The End Of The Human Cannonball:Project Leadership In Today’s WorldBas de BaarProjectShrink.com

Not good. But human.Sometimes you want to do everything yourself.Control it all. Check it all.

Encouraged.Your company might even encourage you to be the one andonly center of command and control.

No problem.Central control is great when the path is smooth and efficiency is key.

Problem.But your track may be blocked.Changes may occur and speed maybe required.

Why "You" being at the wheel is not (always) a good idea…Bottleneck.Slow response.Just you.

Lack different views.Different people provide different viewpoints. When you are alone, you lack diversity of mind.

EmpowermentNo influence.Influence motivates people.When your team has no influence, you miss out on engagement.

Alternative. Self-organizationNot you, but the team at the wheel.

Like nature.Ants and bees self-organize. But they have built-in goals and behavior. They are stimulus-response systems.

Humans are not ants.But they can be assisted to “self-organize”.Facilitated self-organization.

What about me?Develop your Project Leadership skills to enable your team to self-organize.

Project Leadershipis free.Project Leadership is your personality, your mouth, your ears and your presence.

Project Leadership.IndividualsIndividualsApproachGoalsOrganizationOrganizationAlignment by communication.

Goals & ApproachGoals & Approach.Goals and approaches are everywhere.Goal: happiness.Possible approach: school->job->marry->kids

Goals.A project has a goal, an objective. This is part of the larger context of the goals of the organization..

Individuals have goals.Individuals have goals, interests. If peoples goals are met, they work happy; if not, they don’t. .

Using goals.Job Project Leader is to align the goals on all levels. Make sure everyone understands. .

Approach.Approaches are the strategies to reach the goal. The set of rituals, artifacts and values shared among the group, the organization and individual. .

Using approach.Select an approach that is agreed upon by all parties. (Scrum, waterfall, RUP). Rules must be simple and accessible, so everybody understands..

Project Leadership TasksCreate alignment: Co-creationKeep alignment: Feedback & CoachingEnvironment: Transparency.

Co-creation.By defining together goals and approach, you get alignment and involvement.

Feedback.If team sees performance, they can adjust themselves.

Coaching.Help the team by coaching.Don’t just check the team as a cop.Lead by example.

Transparency.Transparency of the process enables feedback. It also minimizes the risk of political games.

Skills.Develop Project Leadership skills to get your team to self organize: Skills to communicateSkills to lead workshopsSkills to mentor and coach

Thank you.Bas de BaarBas@ProjectShrink.comhttp://ProjectShrink.com

Photo creditshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/tyrian123/1539636464/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpmahowald/91850172/http://www.flickr.com/photos/turgeon/511285419/http://www.flickr.com/photos/dm-set/3435961944/http://www.flickr.com/photos/ktylerconk/2408463177/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jb-london/3594171841/http://www.flickr.com/photos/congaman/3932488906/http://www.flickr.com/photos/fixe/3808679003/http://www.flickr.com/photos/john_lustig/2730987026/http://www.flickr.com/photos/kitkaphotogirl/3517517466/http://www.flickr.com/photos/affinity23/1420586096/http://www.flickr.com/photos/t_trace/323903271/http://www.flickr.com/photos/mescon/3668279183/http://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/2811161524/http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/2452068666/http://www.flickr.com/photos/46935248@N00/2258453507/http://www.flickr.com/photos/soschilds/351286351/http://www.flickr.com/photos/otherjoel/1363797460/http://www.flickr.com/photos/itzafineday/3143057017/http://www.flickr.com/photos/29407923@N03/2899705638/http://www.flickr.com/photos/psycho-pics/2630163338/http://www.flickr.com/photos/duke_lenoir/370183066/http://www.flickr.com/photos/eneas/2522135992/