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.
Saturday 24 November 2012
Saturday 17 November 2012
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.
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.
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.
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.
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