It’s OK to not know.

Posted by Rob Borley on Oct 22, 2009 in culture, leadership, management, team | 2 comments

“I don’t know” is actually a valid answer to a problem.

“Let me think about that” is not an excuse to waste time.

“I think I should discuss this problem with my peers” doesn’t present you as incapable.

No need to be infallible

We all want to be seen in the best light. We don’t want to be seen to make mistakes. We want to be appreciated for what do. We want acknowledgement for all we put in and what we can achieve. We definitely don’t want to be seen as the weak link. We want to give an impression that we are in control and that we are ready for whatever challenge may come our way. We want people to know that they can trust us; that they can rely on us. We want to inspire confidence that we know what we are doing.

To achieve this we do not need to be infallible.  We need to be honest; with other people and ourselves.

It can be too easy to try and have an answer for everything.  If you are presented with a problem you want to solve it quickly. Most problems that come up in my world as a web project manager do not have instant answers and I’m typically very suspicious of off the cuff solutions.  When I pose a problem to my team I would expect an answer that is something along the lines of; “Give me some time to consider that” or “I’m not sure, there could be several solutions, let me do some thinking and research”.

Similarly, in an environment of peers, if you don’t know how something works, ask your team mates. Share the knowledge around. It’s sounds obvious but many people are too afraid of what people my think of them if they ask a seemingly obvious question.

Honesty is just fine

Acknowledging areas of weakness or gaps in understanding, far from creating a negative picture you, will actually increase your standing with people around you. Understanding who you are and what you can (and can’t) do is a sign of strength. It will produce self confidence which others will feed off. And if you can pin point the areas where you need to improve then you are in a much stronger position to do something about them. People around you will recognise this and therefore have more confidence in you.

A quick answer that,  further down the road, proves to not the be the best solution, causes problems. It might make you appear to be on top of your game at that moment in time but it will leave people with less confidence in you in future. However, a more considered approach, which yields good results, leaves everybody with greater confidence in your ability. It will breed trust.

Fear can be a big issue; both for team members and team leaders. We are afraid to appear weak, or slow, or unreliable. We are concerned that our boss or our peers will think we do not know what we are doing.

It’s worth remembering that asking questions and saying, “I don’t know”, are not a sign of weakness. In fact, they are a sign of strength.

Make a path together

Posted by Rob Borley on May 11, 2009 in leadership, team | 3 comments

Working with a team can be hard work. It’s made even more difficult when you are not all pulling in the same direction. This is true whether you are running a small project team or a whole organisation.

You have two real approaches available to you. The first to to push on with your wonderful plans and try and take people with you whether they like it or not. The second is to work with your team to formulate your plan and, as far as is possible, take them all with you as you go.

The problem with the first option is that while you may get to run your team exactly as you’d prefer you do run the risk that the members of the team will be less than committed to the cause. In a worse case scenario they could be disruptive or even disappear all together.

Taking your team with you; allowing all involved to feel like they own the plan is by far the best approach. There are a number of ways to help facilitate this process.

Communicate

Open and honest communication is key. Be clear and transparent with all members of your team about what you are trying to achieve and by when. Also make it clear, right from the start, what restrictions there are in formulating the way forward and why these restrictions are in place.

There may be a tool that has to be used. Or hoop that needs to be jumped through. Make the team aware of these restrictions.

Listen

Whether you have a clear idea or not about the way ahead, seek the opinions of your team members. Allow them to be a part of the planning process and formulate  a plan that can be owned by the individuals in your team. Other people will think of things that you have missed and others will be more skilled in some areas that you are. Good leadership is about knowing when to take advice and not to be afraid of the areas where you are not as strong as others around you.

Use the individuals at your disposal to asses the risks to your plans. The different perspectives are essential in predicting the future problems that your team will face. If you can predict issues early, you can prevent them.

Playing to your strengths

By drawing on the skills and experience of your team members you are not only more likely to come up with a better, more thought through and thorough plan but you are also more likely to have a team who is more committed to it.

If people own the process they will work harder in an attempt to make it succeed.

Warm body syndrome

Posted by on Mar 16, 2009 in leadership, management, recruitment, team | 3 comments

We’ve all been there. There is a hole in your team, a job that needs to be done. Maybe somebody has moved on leaving a vacancy or your activities have expanded to such an extent that new skills or more resource is needed. And what’s more, you need it now!

The temptation is to fill the vacancy as quickly as possible. The first person who is willing and able is given the job. The nearest warm body is plucked out of the air and put in place as soon as possible. You just succumbed to ‘warm body syndrome’.

Ok, so you might get lucky. Somebody was in the right place at the right time and they are perfect for the role. They have all the skills, they have the temperament, you get on well, everything is a roaring success and all live happily ever after. However, sadly, this isn’t the norm. A simple rule to remember is; “just because they can, doesn’t mean they should.”

A few things to bear in mind:

1. You are not doing anybody a favour by asking somebody to do a job they can’t do. 
2. You are not helping anybody out by agreeing to a request from somebody to do a job that they are not able to do.
3. Making a wrong decision is expensive!
4. Making a wrong decision is waste of time!
5. Making a wrong decision just upsets all involved.
6. Making a wrong decision will mean you just have to go through the whole process again.

It’s best to take your time over such things. Don’t appoint somebody just because there is nobody else. If they are not right for the role then that’s it. End of story. Remember that undoing this decision is going to be a drawn out and painful process. It’s worth taking your time and getting it right first time.

This can be difficult. There is a temptation to either put somebody in post because they really want the role. Or to appoint because you really need the position filled.  But it is best to not appoint at all then to make the wrong decision. Taking your time and waiting for the right person may mean that the existing team need to work harder for a while. It may me somebody in the team doesn’t get the promotion that they have been after. It may mean the new initiative that you want to kick off will need to wait. But all these things are better than the alternative.

Resist the quick fix. Take your time. Get it right.

Solutions not problems

Posted by on Mar 9, 2009 in culture, headscape, management, project delivery, solutions, team | 1 comment

It’s very easy to indentify when something is wrong. It doesn’t matter if it’s a small one person task or a large project being undertaken by a whole team of people, finding issues is normally…  no, I would say, always possible; even easy to do. By spotting a problem you are nothing new. You are not doing anything different you do not stand out in any way. Solutions on the other hand are a rare commodity.

During my spell as the technical team lead at Headscape I tried to install something of a motto into the team. “Everything is possible, there is always a way.” And a few variations on that theme. When a project manager, or a client would approach me with a new piece of functionality or a new project or even just the beginnings of a new idea I tried to always approach it from the point of view that whatever they were asking for was possible to achieve. It was my job / my teams job to find the solution.

The rant line

Posted by on Feb 12, 2009 in culture, headscape, management, team | 0 comments

It’s good to get things off your chest. Inevitably, during the course of a project things will annoy you. A customer will insist on something stupid, a college will make a hash of something which will add to your work load, a member of your team will do something daft and you will have to pick up the pieces, you will release that you had not thought something through or that you have cut a corner to save time and it’s made everything take three times as long as it should.

It happens. But how you deal with these situations will have a big impact on, not only your project, but your general state of mind too.

A wise man once said

There is an old proverb that goes something like this; “don’t let the sun go down on an argument”. This is good advice; not only for the sake of the relationship involve but also because we all know that you generally feel better when the air is cleared. The same principle needs to be applied here.

There may not have been an actual argument or disagreement but somehow somebody has gotten under your skin and you can feel the tension and frustration building. Of course, it is not always appropriate to ‘have it out’ with the person involved. After all, an offended client is likely to only make your situation worse. A disgruntled team member is not really very likely to up their game either. And after all, your boss may just fire you *smile*.

Get it all out

However, you need to do something. If you are getting increasingly frustrated and don’t have a vent then your productivity, creativity, and general happiness will very quickly hit a downward curve.

At Headscape; amongst the Project Managers at least, we have the concept of the rant line. Essentially, when  something has ‘gotten our goat’ we can call one of the other PM’s and rant.  It’s great! It makes you feel so much better.

This is an informal, and somewhat tongue in cheek, arrangement but it is a concept that is worth considering.

Some organisations have a more formal system. The idea of ‘buddies’, or some sort of mentoring or accountability. The system is tweaked to the situation but the idea is the same. A safe place to unload, without fear of reprisals. To be open and honest. To clear the air when there is no other sensible outlet.

If you let such frustrations build up; your project suffers, your team suffers, and ultimately, you suffer. So don’t let things get you down. Call the rant line! *smile*

Under sell, over deliver

Posted by on Nov 27, 2008 in management, project delivery, sales, team | 5 comments

It’s amazing what we will say to get people to do what we want. Whether it be to win a sale from a new client, convince our boss that our latest bright idea is worth everybody’s time, or to just convince members of your team that this new project or methodology is really exciting, we have a tendency to exaggerate. But this can cause more of a headache than simply an interesting moral dilemma.

Don’t promise the Earth

Promising the Earth, in under six days, is easy. With the right people skills and experience it’s possible to sell any product or idea to just about anybody. The short term gains are obvious; you win the sale, your great idea goes into production, your team get really excited and motivated. But your exaggeration, or slight stretch of the truth, will become obvious pretty quickly.

The damage this causes can be long lasting or even irreversible. If you company gains a reputation for under estimating time scales on projects it will soon start to count against you. If you have exaggerated the potential benefits of your new structure or methodology, your next idea will not be so easily received. If you have told your team that this next project is earth shatteringly exciting and it turns out to be the same old dirge, you will have a problem motivating them in future.

The element of suprise

The positives of doing the reverse are massive. To surprise your new client by delivering a little early or providing an extra little feature can make the difference between them giving you those all important repeat sales. To be known as an individual who takes the extra care to double, triple check everything before it goes higher up the food chain can be the difference when that coveted promotion comes up. You get the idea.

It’s a very simple lesson really, but one which we so often ignore. If we over sell something; a product or our own skill set, we are digging ourselves a big hole. You create disappointment and negativity that had no reason to be there. What you provide might be just what’s needed but because it’s less that you promised it will not be as well received. Whereas if we under sell what we are providing, the positive impact of the delivery far outweigh what was delivered on its merits alone.

It’s a difficult balance to get. If you under sell too much, then nobody will want you. But that said; under sell, over deliver, is a good little motto to live by.