Many definitions of leadershipcan be found and in essence leadership is about people, about change and about achieving goals. This article will explore leadership skills in the digital era.
In an article published on the site, Executives Online, the author, Andrew MacAskill (Feb 18, 2015) identifies “5 Essential Skills of a Future Super Leader” as:
Digital savvy
An engineering mindset
An agile risk taker
A true believe in corporate and social responsibility
Great self-leaders
Digital savvy
A digital savvy leader must have a solid understanding of current technologies that enables a social and global connectivity to be in touch with the changes demanded or needed in society, industry and the market place. These technologies provide the means to create knowledge from an explosion of information to allow for identification of a change or a trend. A leader also uses these tools to drive the change.
Engineering mindset
A leader must have an engineering mindset to apply new technology concepts and trends such as Cloud Computing, Telemetry and Big Data to enable people to innovate within an industry and thereby leading people to change through applied innovation.
Agile risk taker
Risk is inevitable. MacAskill describes that risk can be valuable when a leader practices intelligent risk taking which is sometimes necessary, to prosper. Leaders must be informed and knowledgeable to know when to take calculated risks, when to avoid it and how to manage risks in particular situations. A leader needs to be in touch and digitally connected to be a successful, agile risk taker.
Corporate and social responsibility
Capitalism in its essence cannot be socially responsible however business leaders live in a capitalist world with a growing demand for social responsibility to ensure sustainability. A true future leader within the digital era must therefore apply technology and innovation to create a mindset or psyche of social responsibility. This requires entrenchment of the concepts of sustainability in the organization, with employees and customers alike and in the community.
Self-leaders
Leadership is not instructional. A leader must be a successful business leader, an upstanding community leader and a followed people leader. In business, a leader must apply him or herself to specialize or master a subject, apply his / her expertise in the community and be in touch with emotions, passions and abilities of people to lead.
It is important to remember that leadership skills can be developed. Leaders of today must become future super leaders as MacAskill describes them where the leadership traits and styles are applied within the context of the digital era.
About the Author:
Roelof Louw is an IT professional with a passion for how people, technology and process are applied in business, community and society to improve, drive change and innovate. At present Roelof focuses on applying his career experience in IT management and strategy as well as consultation on Cloud, Managed Services and Computing Services topics. Connect with Roelof on Linkedin or mail him at roelof.louw@gmail.com
PMI has announced changes in the Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) Program from 1 Dec 2015. This is to answer the demands of the Profession based on the latest research findings in Pulse of the Profession and Project Management Talent Gap.
Employers need project practitioners with leadership and business intelligence skills to support strategic objectives that contribute to the bottom line.
The ideal skill set — the PMI Talent Triangle — is a combination of technical, leadership, and strategic and business management expertise. Aligning with this will ensure that you can develop your career in a more consistent, actionable and meaningful way.
Effective 1 December 2015 the CCR program will be aligned with the employer-identified skills depicted in the PMI Talent Triangle to ensure Project Management Professionals (PMP’s) are equipped to remain relevant in a continually changing business environment and to keep certification holders focused on the needs of the profession.
Please have a look at the Infographic below for a complete break-down of how Professional Development Units (PDU’s) will be maintained as per the update.
Also visit the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for an explanation of the reasons the CCR program is being updated, what the updates are, when the updates will go into effect, for which activities you can claim PDU’s and how you are impacted.
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Whether you’re an experienced project manager, or a project manager preparing to take the Project Management Professional (PMP®) Exam, here are three tools and techniques you will be using on all your projects.
They are the following:
Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)
Roles and Responsibilities
Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS)
Each of these tools and techniques are discussed within A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Fifth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2013, the globally recognized standard and guide for the project management profession. Let’s look at each of these tools and techniques individually, but also how they interact with each other.
Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)
RAM is a tool used as part of the Plan Human Resource Management process that relates the organizational breakdown structure (OBS) to the work breakdown structure (WBS) and is used to ensure each project activity is assigned a specific resource. A RAM can be used at a high level, a low level, or a combination of both depending on the size and complexity of the project.
One of the most widely known and used type of RAM is the RACI chart. RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consult, and Inform. A RACI chart is simply a table with project activities listed along the left and specific individuals or groups identified across the top. This creates a grid where each activity and individual or group intersect. An R, A, C, or I can be placed in each of the intersecting boxes and at least one accountable individual or group is assigned to each project activity. For large activities there may need to be more than one individual responsible for completing the work. There can be multiple individuals or groups who need to be consulted or informed, but be careful to make sure that each is identified correctly so that not too many unnecessary individuals or groups are being consulted when they may just want to be informed.
Roles and Responsibilities
They are used to define the project role, authority, responsibilities, and competencies required for the role. Clearly defining and documenting the specific Roles and Responsibilities necessary for each project resource are essential ingredients of an effective Human Resource Management Plan. The best way to determine the specific responsibilities required of each role on a project is to document these roles in the form of specific job descriptions that must be matched with specific project team members in order to properly execute the role’s responsibilities.
The four key items to be addressed when developing Roles and Responsibilities are role, authority, responsibility, and competency. Role is the function an assigned person would take on such as designer, engineer, or tester. As part of a role it is also important to define the authority, responsibilities, and boundaries of the role.
Authority is the right to make decisions, sign approvals, apply resources, accept deliverables, and influence others to complete project activities.
Responsibility is the assigned tasks and work the individual is expected to complete. When developing roles and responsibilities it is important that the authority and responsibility match. For example, if an engineer is responsible for making technical decisions it is important they have the authority to implement those decisions.
Competency is the skill set and experience required to complete assigned project activities. If the wrong competency is assigned to a role project progress can be hindered by some activities not being performed.
Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS)
The RBS is a graphical representation of the hierarchical structure of resources by category and resource type where each level is broken down until it is small enough to be used in conjunction with the work breakdown structure (WBS). The goal is to have all resources on a project, not only human resources, linked to specific activities in the WBS in order to plan, monitor, and control the project work. Being able to link resources back to the WBS is essential in ensuring that each activity will be successfully performed.
One thing to remember when taking the PMP Exam is that the acronym RBS has two meanings in the world of project management; Resource Breakdown Structure and Risk Breakdown Structure. If you read the questions carefully and understand the context of the question context (i.e., are they asking about resources or risks?) you should not encounter any problems.
Three R’s on projects
How do the Responsibility Assignment Matrix, Roles and Responsibilities, and Resource Breakdown Structure interact?
The RBS will provide the project manager with information concerning the resources required to complete the project work. Once the RBS is decomposed to the same level as the WBS then identified resources can be linked to specific activities.
A RACI chart can then be developed based on the identified resources in the RBS and the activities that need to be completed in the WBS.
The documented Roles and Responsibilities provides the project manager with specific information such as the responsibility, authority, and competency level of the role that each human resource is assigned to. This also helps the Project Manager complete the RACI chart because it provides them with important information such as making someone responsible or accountable for an activity fitting within the role they fill.
In conclusion, a popular RAM, the RACI chart, is an extremely useful tool used to identify who is accountable or responsible for or needs to be consulted or informed with regard to specific project activities.
Roles and Responsibilities can be thought of as job descriptions that define the role itself along with the authority needed to perform the role, the responsibilities of the role, and the competencies required by the role.
The RBS graphically displays what resources are necessary for successful completion of the project, broken down by both resource category and resource type. For the exam, it is important that you understand not only how and when to use each of these tools and techniques, but also how they interact with each other.
Please visit The PM Prepcast for a very mobile video workshop that will help you prepare for your PMP exam.
Recently I attended a school function where the head master passionately explained the school’s values. It made an impression on me and I wanted to share them with you as I believe they will help you become more value driven as a project leader.
FAITH
You need to have faith in yourself. That means you need to conduct your business with confidence, creating trust with the client that you’re serving, and trust with team members and stakeholders on projects.
People need to know that they can rely on you. You have a sense of loyalty, you show commitment to what you promised and you work with dedication to achieve your goals.
INTEGRITY
Good leadership demands commitment to ethical practices. You show integrity and set the standards for ethical behaviour. That means conducting your business with honesty and truthfulness in all circumstances. You take honour in the service that you deliver and you are completely reliable.
RESPONSIBILITY
You can be held accountable for duties that are your responsibility. People see you as being trustworthy and dependable to take charge and complete the tasks that you set out to perform.
EXCELLENCE
You strive to excel in all you do. Over time it will show in the quality of your work and people will perceive you as being competent and even brilliant in your field of expertise. That distinction will differentiate you in the market and make your services sought after.
When serving our customers and stakeholders we need to strive for good values, otherwise we will lack F-I-R-E! People want to follow leaders with enthusiasm and a can-do attitude. As Timothy Barry puts it in this article: “Top 10 Qualities of a Project Manager”, ‘Enthusiastic leaders are committed to their goals and express this commitment through optimism’.
Let the FIRE burn inside us in 2015 and make it easy for others to follow you as an inspirational leader.
The Project Management Institute (PMI) has conducted the Pulse of the Profession study since 2006 to provide evidence that implementing strategy successfully is inextricably linked to an organization’s capability to deliver successful projects and programs.
The Report explores the Pulse findings and it demonstrates a clear path forward by focussing on fundamentals of culture, talent and process.
High-performing organizations are demonstrating that adhering to proven project, program, and portfolio management practices reduces risks, cuts costs, and improves success rates of projects and programs. This focus emphasizes the need for all organizations to get back to basics: By embedding a project management mindset in their culture, they will be better able to create a sustainable competitive advantage.
High-performing organizations drive project management and deploy related competencies with a goal of maximizing organizational value. The Pulse study shows that projects within these organizations meet original goals and business intent two-and-a-half times more often than those in low-performing organizations (90 percent vs. 36 percent).
High-performing organizations also waste about 13 times less money than low performers. No increase in the number of high-performing organizations was seen since 2012. This number remains steady at 12 percent.
Project Management Basics
What helps an organization build and sustain its growth capacity and become a high performer?
The Pulse research shows a number of factors contribute to this success, including a focus on what are considered the basics:
Fully understanding the value of project management
Having actively engaged executive sponsors
Aligning projects to strategy
Developing and maintaining project management talent
Establishing a well-aligned and effective PMO
Using standardized project management practices throughout the organization
Foundational practices for high performers
Research shows that high performers are likely to focus on:
Greater knowledge transfer effectiveness
More rigorous risk management
More frequent use of agile/incremental/iterative practices in project management
Higher benefits realization maturity.
To read the full report, visit Pulse of the Profession 2015
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Another project success story from an experienced project manager about the development of a new Forecasting system for the international Shipping giant, Maersk.
The project goal was to provide an electronic system to forecast and plan Maersk’s shipping schedules and cargo loading. The development team needed to understand a myriad of information for the cube to be developed. This included international port laws, time-zones, currencies, and the algorithms required behind the scene to create system intelligence that would enable Logistics Managers to accurately forecast, plan and schedule.
The project achieved its objective within two years of reducing the time spent on forecasting and making it more accurate. A centralised system, called Forecast, could be accessed from different countries and ports to streamline all forecasting processes in a fairly complex world.
To read more about the project challenges the team faced, what worked well and the lessons learnt, click on Success Stories Shared.
Please subscribe (top right) not to miss any future project management stories, tools, tips and more! Also have a look at the newly publishedPodcasts!
Most experienced project managers will know that effective Change Management has become essential in delivering successfulprojects. The question is what type of skills does a Change Manager need to be effective and how are those skills different from project manager skills?
The answer can be found in a report published by Afro Ant, as the outcome of a conversation attended by change managers and project managers in September 2014. You will find the summary of the change manager skills as well as a comparison of different focus areas between project and change managers.
Definition of Change Management
Change management is a combination of science and art – in the practice of change management, the “what” is often a science, but much of the “how” will always remain an art, as much a function of who you are than of what you know.
How does the role of a Change Manager typically differ from the role of a Project Manager?
The main differences lie in their focus areas. The project manager will focus on delivery on time, within budget, of specified quality and to the satisfaction of stakeholders. The change manager will focus on systematically managing the change as to minimise the impacts and to maximise the benefits. Project are ultimately about change in order to deliver benefits. See the comparison at the end.
Skills of a Good Change Manager
Operationally a change manager requires a very good understanding of change management principles and associated theory, methodology, techniques and tools, and the ability to apply these in a practical and flexible manner.
Then facilitation skills, influencing skills, strong conceptual and analytical thinking skills need to be present.
Change managers need to quickly understand what their projects are about and develop appropriate change management strategies and plans. You need to translate the real change into communication that all stakeholders will understand. You need to engage with the project team in a constructive manner.
With project management and planning skills, you also needBusiness acumen: demonstrated ability and experience in understanding business strategy, structure, processes and enabling technologies.
In addition, a change manager must have the ability to handle significant pressure and to persevere, meaning to stay focused and to maintain a positive energy level despite setbacks. You need the ability to learn from problems and to see tasks and projects through to completion.
Passion and Maturity
A change manager will have passion to deliver to standards of excellence. You need a proven ability to manage quality of own and others’ work. You need appropriate and effective prioritisation and self-management. This includes the ability to work to deadlines and a commitment to deliver on time.
A change manager will be decisive and assertive, innovative with problem solving skills, as well as administrative skills. You need to be able to manage ambiguity and to create order and structure.
People Skills
A change manager definitely requires above average ability to work with people, to have empathy and to establish trust and rapport. You need insight into individual and team dynamics and the ability to establish trust with senior leadership.
Effective conflict resolution and negotiation skills are required to build relationships, to establish rapport and relate to people in an open, friendly manner while showing sincere interest in others. You will have the ability to build and maintain mutual trust.
Communication
You need proficient language skills, the ability to recognise and use the appropriate interpersonal styles and communication methods to ensure understanding acceptance of a change, idea, plan or product.
For communication you need business writing skills, effective listening, presentation development and delivery. Effective use of tools like MS PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Even some-time learn the basics of pogrammes like Frontpage or Access.
Other skills would include:
Self-starter, being self‐motivated
Resourceful and crea7ve
Ambitious and hard-working
Strongly disciplined
Achievement orientated
Assertiveness
Reliable
Practical and pragmatic
Flexible /adaptable
Reasonable and open-minded
Energetic and positive
Passion
Above all a change manager needs to be passionate about the work they’re doing. The ability to engage authentically will bring you far. That means to bring yourself into the work that you do. It requires honesty, openness, congruence, self-insight and that you are okay enough with whom you are to share that with the people you deal with in your work as a change manager.
Change manager vs Project manager skills
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At the beginning of the year, we are motivated for new beginnings. We want to do new things, or we want to do things that worked in the past, even better.
Sunset beach picnic, Sedgefield, South Africa
After a period of holiday fun with the family doing camping, swimming at the beach, hanging out with friends and enjoying our wonderful summer weather, it’s time to get back into gear. Sometimes you have a slow start, other times you hit the road running.
I look forward to many challenges at work and initiatives from Virtual Project Consulting this year. We will launch our very own Podcast series in 2015! I am a contributing author to a book on “Social Media and Project Management” to be compiled by Prof Silvius of the University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. Also look out for guest post contributions from well-known project professionals.
When you’re responsible for projects you work with people and to have great results you need to be a good leader. In a recent article I discovered these leadership lessons learned from nuns, which touched my heart. I want to make it part of my path to success in 2015:
Love the journey.
Live and work your passions.
Always be grateful.
Make mistakes.
Integrity is your most powerful asset.
Vision, no matter how right, can only be delivered through relationships.
Success is only success if everyone feels the win.
At Virtual Project Consulting we are working full swing on making new things a reality. To help with two of the most pressing questions project managers have, this is what we cater for:
Where can I find the best project management training, software, products, books etc?
How do I become a Project Manager, a PMP or maintain my certification?
Project management podcasts covering best practices, success stories – short audios for easy listening while driving, exercising or during breaks
Please let me know in the comments what specific topics you’re interested in? What would benefit you in your search for information about project management?
To all the people in my community, the loyal subscribers, friends, colleagues, clients and blog visitors, I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas.
May the message of Christmas fill your life with joy and peace. Best wishes to you and your family during this holiday season. May this wonderful time of year touch your heart in a special way.
As you look forward to 2015, remember that the New Year is an unwritten book, so choose your actions and words wisely and fill it up with pages that are worth reading by the end of the year.
This year I had to switch between companies and was in the market to find the next ideal position. When you find yourself looking for another good job opportunity, you need to have a really good resume. Perhaps one that would help you to stand out from all the other applicants.
The purpose of this article is to share a new type of resume, called the One Page Resume or CV. Recruiters are overloaded with resumes on a daily basis and you want your CV to stand out for the right reason by following a different approach. It’s built around a timeline and you could use it as a cover to your existing CV.
Click on the sample below for more Project Manager career tips.
Today I would like to share this very informative Infographic from Knowledge Train on the Definition of Portfolio Management.
As per the PMI definition:
Portfolio Management is the coordinated management of one or more portfolios, a component collection of programs, projects, or operations, to achieve organizational strategies.
In order to cope with the more complex and unpredictable world we live in today, you need portfolio management.
Visit the blog listed below for an interesting article about portfolio management.
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In an article published on the site, Executives Online, the author, Andrew MacAskill (Feb 18, 2015) identifies “5 Essential Skills of a Future Super Leader” as:
