PROJECT MANAGEMENT: LEADERSHIP

AND COMMUNICATIONS

Mark S.HerzogProgram ManagerEMC Corporation

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Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3

Traditional Project Management ............................................................................................................ 4

New Wave Project Management ............................................................................................................ 4

Total Customer Experience – Defined .................................................................................................... 5

“Secret Sauce” Ingredients..................................................................................................................... 5

Project Management Leadership ........................................................................................................ 5

Interpersonal Communications ........................................................................................................... 7

Personality Traits ................................................................................................................................ 8

Closing ................................................................................................................................................. 10

Disclaimer: The views, processes or methodologies published in this article are those of the

author. They do not necessarily reflect EMC Corporation’s views, processes or methodologies.

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Introduction

In today’s world of information sharing and retention, the demand for information storage and

redundancy is ever increasing. This demand will drive new technologies, new processes, and

the need for efficient implementations. In other words, sales of future information storage

technologies will remain dynamic and will drive the need for effective project management and

implementation services on a global scale.

With most technology companies, the goal is to deliver efficient technology solutions while

developing strong customer relationships. If the goal is realized, the results generate repeat

technology sales, turn vendor/customer relationships into partnerships, develop accounts that

are impenetrable by competitors, and elevate the Total Customer Experience (TCE).

Given the perceived positive impact on both repeat sales and anchoring customer accounts,

TCE has naturally become a key performance indicator garnering significant industry focus over

the past few years. In addition, effective project management has clearly become a key

contributor to elevated TCE metrics. Conversely, ineffective project management often

negatively impacts overall TCE metrics.

Today’s basic project management disciplines are designed for efficient delivery of customer

solutions. These disciplines are well documented, have a global presence, and are proven to be

effective. Within the project management community, there is regular debate about technology

companies requiring Project Managers (PMs) to gain specific and detailed technology

certifications focused on enhancing overall project management effectiveness and delivery. This

assumption/direction implies “technical speak” and “technical understanding” are the primary

drivers surrounding project delivery and project team leadership. While these attributes can

assist in delivery of a technical project, they are not the foundation for enhancing overall TCE

metrics, generating long-term customer/vendor partnerships, or repeat professional services

engagements.

The focus of this article is to describe the “secret sauce” that bridges traditional project

management training with TCE.

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Traditional Project Management

Traditional project management disciplines focus mainly on delivering against scoped objectives

or requirements. The foundations of traditional project management disciplines include:

requirements documents

project kick-off documents

statements of work documents

risk analysis documents

project plans

status reports

project flow charts

project closure documents

There are standard templates supporting all foundational project management documents

available from a variety sources. In addition, most companies house custom versions of the

above-mentioned within their respective Project Management Offices (PMOs). Without question,

these project management documents serve as important project guides for any PM and

certainly contribute to successful delivery of a project or program. In fact, leveraging these

guideposts is considered imperative to minimizing project risks. Therefore, the importance of

leveraging traditional project management practices and standard project documentation is

widely accepted as a requirement for PM success.

However, even with successful PM delivery (basically defined as on-time and on-budget) using

traditional disciplines described above, project management TCE may not be positive or

enhanced.

New Wave Project Management

Effective leadership, interpersonal communications skills, and understanding customer

personality traits aligned with traditional project management disciplines can have significant

positive impacts on project management TCE. The more a customer recognizes talent and

“relates to” and “likes” a PM personally, the more likely a positive impact on the TCE metric with

the customer retaining the PM for future engagements. Similarly, if the PM “relates to” the

project delivery team, the project has a higher probability of success, thus, further enhancing the

TCE metric. This overall dynamic is achieved though understanding the different human

personality traits (Shark, Urchin, Whale, and Dolphin) and the respective relevance each has to

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the customer relationship building process. A PM possessing the above-mentioned skills can be

the conduit for generating years of repeat technology and services sales while insulating the

customer account from competition.

In essence, the project management “secret sauce” contains leadership, interpersonal

communications skills, and understanding human personality traits. Without the “secret sauce”,

project management is merely generic.

Unfortunately, these skills tend to be secondary or even overlooked within traditional project

management training. Also, these skills are often neglected or not vetted during the PM

candidate interview process. The “secret sauce” should certainly be a prerequisite for PMs

tasked with running key projects within strategic accounts.

Let’s dive into specifics and details.

Total Customer Experience – Defined

For the purposes of this article, a positive or enhanced TCE is defined by a customer’s positive

feedback, a customer proactively requesting the same PM and delivery resource(s) for future

engagements, and openly considering professional services (PM and field delivery) teams as

strategic partners required for successful execution against future customer initiatives. A

partnership indicates trust, confidence, respect, and friendship between the customer and PM.

In other words, when a customer/vendor partnership (vs. assignment) is established, the

opportunity to improve the TCE metric is enhanced.

“Secret Sauce” Ingredients

Project Management Leadership

Project Management is really about leading people for the purposes of delivering against

customer project scope and timelines. In no particular order, the following list exemplifies some

project management-specific leadership actions:

Requesting/assembling the appropriate project team – It’s desirable when project

resources request assignment on a particular PM’s project portfolio.

Inspiring the assigned project team – When the project team likes and respects the

PM, proactive team communication is more prevalent, team unity is achieved, and

project timelines are met.

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Managing customer expectations and emotions – Understanding both the customer

needs/expectations first and recognizing emotional drivers enables a PM to properly

communicate during challenging times.

Communicating with executive customer leadership – A PM must develop

“executive speak” while recognizing the level of technical detail required within a

communication.

Managing senior project team members – While it may be viewed as a luxury to have

senior resources assigned to a project, these resources often require more PM

leadership and exceptional interpersonal skills for project success. Senior resources are

usually in high demand, have many years of experience, possess unique working styles,

work long hours, possess high confidence levels, and often view project management as

a necessary evil.

Running efficient customer-facing meetings – The ability to effectively speak publicly

“on stage” while efficiently running customer meetings is a positive game changer for

PMs.

Accepting responsibility for team and project delivery – The PM is the quarterback.

The quarterback is the face of the team and accepts responsibility for project mishaps

while passing project successes to the team.

Owning project challenges with confidence – When project challenges arise,

customers appreciate knowing the PM is in control.

Project management leadership is quite complex. The typical boss/subordinate guidepost is not

present to mandate effort. In addition, project team members typically do not “work for” PMs.

Therefore, PMs must possess many leadership qualities for long-term success. The larger the

project, the more leadership skills required to achieve project success.

Here is a list of leadership qualities serving the above-mentioned project management

leadership discussion:

Leaders Influence – A leader moves people into action.

Leaders Navigate – A leader can survey the playing field, build relationships at various

levels within a customer organization, and understand how to strategically meet

timelines and deliverables.

Leaders Serve Others – Leaders ask “how can I assist you to meet our deliverable” vs.

“You need to get this done by...”

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Leaders Attract – Based on their actions and reputation, Leaders attract resources rather

than having to request resources.

Leaders Care First – Leaders are compassionate. They genuinely care about the

workload, stress, and personal lives associated with their team. Leaders understand the

communication principle suggesting “people do not care about what you say unless they

know you care first”.

Leaders are Secure (don’t sweat the small stuff) – People lacking leadership major in the

minor details. Leaders major in the major details. They are able to prioritize what’s most

important at any given time.

Lead by Example – Leaders get in the trench with the team. They do not dictate from

afar.

People Buy into the leader first before Buying into the vision – Leaders establish a

relationship and rapport with the customer and the project team before casting a vision

or project timelines.

Leaders want the team to Win – Leaders pass the recognition to the team first and

exercise humility when receiving recognition.

However, simply understanding and possessing leadership qualities will not guarantee project

management success. A PM must be able to communicate from a leadership perspective. In

other words, a PM’s success is directly related to effective communication. Specifically, it’s what

is messaged, how it’s messaged, and how the receiver interprets the message.

Interpersonal Communications

Experts agree that excellent interpersonal communications skills enhance a PM’s leadership.

Conversely, deficient interpersonal skills typically defuse the PM’s leadership.

Interpersonal communications skills include:

Verbal Communication – The ability to communicate efficiently, clearly, and concisely.

This includes public speaking while controlling an agenda and an audience.

Effective Speaking – Speaking to the needs/expectations of an audience or customer.

Non-Verbal Communication – Displaying optimism amidst challenges, emanating

sincere concern for the customer, confidence, and control beams in the wake of

challenges or aggressive timelines.

Personal Appearance – Looking the part of a leader.

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Listening Skills – Seeking to understand by listening first, then speaking. There is a

reason we have two ears and one mouth.

Active Listening – Portraying a sincere intent to understand the speaker. Engaged

listening through acknowledgement (head nod, smile, and direct eye contact).

Reflect and Clarify – Validate through playback. For example, “Let me confirm I

understand your concerns……..”

Without employing the suite of interpersonal communications skills, a PM’s leadership actions

will likely be questioned or challenged. However, if a PM possesses quality leadership and

interpersonal skills aligned with the ability to recognize what drives customers both

professionally and personally, a PM may achieve legitimate PM/customer partnerships leading

to long-term customer engagements. Technology companies with PMs possessing these

advanced skills can benefit from long-term customer billings and high TCE scores while

insulating the account from competition for years, potentially.

How does a project manager recognize what drives customers personally and professionally?

Interestingly, it’s all about the fish! Let’s continue…

Personality Traits

In general, many psychologists agree there are only four personality types. Many different

descriptions are available describing the four personality types. For the purposes of this article,

SHARKS, URCHINS, WHALES, and DOLPHINS shall define the leading personality trait of a

customer or stakeholder. Each person possesses some of each personality trait. The key for a

PM is to determine the dominant personality trait for the primary customer, the customer

stakeholders, and the project team members. Once determined, the PM can tailor

communications and “speak” to the needs/interests of the customer or project team. Simply put,

the PM is offering fish food.

When a PM recognizes a customer’s personality trait(s), the PM understands both what drives

the customer’s decision making process and how to influence or handle the customer. In effect,

the TCE metric is positively influenced when a PM speaks to the customer in the “customer’s

language” while paying attention to what drives the customer’s needs. In reality, a

customer/vendor partnership is typically not achieved until the customer truly realizes the PM

cares about and understands the customer’s needs first!

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Here are the 4 personality traits:

1. Sharks are all about winning. They have very strong opinions, are fast moving, are

results driven, and are natural leaders. They tend to be poor listeners, are inflexible,

loyal, dependable, punctual, trustworthy, and structured. Sharks do not appear to

recognize the feelings of others. To connect to a shark, a PM must provide a step-by-

step plan, have the facts, and discuss the expected results.

2. Urchins are typically introverted and task-oriented. They are self-controlled and serious.

Therefore, they tend to struggle when around other people. Urchins analyze and are

diligent in their decision making. Data is the Urchin’s friend! To connect with an Urchin, a

PM must have documentation and resources to support any claims. They want to see

the pros and cons before making any decision. It takes longer to develop a relationship

with an Urchin.

3. Whales are extroverted and people-oriented. They move at a slow pace but are

accurate and thorough. Whales seek and need acceptance from others and will work

hard to achieve it. They are caring, supportive, respectful, soft-hearted, thoughtful, and

compassionate toward others. To connect with a Whale, a PM must cover benefits, long-

term growth potentials, security, and stability. . A Whale must know the PM cares.

4. Dolphins are outgoing, energetic, enthusiastic, sociable, happy, talkative, emotional,

and typically the life of the party. Dolphins struggle with conflict and prefer everyone be

happy within their surroundings. They are optimistic, make quick decisions, and take

risks. To connect with a Dolphin, the PM should dress to impress and be prepared with

testimonials. Dolphins like the sizzle and avoid the details.

People rarely have one personality type. However, amidst the combination of personality traits,

each person typically has a dominant trait. Once the PM understands and recognizes each

personality type, communication and leadership styles can be adjusted on-the-fly to touch each

personality type within an audience. A PM should practice identifying the four personality types

by paying attention and actively listening to people. Upon mastering personality trait recognition,

a PM will forge bonds quicker with customers and project teams.

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Closing

This article posits that project management TCE metrics are directly related to a PM’s

leadership skills, interpersonal communication skills, and understanding of personality traits. A

PM possessing these characteristics has the “secret sauce” required to build strong, long-lasting

partnerships with both customers and project team members. Adding PM technical training to

the “secret sauce” simply enhances those partnerships. Technical training without the “secret

sauce” implies it’s OK to “talk the talk but not walk the walk”.

In other words, without the “secret sauce”, project management is merely generic and finite.

EMC believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. The

information is subject to change without notice.

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