Correct but not Sufficient
August 26, 2010
You see, what project management with all its plans, estimates and reporting omits is a good recognition for the huge impact people play in projects. Consider for a moment the roadblocks we encounter on projects, the most common and toughest to resolve are people related. Yet the classic project management guides focus more on Earned Value than Influencing, more on KPI’s than Knowledge Transfer, more on Project Tracking than Team Performance. Project management may be correct, but it is not sufficient for creating success.
Like considering only speed limits and traffic signals, but ignoring other traffic movement when driving, we will run into people, have accidents, and not get to our destination on time with such a myopic view of the big picture. A large portion of the missing part of project success is Emotional Intelligence (EI) and the EI skills most needed by project managers include:
• Communication Skills
• Persuasive Leadership
• Conflict Management
• Change Management
• Adaptive Personality
For more information on the importance of EI for project managers and how these skills are applied see this recent White Paper.
Interesting view point.
Posted by: Jonathan Nieto | August 27, 2010 at 08:45 AM
Excellent post Mike. Couldn't agree more.
You can 'be doing everything right' and still fail (no matter how much earned value or KPIs you accumulate).
Thanks for the post.
Posted by: Jonathan Rasmusson | September 01, 2010 at 08:17 PM
Hey Jonathan,
Good to hear from you again, thanks for dropping by.
Yes, it is soft stuff (people) that is hard and the hard stuff (process) that is easy.
Leadership, like enthusiasm, cannot be taught, but it can be caught. Lets keep casting ideas and see who catches them and where they run with them.
Regards
Mike
Posted by: Mike Griffiths | September 02, 2010 at 10:25 AM
It's clearly true that the people aspect of project management is a huge part of it. Personally I wouldn't say that project management is correct but that you also have to focus on emotional intelligence and the people aspect; I would say that the people aspect is integral to project management. You cannot expect to be successful without paying attention to communications, persuading, managing conflict, negotiating, etc., and every project manager should have these skills.
Harris Silverman
www.HarrisSilverman.com
Posted by: Harris Silverman - Business Coach | September 05, 2010 at 04:44 PM
Mike, your post touches a nerve: PM technique is not sufficient - it's about people. This is more and more apparent in today's knowledge economy and innovative and creative projects that call for other skills than traditional technique.
Posted by: Stan Yanakiev, PMP | September 11, 2010 at 08:03 AM