From: "PMI Great Lakes Chapter" To: Subject: [PMI-GLC] February Newsletter Date: Monday, February 05, 2007 5:47 AM February 2007 Newsletter -------------------------------------------------- PMI-GLC 2007 Annual Spring Symposium -------------------------------------------------- We are excited to announce the 2007 PMI GLC Annual Spring Symposium "Theory to Perfection and Beyond," South East Michigan's premier project management event scheduled for April 25th. This year we will have an exciting new program schedule and added features. Learn more at http://www.pmiglc.org/pd/2007symposium. This event is geared toward practicing project managers in a variety of industries. Those who attend benefit by increased knowledge and soft skills in project management, networking opportunities, learn about the latest project management products, training and services from sponsors, and PMI SIGS. Inviting speaker proposals and slide presentations... contact the Symposium Director for more details. -------------------------------------------------- PMI-GLC Announcement – February 12 Dinner Meeting -------------------------------------------------- The Great Lakes Chapter is pleased to welcome Diane Ruiz Cairns. Ms Cairns is a staff member with Lawrence Technological University. Her responsibilities include the development of online degree programs and university courses, along with managing evaluation of programs delivered online. The evaluation program supports quality learning experiences for students, continuous improvement of teaching effectiveness and curriculum content. Diane's teaching responsibilities include courses in project management and management information systems. She also serves as coordinator of the College of Management , Graduate Certificate Project Management program. The purpose of the presentation is to provide non-profit organizations and volunteer project teams effective project planning and management techniques, supporting the organization goals and objectives. The more a volunteer based organization becomes familiar with the process of project management and aware of its benefits, the more they will encourage and even require its application. Adoption of effective methods for managing projects provides organizations and volunteers the opportunity to achieve project success and communicate effectively. For additional information and to register, please visit http://www.pmiglc.org/pd/mtg_0702.html. -------------------------------------------------- PMI-GLC Announcement – NEW, coming in March! -------------------------------------------------- * Short, intensive forums * One hour prior to dinner meeting * Practical and applied topics * Low cost PDU Watch for additional information! -------------------------------------------------- PMI-GLC Announcement – Professional Development Events -------------------------------------------------- Need PDUs? PMI GLC is pleased to bring chapter events to a location near you. 2007 Calendar - PMI GLC CHAPTER EVENTS http://www.pmiglc.org/pd/index.html Feb 12 Dinner Meeting Mar 10 - Apr 21 PMP Exam Prep Course Mar 12 Dinner Meeting Mar 22 Seminar 1 Implementation of Corp Strategy through PM Best Practices Mar 29 Seminar 2 Best Practices of Organizational Project Management -------------------------------------------------- Sponsored Announcement - Effective Project Control Techniques -------------------------------------------------- Register now for this one-day course on Effective Project Control Techniques being held March 26 in Troy, presented by Hans Jonasson, PMP of JTC Unlimited. Early registration discount ends Feb 26. Price: $245, PMI members: $195. 8 PDUs. Approved PMI® Registered Education Provider. Please visit www.jtcunlimited.com/events.htm. -------------------------------------------------- PMI-GLC Article – Why Leaders Fail -------------------------------------------------- By Thomas Mattus, President , Successful Strategies International, Inc. From the novice supervisor to the more seasoned executive, garnering a successful workplace environment is not always easily attained. Moreover, leading today’s complex organizations has become a monumental task requiring only the most experienced and committed individuals. Leaders from various diverse backgrounds now face an unprecedented combination of circumstances from workforce anxiety, economic uncertainty and shifting political and business conditions all requiring you to make difficult decisions yesterday. But what many individuals seem to overlook when evaluating the reasons for project failure is the failure of leadership. What is Leadership? Oddly enough, the most direct and applicable definition for “leadership” can be found in a document called “Patrol and Troop Leadership” which is published by the Boy Scouts of America for Troop Leaders. They define leadership as “a process of getting things done through people. The quarterback moves the team towards a touchdown. The senior patrol leader guides the troop to a high rating at the camporee. The mayor gets the people to support new policies to make the city better.” In short, being a true leader is all about the basic ability to connect with and get along with a variety of people at any one given time. What Makes a Qualified Leader? An article in CIO Magazine by Edward Prewitt stated that the top reason for leadership failure as determined by 250 senior IT individuals was Poor Interpersonal Skills. This skill is considered so valuable among leaders of projects that the Project Management Institute (PMI®), the recognized authority on project management practices, has made Communications Management one of it’s Nine Knowledge Areas. But strong communication skills are not something that is easily learned. Many believe that you either have it or you don’t. While there are occupations that do not require a great deal of “people skills,” the role of a leader is not one of them. But leaders today are recognizing that Emotional Intelligence is the new benchmark when measuring a leaders effectiveness. Expanding upon the teachings of better Communication Skills, Emotional Intelligence is your ability to acquire and apply knowledge from your emotions and the emotions of others in order to be more successful. In late 1998, a Harvard Business Review article entitled "What Makes a Leader" was released and caught the attention of many senior managers and leaders across all industries. The article pointed out the importance of Emotional Intelligence in leadership success, and cited several studies that revealed it is often the distinguishing factor between great and average performers. A major part of a leader’s role consists of being a mentor and coach to those he or she leads. And one of the most critical responsibilities a leader faces is selecting the right mangers for your organization. The strength of your managerial staff will ultimately determine the fate of your organization. However, all too frequently, employees are hired with limited skills to properly perform their job effectively. Promises are made for increased training and skill building, yet many times that promise is never fulfilled. Employees wander around an organization with an uncomfortable disadvantage, causing not only their work to suffer but their chances for advancement as well. Coaching provides a powerful opportunity for the development of your most important resource: your people, and builds the character of a leader to be more effective. Allowing new managers to fail is demoralizing to them and directly affects the rest of your staff negatively. Employees look to their managers for inspiration and guidance and allowing staff members to fail sends out a message that the leadership is simply not there. The success of managers is not only important to the organization but to your career advancement as well. Senior functions of the organization will look at the morale and success rate of those you lead to find out just how effective you are in your position. Advancement only comes to those that know how to treat others to help grow the business. How Leaders Can Become More Effective One of the most difficult things to do for anyone in a position of authority is to question their abilities. Many of us believe that the learning process stops after we receive our Masters Degree or Doctorate, but learning is never ending. Limiting ourselves to believe that we have all the answers will only hinder our development as effective leaders in a complex business world. Here are six questions that every leader should ask themselves to help further themselves and rejuvenate those working under them: 1. How is that working for you? There is no excuse to NOT know how you are doing as a leader. 360 degree feedback sessions are imperative to the success of a leader. Evaluations done by employees can be valuable in revealing issues that you may have no idea exist. Have an open mind and allow those opinions to be heard. Only then will you be able to lead more effectively. 2. Where are you vulnerable? There are numerous behaviors and “derailments” that can diminish the credibility of a leader. Don’t find yourself giving employees a reason to ever say that you were a poor leader. Some examples include arrogance, melodrama, volatility, excessive caution, habitual disgust and aloofness to name a few. 3. Do you analyze the adversity you are facing? Learning from our mistakes is simple in theory but its not always easy to first identify the problem. Listen to those around you who might be questioning your decisions and ask why they might be doing so. Is it out of rivalry or have they hit upon something that you didn’t see? Listen, analyze and learn before moving forward. 4. Do you listen to your customer? Your customer or end user may not always be a pleasure to deal with, but in the end they are the ones you are looking to please. Look at every interaction with your customer as a mini focus group where you can learn something you may not have known before, thus helping to be more effective at producing the results they are looking for. 5. Do YOU have a mentor or confidant? Reverse Mentoring is a concept that is rarely used but can be highly effective. Learning from your employees about what it’s like to work in their environment will only help you lead them more efficiently. Sometimes the point of view from a younger, inexperienced worker can bring to light issues that you just may not have seen or wanted to see. Everyone can profit by being mentored by someone. 6. Do you force yourself to change? Young or old, change is never something we are accustom to. No one is exempt from improvement. However, it does take courage to admit a change is needed. Change will only force you to do things better. In closing, leadership is like the foundation of a house. Without it there the structure would simply not be able to effectively stand on its own. Without the proper leadership in an organization your employees would wonder around aimlessly in every direction never doing any one thing well. Today organizations must develop and learn from best practices regarding leadership. They need to develop cultures that foster and inspire performance, pride, and yes, even fun! The relationship between employee and employer, while different, must be present to further ensure communication, effectiveness and commitment. References: 2003 Chaos Study by the Standish Group “Learning About Leadership” by Lewis P. Orans, 1997 Cutter Consortium Management Psychologist, D. Caruso Harvard Business Review article titled “What Makes a Leader,” 1998 “When Leaders Fail” by Bob Rue, 2002 “Why Do Many Leaders Fail,” by Bob Rosner, May 2005 © SSI, Inc. 2006, Successful Strategies International, Inc. -------------------------------------------------- The Jobs Board -------------------------------------------------- The chapter website has a self-service jobs board where companies in the area are posting jobs in the project management field. Visit http://www.pmiglc.org/jobs/index.php for more information. -------------------------------------------------- Mailing List Information -------------------------------------------------- To make changes to your email address, go to the National PMI website at http://www.pmi.org and login through the Membership section.