bet the project will probably be late, as review of its functionality [finally!] by those who are going to use the process reveals an alarming inadequacy.

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The Need for Agile Development in Project Management

Once upon a time, the Project Creep Monster was feared by all. Most managers at one time or another have led a project that developed Project Creep somewhere along the way. There was always to be found the project that just went on and on and on. The cause was usually a growing list of specifications that were never in the original proposal. The result was an ever-expanding development calendar that ended up trouncing the deadlines of other projects that may have had better foresight and planning, not to mention a better expected ROI. It was becoming increasingly obvious that a project’s roll-out could be delayed forever if all the specs had to be fulfilled at once. There had to be a better way.

Well, in 2001, a group of 17 developers met at the Snowbird ski resort in Utah and created the Agile Manifesto, an approach to development that relies on an iterative process which seeks to roll out projects in stages rather than trying to get in all the bells and whistles on the first and only round. I confess I was skeptical at first – until I read the Agile Manifesto. Oh, our IT director tried to explain it to us during a presentation meeting, but I don’t think we all understood or agreed with the process — myself included (my bad). The Agile Manifesto states:

We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:

* Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
* Working software over comprehensive documentation
* Customer collaboration over contract negotiation [note that customer collaboration includes in-house requests for projects -- so your "customer" may be one of your company's departments or head of departments - MY note- BB]
* Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.

What was important about The Agile Manifesto was the degree of collaboration between developer and project manager, which allowed both to better understand the goals of each. But just as important was the ability to quickly respond to change in the business market and to zero in on identifying the most important items. By releasing the project in stages and getting the key items out first, other additions could clearly be seen as updated new features releases, thereby demonstrating a series of enhancements to add value. The “all or nothing” approach had finally slain the project creep giant. And although I was skeptical at first, I admit I was wrong. Having seen the monster “project creep” and having seen the delays and the failing of getting projects out there and keeping up with business market changes, I admit I was wrong. It’s more important to keep the “monster” from your door. So I apologize to all those IT people who I didn’t jump on board with before. I understand your pain. I understand your frustration with ever-increasing specs. And I DO understand the value of what you all do, under tremendous pressure, and ongoing revisions of specifications. You are all so valuable, and you tolerate our fantasies, near-sightedness, and misunderstandings of what it takes to launch a project. So, in a way, this is a salute to IT people everywhere, who struggle to meet our demands under intense conditions and somewhat crazy expectations. I know we are all sometimes referred to as “users” – those nutsy people who have no clue what to do with computers and software and hardware. But that is why we need YOU guys. S-M-O-O-T-C-H! I have a strong suspicion that Agile Development will be a boon to you all.

And I want to issue a thank you to all you men and women who keep us connected and keep us working. We really do appreciate you!

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“Inclusion is a sense of belonging: feeling respected, valued for who you are; feeling a level of supportive energy and commitment from others so than you can do your best work.”

– Miller, Frederick A. and Katz, Judith H. 2002. The Inclusion Breakthrough: Unleashing the Real Power of Diversity. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

In today’s world, accepting and adapting to change is one of the most important abilities any employee, manager, or team can adopt. A company that stagnates is not a company that will survive in today’s changing world. Yet change is often uncomfortable and threatening, and while some personalities thrive on change, others are intimidated or even annoyed by it. These negative feelings are heightened when the project leaders are not inclusive with the team who will be affected and who, surprisingly, may more closely understand the issues involved and the testing, requirements, and timing needed to avoid breaking the production cycle while these changes happen.

So what can we do as managers/leaders to encourage employees to buy into change? The following are key approaches to getting their trust and engagement:

• Bring them into discussions on the anticipated changes as early in the process as you can, and ask for their input
• Show them how the change will benefit them in their daily workday. If they reply that it will not, ask them why not. Request specifics. If the team doesn’t see clear benefits from completing the project, they won’t buy into it.
• What about the organization? Will the change bring about substantial improvement in the company’s market standing? Will it result in more customer satisfaction? Have you asked a select group of your customers whether this change would be agreeable or even desirable? What is it’s purpose and it’s goals, and can they be achieved, based on the resources available?
• Ask your team to contribute their ideas, questions, or arguments for or against the changes. Be open to their suggestions. Be prepared to really examine if their perspective is something that should be seriously weighed. Have you overlooked something? Don’t let ego stand in the way of rejecting weak or unsustainable projects.

As with so many workplace issues, communication is the key here. There are many types of changes that can happen as a result of long-term strategies, all of which have the possibility of overwhelming the team. When that happens, your team is not functioning at full capacity, because their stress levels are accelerated, and they are unclear about what their future day to day work lives will look like.

Open communication will contribute to the success of a project because the team is encouraged to contribute their ideas and solutions.

Be careful about your timelines, though. If a project that should take 6 months or less drags on for 2 years, something is drastically wrong with the way it is being run. Once the feeling of project failure starts creeping in, it’s too late to rally an enthusiastic team. By now they’re exhausted by missed deadlines, unmet requirements, and the feeling of being on a sinking ship.

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• miller and katz (2002) defined inclusion as: “ a sense of belonging: feeling respected valued for who you are; feeling a level of supportive energy and commitment from others so that you can do your best ” (3)
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• “Inclusion is a sense of belonging: feeling respected valued for who you are; feeling a level of supportive energy and commitment from others so than you can do your best work ” (2)
• Miller Frederick A and Katz Judith H 2002 (2)
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• 1 ^ Miller Frederick A and Katz Judith H 2002 The Inclusion Breakthrough: Unleashing the Real Power of Diversity San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers (1)