Criticism is feedback in disguise.

After a day out of the office this week I returned to my in-box to find a cryptic message from a team member at one of the remote offices. It was a request to get in touch which signed off with the ominous phrase "it's nothing serious". A phrase which immediately implies that it probably is something that one should be concerned about.

Without any real clue as to what I should expect I dialed the individuals mobile. In essence it was an employee in an office I had visited that week providing some interesting feedback. He wanted to inform me that the discussion at their daily meetings had touched on the fact that I was conspicuous by my absence from their regular scrums. It is fair to say that I don't directly manage the team or the project that is the current source of concern; but I do have a vested interest in the delivery of the project and the overall team performance.

I struggle to cover the miles to be in each office as much as I possibly should and part of the criticism was that when I am in the office I don't get close to the detail. I say the criticism as it felt that way. My instinctive reaction was "does he know how busy I am, I can't be baby sitting developers all the time". But I didn't express my thoughts and kept listening and accepted the feedback in good spirit as it was clear that it was intended that way. I thanked them for taking the time out to let me have the feedback and said that I would see what I could do to sort the situation out. I think that made a positive contribution to my image by not reacting negatively or defensively despite the internal reaction.

I discussed with the team leader in the location and I have built up a picture of the situation and consequently I will be back on site next week. But it has highlighted to me the need for honest feedback and the clear benefit of this kind of unbidden commentary as well as not reacting emotionally but listening and taking the criticism as honestly offered feedback.

Don't forget number one; career developmemt is important for all.

Succession planning has been a common theme in recent times and has given me the chance to seriously consider developing the team. Indeed this year has given ample opportunity to coach and improve those that work for me. But what about my personal development. I started 2010 with a clear view that it would be a challenging year; a sharp increase in the scale of responsibility including a broad geographical split and new born twins. All in all a lot to contend with.

But I am starting to get on top of things now. The last nine months have given me the chance to grow into the role and whilst it will be a long way before I am proficient, I am getting there. So now I need to consider what next. In order to keep growing and to improve the management capability further I need not only the short term goals that have underpinned the year so far, I now need a more strategic set of aspirations.

So this weeks short post is a placemarker to say that the weekly reflections are great; but it is now time for a deeper dive. Lets start to try and map out the next three years rather than the next three months.

Leading From the Front.

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to be invited to the firms inaugural Leadership Conference. A well organised affair where all mangers within the company were brought together for series of presentations on Leadership. Each session was presented by senior leaders within the organisation and they were all intended to encourage the man managers within the organisation to consider certain themes in their day to day leadership activities.

I have been on a number of leadership and management courses and there was nothing especially revolutionary in the underlying messages. For me the resonant theme was all about aspiring to personal levels of over achievement that would serve as an example to ones subordinates. It is a very simple principle but exceedingly powerful. The key concept was that a team member is unlikely to try and outperform if he doesn't see the same desire to over achieve in his boss.

Another statement which really worked for me came from the MD of one of the business units. He outlined a number of qualities that he associated with strong leadership and chief amongst them a quoted 'a positive attitude'. This made me consider a previous reflection about demonstrating confidence to those around you to build their confidence. I think this reflection on positivity falls into the same category.

Keen as I am to extract tangible actions or achievable behavioural changes from a learning experience I am moved to consider my demeanour. I think the key is to develop an internal level of positivity that can shine out. The superficial 'have a nice day' smile will not suffice this is all about an outward reflection of inner strength and positivity that truly leads as an example to others. To make this happen I have resurrected the personal mission statement and I intend to read it at least once a day. Time to lead from the front with a smile on my face.

The Three Cs of Software Development; Communication, communication and communication!

The projects I tend to come into contact with very often span development teams. In particular two very specific teams located in the same building one floor apart. These teams are both led by technically capable young managers who have been promoted from within the teams. One of these managers reports to me and one does not. Given the proximity, the similarity and the situation you would think these teams would work well together but very often they do not.
I am not sure whether there is genuine tension, but given the need for them to work in harmony and the plentiful examples of them not; I can only conclude that there is an issue. Having spent some time considering the reasons and circumstances that have surrounded some of the conflicts it soon became clear that the difficulties were never present face to face. From this I have concluded that the difficulties revolve around the communication between the two. The more I reflect on the power of communication the more it occurs to me that it is the first weapon deployed in the manager's armoury when an issue surfaces. Very often the cry goes up 'let's get everyone on a call'. So opinions are expressed, circumstances exchanged, options considered and above all, I believe, empathy enhanced. Very often conflicts arise when we don't understand another person's perspective and whilst talking about things doesn't guarantee that alternative view point is understood, it rarely does any harm.
This leads me to conclude that communication is essential. Whether the news is positive or negative if we take the opportunity to express our views and understanding we open up the door to empathic connection. So from now in I will take every chance to engage in meaningful communication whilst facilitating and encouraging it in others.

Optimism is great; but is not the basis for a sound project plan.

I hold my hands up; I occupy both ends of the optimism vs. pessimism spectrum. I am an optipess.

Embroiled as I have become in the latest fire-fight that calls itself a project I can see the fundamental failure of our forward planning model. If I was looking for a metaphor to describe the forward planning model it would be like a man buying a new pair of jeans. You can see the sizes and you know you used to be a 34" waist and so you are sure they will fit. To test the hypothesis you shoe-horn yourself in and stay standing still fully exhaled; a perfect fit! The moment of truth comes two hours in to the first period of wear when the discomfort becomes all too apparent.

So it is proving with the current project. We made all manner of assumptions in the early planning that supported what we wanted to deliver. It also supported what the business wanted us to deliver. For a short period of time it all looked very rosy. Until the assumptions started to unravel. Firstly preceding tasks overrun, then holiday knocked a hole in capacity, then people on the critical path got derailed and so it went on.

It may be that you are starting to think 'well that is basic project management'; I would agree, but with the following observations. The strength of a project is based largely on the quality of the estimates and the ability of the PM. In this instance we didn't have a dedicated PM until recently, but the more salient learning point for me is that there was never the voice of negativity. The assumptions and the estimates were too optimistic and there was no dissenting voice. This was good news for everybody, until the wheels come off and now we are faced with far more uncomfortable conversations.

So from now on I intend to plan with pessimism and deliver with optimism. Let's see if that works.

Speak With Conviction and They Will Listen.

I have been struck in recent times by the level of adoption of people's ideas. The average day has more than it's fair share of meetings and the current hot topics are getting debated regularly in multiple forums. What stands out is that the prevailing opinion isn't always the one that has the most compelling logic, but very often the one that has the most assertive spokesperson.

When there is a vacuum of information it is filled by forceful opinion. Very often people in meetings have this overwhelming desire to be seen to have every angle covered and there is often an absence of debate in favour of a number of assertively postulated ideas. In this gladiatorial contest of conjecture he who speaks loudest carries the argument. Very little importance is attached to the quality of theories, indeed if there isn't a single overriding theory that carries everyone along, then it is the most loudly stated opinion that carries most weight.

I think the most worrying aspect of this situation is that a little knowledge assertively conveyed can railroad the decision making process. As a result some poor quality judgements can be arrived at that are based on ill informed opinions. This can waste time and money.

As a personal learning point it leads me to conclude that you don't always need to have the answer. But if you want to influence decisions it can be useful to state your position with enough conviction to convince those around you that you know what you are talking about. In some respects this sits a little uneasily with me as it seems slightly deceitful. But when I see bad decisions being made simply because an individual speaks with assertiveness; I am given to believe that the ends justify the means. If a more considered view carries greater weight due to its delivery then some difficult situations could be avoided.

The other consequence of always being perceived as having the answer is people will trust your judgement more broadly. Thus affording greater influence. The next challenge is to always speak with conviction based on a position of considered understanding; for now it will be a start to always speak with conviction.

Be Careful What You Say; You Might Start Believing It.

After a demanding day in the office on Tuesday a colleague asked the reasonable question; 'how are you doing'? I responded with the throwaway comment that I was 'surviving'. In many ways it reflected my state of mind and was a fair assessment of my emotions at the time.

Unusually I was instantly struck by the way my comments would have been perceived. I could sense that it caused the people around me a momentary discomfort at hearing such an expression of weakness. But what worried me even more about this outward reflection of an inner lack of self confidence was the internal effect. By giving in to the negative view of my achievements that day I was in some way re-enforcing this thinking.

Much of the content of 'Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway' is about changing the key internal conversations that drive all our confidence levels. The reality is that we all do generally survive the situations we face. Regardless of any short term discomfort we cope, learn and move on to the next challenge. Part of the rationale behind writing down these personal reflections in this blog is to consolidate the learning experiences and embed them in a way that makes them truly valuable.

The situation at work is challenging at the moment. But this experience has taught me two extremely valuable lessons. I cope; it doesn't matter how difficult I think the situation will be I do my best and I do come through with some degree of success. Secondly, you need to reflect confidence; half of the challenge of leadership is seeming to be on top of things regardless of how you are managing internally. The added bonus of outwardly reflecting positivity is the inner feeling of strength. So from now on I will be very careful what I say when asked about my day as I don't want to harm my inner opportunities for success.

Putting the Spirit Into Team Spirit.

This week saw the annual summer social event take place. A number of the development teams were invited to an informal boat trip chartered as an opportunity for people to spend some time together away from the office.

A common complaint amongst staff is that 'we never do anything entertaining'. The disappointing result to this desire to offer people the chance to enjoy something, was that the turnout was particularly poor. This encouraged me to think more deeply about what is the value of this kind of extra curricular events. Indeed one attendee remarked; to not socialise with your colleagues outside of work means that you are not a team player.

I am not sure I see it is as clear cut as that; some people just simply aren't that gregarious. Does it mean that you can't be a valuable and integral member of a team if you don't want to spend your free time with your work colleagues. In my opinion it is not necessarily a negative factor if people don't wish to participate in extramural activities. It is more a case of missing a positive. If you genuinely get pleasure from spending time with your work colleagues then I would suggest that can only have a positive impact on the effectiveness of the team. So maybe it is as much a symptom of dysfunctional teams rather than the cause of them. However, I would also suggest that success at work is likely to be measured by the quality of your interactions with others. Getting to know people better can only help in this context.

I do believe that the closest teams are forged in adversity. When you are up against things and you all pull together to create a positive outcome. When people can see that everybody is aiming for you same goal and believes in its achievement. I would then hope that once that team cohesion was in place the social connection would follow on quite naturally.

So what would I conclude from this? It is always good to give people the opportunity to interact outside of work as the positives outweigh the negatives. Make things as open and accessible as possible to encourage attendance. But above all remember that it isn't just about the grand gestures. The odd pint down the pub can be just as effective and remember it is 'only work', after all.

Meeting the meeting standard.

A significant proportion of my working week is spent in meetings. Probably around fifty percent I would suggest. Mostly these are regular meetings for updating stakeholders on project status in one form or another; they are review forums or man management contact sessions. Given the productive time available outside of meetings one has to question whether attendance is necessary. It is also increasingly clear that not only should the necessity be assessed but also the value added by attendance. On many occasions in the past it has been enough just to turn up to most meetings, unprepared and still feel able to make some form of meaningful contribution. But as the landscape becomes increasingly complex and the volume of information ever greater; that lack of preparation becomes highly visible. The conclusion I have drawn from this is that time must be allocated to meeting preparation. Given that this may mean that even more precious time is consumed, it makes the need to prioritise even more crucial. I am even inclined to conclude that if the time to assemble ones thoughts doesn't add value to the working day then should the meeting be attended at all. So my proposal is to look through the diary and assess whether arranging things for each particular appointment would make a useful contribution to the overall workload. It would also have to be a positive contribution to strategic goals rather than just effort for the sake of it. What Kotter calls genuine urgency rather than false urgency. So from now on there is a need to baseline the important meetings and find time for constructive preparation whilst removing the unnecessary meetings from the diary. Setting a standard to be met before meeting.

Stop the faffing.

One of the constant challenges for the average manager is getting all the tasks that need doing complete. It isn't just a management challenge it hits home at every level; an oft stated concern is 'I just don't have enough time". In the dim and distant past I went on a time management course. One of the slightly facetious statements was "time management is easy; do less". It seemed ridiculous at the time because I wanted a time management course to provide me with more time to do things. Somehow I wanted it to extend the capacity through some preternatural ability to create time. The reality is that time management is essentially about the opposite. It is about finding the correct priority. It is not about creating more time to do things it is about doing the right things in the limited time available. All of this seems to be so self evident that it isn't worth writing. However I think the reality is that we all find periods in our career when we simply don't feel we have enough time. Possibly when the changes in the working landscape are so great that we are under extra pressure. At the moment I am noticing certain acts of prevarication that are reducing my capacity to deliver. Partly it is driven by bad prioritisation and acting upon the tasks that I am comfortable completing rather than those that are urgent or important. But there is also a level of 'faffing'; doing things that add no value other than to delay the commencement of an undesirable or difficult task. So my resolution is to stop the faffing and by doing so to magic up some real and genuine creative.

A Reflection on Reflections.

One of the dangers of assuming that reflection and critical self analysis can provide answers to life's difficult questions is that it assumes a consistent point of view. It assumes that when you reflect on a situation to draw a conclusion that informs your future behaviour that a similar reflection at another juncture will yield the same results. Having witnessed many occurrences when two or more people can debate a single question and fail to reach a consensus; whilst on many occasions believing a successful resolution has been achieved. I am beginning to conclude that even a single person can struggle to reach a conclusion despite being unchallenged. So having questioned the very concept of self reflection; what are the merits and does this potential lack of internal consistency negate the process. I think that the fact the same situation can lead to different conclusions at different times should not be a surprise. After all, the one thing that has changed between the two reflection points is time. So even in the duration of a meeting time is moving on and information is being exchanged. This could well lead to a change of position. Reflecting on a given event in the working day provides the opportunity to take stock. The fact that considering the same event in the future might lead to a different conclusion in no way detracts from the relevance of the original perspective. The hope is that a little critical self analysis can avoid issues and problems being repeated. It gives the chance to ask the question; 'if I face this situation tomorrow how would I modify my behaviour to enhance the outcome'. In essence, knowing what I know now what will I do differently tomorrow.