Management, Coaching, Consulting, Project services

An important part of my role is working with people in day-to-day interactions, but also to help them grow on the long term. It's always motivating to see how people can change and evolve in the right direction when the right feedback is provided - when the dialogue is open, when the sender is open and honest in the comments and observations, and when the receiver is also interested in what others have to say. It's not that when somebody tells you did something wrong, that you have to immediately agree with them - I'm the first to be against. Still, when two or more people tell you that you are drunk, you definitely go to bed. I've had one guy who was always gloomy, never satisfied by anything, and always expressing his concerns and reasons to be upset with loud voice. After two years of working together, although he did not become the most positive person, he learned how to listen to others, how to contain his anger, and how to express his ideas in a way that fa...

Yes, exactly: do you think this can help? If yes, by when should we expect to become obsolete? All of us, or... just the Project Managers, or just the People Managers, or only the CxOs? Let's take a step-by-step approach to analyse this idea. - what does a CxO do all day long? Looks at numbers, weighs ideas, run a lot of meetings, join in quite a few, and then decide. This is one job that even a robot could do, right? - what does a Project Manager do? Looks at graphics, numbers, tasks, activities, costs, weighs in the variables and probabilities of various risks, and then decide. A robot could do that as well, right? - what does a People Manager do? Looks at graphics, numbers, operational aspects, hire/fire people, give some random advices, and then decide. It seems simple, and straightforward, right? So... why are we still here? why isn't our place already taken by robots? Maybe in my logic I made some mistake... yeah, there might be a chance that - beyond numbers, a...

I am still very surprised about the huge amount of focus that is put on general project management skills, and processes, and tools, and the limited attention that people management skills get. What happens when the PM has no people management skills? quite a lot actually: - attracting people to the project becomes very hard, as the line managers say no to letting their people handle other stuff - keeping the people on the project remains as well as challenge - conflicts inside the team grow unseen until they become uncontrollable - project meetings become wars - deadlines slip - people blame each other A climate of distrust is thus created, and instead of a productive environment for already difficult customers, the PM will also have to firefight each and every conflict. As I was mentioning in a prior post, while the PMP certification will not bring as a guarantee that the PM knows how to manage people, it does force every candidate to read through the Human Resource...

I've talked some while ago about communication styles in different cultures - but diversity is still on top of my mind even if I speak about people grown in the same culture, working together to a common goal. Looking at the big picture, you see a team performing at the highest levels . But when drilling down, even in the small teams you can find so many different personalities, so many views about the world or how things should go/be done which is still amazing. You will have a star, or at least someone believing to be a star, or going into that direction. You will have the quiet do-er, sometimes called the silent hero. You can also find the "always complaining", and hopefully you will have an always happy guy (annoying everybody else with a positive attitude). It's a nice mix, and it's also a great challenge to have. But how do you get to have such a team? Would you like one? How would you manage it? Well - getting it is really easy: you just hire good ...

This was the first lesson in my most recent management training, done under the umbrella of the Gustav Kaser Training International (GKTI): ask yourself every morning why are you enjoying yourself (WAIEM). It might sound like a dumb question, but... think a little bit: if you had at least one reason to be happy that day, wouldn't you feel better? It could be anything: your baby saying the first word, winning the lottery, one award that one of your employees received, or just because it's a late summer day, with some bright warm sun in the sky. And... if you can't find a reason to enjoy yourself... just make up one ! Think about the challenges of that day, and how you plan to attack them, and the results you expect - you might already feel better just because of that! So... WAIEM every day, every morning, and during the day. Be happy and smile - and the people around you will also feel the joy. Why? Because happy people are contagious (well, when they are not stepping...

More and more often I hear that one can only earn respect and power only if one can use the NO word as needed. NO is the most fearest word - it is said to close doors, to shut down opportunities, to bring sadness into one's heart, to make both parties suffer from the consequences of a NO. BUT... it's also a differentiator, in a world where people are more and more discussing about leadership and how to manage expectations, and how to achieve more with less. NO means making the right choices, in the right moment. I find it really difficult to use, and I've found one great resource to give me power to use it. I've learned that the NO can also be POSITIVE, and it's really surprising when you hear about this at first. How can a NO be positive??? Yet, if you say it correctly, if your NO is for the specific situation, and not to a whole relation, if you deny only the possibility of that opportunity, but you stay true to your ideals, to what you value most, and k...

Yes, you should care about your people, especially when they give in too fast! I had one situation today that was really amazing: one of my people said they won't pursue an opportunity, although the most fervant demandeur for it! What would you do in this situation?? As you are in the fast forward area, where everything has to happen yesterday, today does not exist, and we are always building our future... the most logical reaction would have been: fine, let's see who else would be interested. But I did one surprising thing: I've asked: WHY do you want to not give it try? And we had a chat about it, and then a face-to-face discussion, where I've listened to the other, trying to understand what was going on beyond the "I don't want it anymore", and asking a lot of questions. At some point of the discussion, and not even too far into it, the other asked me: why do you even bother with me? I'm a bad person, and I've just changed my mind after ...

Recently I've run into a lot of discussions about how to run a BOT business. Managing a BOT can pose a lot of issues if you don't respect some basic rules that you establish well ahead. Like with any other offshoring model, you need to have some expectations set from it. I am thinking of multiple points to be well defined ahead. I would start by setting an objective about team size to be reached in a period of time, and how you would get there ( recruitment process , selection, ramping up). Next, I would think about the types of projects that could be safely handed over to the BOT team, without putting at risk the high visibility projects. I would also consider having one key person managing the entire BOT, one person that I trust and that could be hired by my company, rather than the service provider. And to make a long story short, here is a very good link that talks about a particular case, really-really interesting: http://www.sourcingmag.com/content/c060320a.asp