Preventing Project Failure

Today I’m beginning a new series on leadership based on General Colin Powell’s  Leadership Secrets.  And yes, this is a continuation of my love affair with the Army, but that’s not the only reason.  It seems that of late I’ve personally run into quite a few successes that have a lot to do with disciplined process but also collaborative leadership.

Let me start by saying that I push people to excellence but also seek to find that happy spot of growth and playing to strengths.  I don’t believe, ever, that we should force people to do something they don’t want to do and I firmly believe that by allowing people to excel where they want to  excel, we win as a team.

So what caught my eye in the Leadership Secrets was this statement.

Leadership is the art of accomplishing  more than the science of management says is possible.

Colin Powell

I believe that Project Management is a science; there are defined methods, there are highly regulated tests against that method, reported faithfully in the PM Journal.  There are PhDs in Project Management, ya know, and certifications, and models.   It’s a for real thing.

So, leadership, as Powell says, is an art.  And art implies the non-scientific, the intangible and the creative.. the inspired.  Art is the extension of the method; you learn the methodology as an underpinning, the launching pad,  to the creative influence.  In this regard, is Project Management methodology the launching pad that leads to full expression of the creative art of leadership?  Can you be a Project Manager without the art of leadership?   Can you be a leader and not know jack about Project Management?  This next series is about digging deep into leadership and exploring it from a Project Management perspective, particularly an IT Project Management perspective.

I’m also inspired by one of the business analysts on my team who paradoxically did not believe I was a Project Manager when I first met him.  “Um…why?”,  I asked one day as we stood out on Crystal Drive on a rainy fall day. “Well, Michiko…You didn’t just tell me what to do.  You explain what to do.  I could see that you had been in my shoes at some point and you took your time to communicate to me.”   I inquired about his previous Project Managers and he said, “They all just told us what to do and went back into their offices while we did the work.  So, when you worked with us, I just assumed you weren’t a Project Manager.”

I realized that all my supervisors upon which I had modeled myself had not been certified Project Managers, but had been true collaborative, open leaders.  With my own team, I only sought to model their behavior towards me, and for that BA, I was a new type of Project Manager.

This leaves me wondering if Project Management success has more to do with the method of Project Management or the Art of Leadership.  Powell’s statement seems to lead more towards the latter, stressing that the Art of Leadership can do more than any methodology can accomplish.

I’m willing to explore by looking at each one of Powell’s lessons in detail and trying to find their intersection to the methodology, particularly the PMBoK, the PM Journal and mine and other’s personal experiences.

Here are the 18 Colin Powell Leadership principals from The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell by Orin Hariri.

Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.

The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.

Don’t be buffaloed by experts and elites. Experts often possess more data than judgment. Elites can become so inbred that they produce hemophiliacs who bleed to death as soon as they are nicked by the real world.

Don’t be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard.

Never neglect details. When everyone’s mind is dulled or distracted the leader must be doubly vigilant.

You don’t know what you can get away with until you try.

Keep looking below surface appearances. Don’t shrink from doing so (just) because you might not like what you find.

Organization doesn’t really accomplish anything. Plans don’t accomplish anything, either. Theories of management don’t much matter. Endeavors succeed or fall because of the people involved. Only by attracting the best people will you accomplish great deeds.

Organization charts and fancy titles count for next to nothing.

Never let your ego get so close to your position that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.

Fit no stereotypes. Don’t chase the latest management fads. The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team’s mission.

Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

Powell’s Rules for Picking People: Look for intelligence and judgment, and most critically, a capacity to anticipate, to see around corners. Also look for loyalty, integrity, a high energy drive, a balanced ego, and the drive to get things done.

Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.

Part I: Use the formula P=40 to 70, in which P stands for the probability of success and the numbers indicate the percentage of information acquired. Part II: “Once the information is in the 40 to 70 range, go with your gut.

The commander in the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, unless proved otherwise

Have fun in your command. Don’t always run at a breakneck pace. Take leave when you’ve earned it: Spend time with your families. Corollary: surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.

Command is lonely.

In the upcoming weeks, I’ll explore them one at a time.  Orin Hariri has also provided this excellent powerpoint presentation that delves more deeply into the topics.  Next Stop – Lesson Number 1: Pissing People Off (geez…I don’t have any experience with that one at all).

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