courage in project management

Courage in Project Management

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SlideShare Objectives1. A definition of courage in the workplace 2. Project situations that require courage3. Infusing courage in project managers and

teams

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…the ability to do something that you know is difficult or dangerous.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/courage

…a brief singular occurrence, that rare moment of unity between conscience, fear and action, when something deep within us strikes the flint of love, of honor, of duty, to make the spark that fires our resolve.

John McCain as quoted fromCourage as a Skill, January 2007https://hbr.org/2007/01/courage-as-a-skill

Definition of Courage

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Courage at WorkNor does it emerge from nowhere

Reardon, Kathleen. (January 2007) Courage as a Skill. Retrieved December 4, 2014 from https://hbr.org/2007/01/courage-as-a-skill

Is rarely impulsive

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Courage at Work

It is really a special kind of calculated risk taking


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Business courage from making decisions

Great business leaders teach themselves to make high-risk decisions

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Courage Formula at Work

1. Setting primary and secondary goals2. Determining the importance of achieving them3. Tipping the power balance in your favor4. Weighing risks against benefits5. Selecting the proper time for action6. Developing contingency plans


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Project Situations That Require Courage

Accepting a stretch assignment Giving bad news Expressing an unpopular opinion Addressing poor performance Facilitating a large high-stakes meeting Asking for help Requiring accountability Delegating

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Project LeadershipLeave the company better off than how you found it

Treasurer, Bill. (2008) Courage Goes to Work. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc

Leave the people better off than how you found them

Try

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Building Courage in the Team

You’re success as a project manager will be determined by how well you manage workers who are too comfortable, too afraid, or too much of both.


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Three Buckets of Courage


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Examples of Courage in Project Management

Accepting a stretch assignment Giving bad news Expressing an unpopular opinion Addressing poor performance Facilitating a large high-stakes meeting Asking for help Requiring accountability Delegating

Try

Try

Tell

Tell

Trust

Trust

Tell

Tell Trust

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Helping To Fill The Buckets Jump first Create safety Harness fear Adjust the degree of comfort and discomfort


TRY TRUST TELLThe courage of action and pioneering “first attempts”

The courage of relying on the actions of others

The courage of “voice” and truth telling

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Jump first Demonstrate initiative Pave the way Try something innovative Setting the stage


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Jumping First - Real Life Experiences Power of the context diagram A more effective status report Decision workshop Be the job you want (program manager) Create a scrum team


Try

Try

Try

Try Trust

Tell

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Create Safety Value forward-failing mistakes Provide air cover from upper management Spend time with your team


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Create Safety - Real Life Experiences Support a team member in a more responsible role

– Encourage– Provide mentoring– Demonstrate patience

Sticking up for the team– Deal with a bully – Working through a problem– Support truth telling

Safe team forums Sensitive escalation


Tell

Try

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Harnessing Fear Build a Robust Protective Frame

– Gather facts – Learn from others who have faced similar

challenges– Get training to improve skills needed to face

the task Normalize Fear


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Harness Fear - Real Life Experiences Facilitating a 21 person decision meeting

– Being prepared– Trust my skills in facilitation (but okay to feel the fear)– Be flexible, be tough

Giving and receiving bad news – Create an environment of safety, manage your reaction– Encourage early warnings– Focus on problem, don’t criticize– Utilize SOAR (situation, opportunity, action result)– Look for the lesson


Try

Tell Trust

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Adjust Degree of Comfort

Skill stretching assignment Solidify new skill Build to more complexity


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Adjust Degree of Comfort - Real Life Experiences A stretch assignment

– New product launch project support Promoting a project manager

– Applies a consistent project framework– Can run a larger project– Can run multiple projects– Require more independence in being able to:

Deal with conflict Leverage relationships for results Solve an organizational problem


Try

Trust

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Ask “what do YOU want?”


It’s easier to get people to perform uncomfortable tasks when those tasks tie in to the attainment of their personal goals.

It only takes four words to understand the career aspirations of your workers – because when you know what people want, you are in a far better position to match their aspirations to the company’s goals.

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References

Treasurer, Bill. (2008) Courage Goes to Work. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.


courage in project management

Leadership & Management