The People Puzzle: Making the Pieces Fit – MIMA Summit 2014
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Knowledge workers bring far more than just their intellectual skills to a project. They bring their fears, their prejudices, their motivations, their emotional history, and their personalities to the table too. At kick-off meetings we openly discuss our roles and skill sets, but these other intangible things are never exposed. Yet the way that stakeholders and team members interact with one another is almost certain to have a greater impact on the success of your project than which technology platform you choose or what goes into your style guide. I gave this talk at MIMA Summit 2014 in Minneapolis.
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The People Puzzle: Making the Pieces Fit – MIMA Summit 2014
- 1. The People Puzzle Making the Pieces Fit @kerry_anne Kerry-Anne Gilowey MIMA Summit · Minneapolis · 15 October 2014
- 2. Government I’m an independent content strategy Volunteer-run associations Web design Technology Startups Healthcare consultant Online retail Financial services Advertising
- 3. Government Web design PEOPLE I’m an independent content strategy Volunteer-run associations Technology Startups Healthcare consultant Online retail Financial services Advertising
- 4. PEOPLE Needs Fears Vulnerabilities Passions Struggles Agendas Past experiences Motivations Prejudices Personality quirks History
- 7. Nope.
- 8. We’re more like this. Image credit: Flickr user danielpaquet
- 10. We talk about Our hard skills Our knowledge Our experience Our objectives
- 11. We don’t talk about Our weaknesses Our hangups Our emotional history Our hidden agendas
- 12. These things affect bizniz.
- 14. Keep track of people Image credit: Flickr user tjblackwell
- 15. ! Project team Stakeholders
- 16. Collaborators ☺
- 18. What should you track? Simple facts? Sure. But also: Your impressions Personality traits Sticking points, agendas Particular interests, concerns
- 20. For your eyes only.
- 21. Do one-on-one sessions Image credit: Flickr user levendis
- 22. Ask questions like these... What are your processes and tools? What’s working, and what’s not? What does your team look like? What other teams and departments do you work with? Where are the bottlenecks? What are your challenges?
- 23. ...not these What are your business requirements? What functionality do you need on the website? What buttons do you want on the admin panel?
- 24. The magic sentence (I have no idea how Kristina can hear anything over that loud party hat.) Image courtesy of Sean Tubridy! “Tell me more about that.”
- 25. Puzzle time!
- 26. Tory Brand Manager THE SITUATION Brought you onto the project Over-communicator Goes back on decisions Keeps you away from her boss
- 27. Tory Brand Manager WHAT’S GOING ON? Her boss doesn’t respect her She doesn’t know how to defend her ideas Afraid of losing her job Feels she’s on shaky ground with the advent of digital
- 28. Tory Brand Manager WHAT CAN YOU DO? Give her digital resources Discuss ways to defend your ideas together in advance Give her YOUR respect
- 29. Felix Business Analyst THE SITUATION Is inflexible Asks for inappropriate deliverables Values deadlines over progress Hides behind process, project plans
- 30. Felix Business Analyst THE SITUATION WHAT’S GOING ON? He doesn’t really understand the domain of the project He’s afraid that if he deviates he’ll be shown up
- 31. Felix Business Analyst THE SITUATION WHAT CAN YOU DO? Communicate frequently Set up additional sessions to work through subject matter
- 32. Sharon Head of Customer Care THE SITUATION Frequently says, “I’ve been saying that for four years...” Sighs and rolls eyes during meetings when recommendations are made
- 33. Sharon Head of Customer Care THE SITUATION WHAT’S GOING ON? Feels she hasn’t been heard in the past and isn’t going to get the credit she deserves Feels sidelined by the new project, which she doesn’t own
- 34. Sharon Head of Customer Care THE SITUATION WHAT CAN YOU DO? Turn her into an ally Get her on board Give her credit for her ideas in front of other team members
- 35. Karl Digital Editor THE SITUATION Has worked here for a long time Helped build current version of website Seems uncooperative Takes a long time to submit work
- 36. Karl Digital Editor THE SITUATION WHAT’S GOING ON? Feels threatened by negative attention on current site He’s struggling with perfectionism Doesn’t like to show his work
- 37. Karl Digital Editor THE SITUATION WHAT CAN YOU DO? Take time to understand past challenges and history Make sure he feels heard Treat his deliverables as works in progress, collaborate
- 38. Laura Compliance Officer THE SITUATION Keeps changing copy in ways that are not customer-friendly Sees everything in black and white terms
- 39. Laura Compliance Officer THE SITUATION WHAT’S GOING ON? Afraid of being sued Motivated by doing her job well Sees herself as a champion for compliance
- 40. Laura Compliance Officer THE SITUATION WHAT CAN YOU DO? Ask for feedback, not revisions Make a visible effort to understand the regulatory environment
- 41. Lee Lead Developer THE SITUATION Doesn’t seem to trust you Doesn’t get involved at workshops Seems condescending Doesn’t answer your questions in detail
- 42. Lee Lead Developer THE SITUATION WHAT’S GOING ON? Has had bad experiences with non-technical people in the past Developed prejudices
- 43. Lee Lead Developer THE SITUATION WHAT CAN YOU DO? Demonstrate your technical understanding early Create clear, useful deliverables Avoid marketing jargon and buzzwords
- 44. Saul Stakeholder from HR THE SITUATION Difficult to get hold of Uncooperative during interviews, doesn’t open up at all Gives one-word answers or says he doesn’t know Extremely defensive
- 45. Saul Stakeholder from HR THE SITUATION WHAT’S GOING ON? He’s suspicious of the project and your motives Afraid that he doesn’t know the answers
- 46. Saul Stakeholder from HR THE SITUATION WHAT CAN YOU DO? Become his friend Be open about the project objectives and your motives Reassure him Ask about things that he knows well to get him comfortable
- 47. Things to look out for
- 48. Non-verbal cues
- 49. An ongoing conflict Image credit: Flickr user etolane
- 51. The silent ones
- 52. History
- 53. Putting the pieces together
- 54. Everyone has their reasons.
- 55. Everyone has their reasons. He’s scared of taking responsibility. She’s struggling with perfectionism. He’s worried about looking stupid. She’s afraid that she’ll be blamed.
- 56. Solving the people puzzle 90%$ Asking why The rest
- 57. Behaviour is frequently situational.
- 58. The usual way Encounter objection
- 59. The usual way Encounter objection React instinctively
- 60. A better way Encounter objection
- 61. A better way Encounter objection Stop and consider
- 62. A better way Encounter objection Stop and consider Respond thoughtfully
- 63. Be just as empathic with your team members and stakeholders as you are with your customers and readers.
- 64. Thanks for listening! Kerry-Anne Gilowey kerryanne@augustsun.co.za http://augustsun.co.za http://about.me/kerryanne @kerry_anne