In the final part of the series, Spencer Holmes describes a new approach to the development of project managers to meet the current challenges of organisations in all sectors. This week: Group orientation.
To read part 7a, click here
What are we observing in project land? As mentioned in earlier articles, many of us fell into project management because we were good at something else. In some cases very good at something else, or even 'specialist'. It may not be a surprise then that many of these specialists, whether they be in lepidoptera, logistics, linguistics or landscaping are introverts. Before they were asked to manage related projects, their tendency for inward attention and quiet reflection helped them reach the outlying position they have ended up in.
There is no science to substantiate this, other than hundreds of project managers we have met and socially networked with over the years, but I think most PMs are introvert. I'm happy to find out I'm wrong and, of course, it'll be the extroverts that tell me what they think about my theory.
Despite this, group orientation scores high in our testing so far. PMs would appear to like and value the benefit of working in teams, but not necessarily upsetting them if a hard decision needs making, positive intolerance being the lowest scoring gene in our pool.
"Group orientation is clearly a useful facet in managing projects. Having an affinity for a group of people working effectively and with relative harmony must be a good intrinsic drive."At this point I think if the concept of 'star' and 'spaghetti' meetings as presented by Kevan Hall in his book 'Speed Lead'. Star meetings being 1:1s with the leaders in the middle, having concise and specific meetings with one or very few people at a time to tackle a specific issue. Introverts can do these. Spaghetti meetings are those all-in affairs where lots of people attend, lots is said and complexity levels can appear high.
The following formula is useful here: n(n-1)/2 which refers to the total number of communication channels available related to number of people in the meeting. So, if there 5 in the meeting it works thus:
5x4/2 = 10
Or 6: 6x5/2 = 15
Or 7: 7x6/2 = 21
The Mensa test fans will spot an increasing variance trend and predict the next number of channels to be 28. Fun as this puzzle may be, it illustrates the cumulative chaos of having more and more people in the mix if there is supposed to be any aspect of two-way or looped learning to the communication.
Of course, projects have instances where all types of gathering are appropriate. Bad projects get this badly wrong, eg too many people in the room when a decision's needed, not enough when a complex problem needs multiple perspectives, too many when only one aspect of the project is being discussed, not enough when an important announcement is being delivered.
So, all is not lost if the project manager prefers small intimate gatherings. In most cases on a project these are what is needed to move specific elements of the ecosystem along. It is relatively rare that a rousing speech is needed to a heaving mass of volatile stakeholders or a seething mass of disgruntled teamies.
Group orientation is clearly a useful facet in managing projects. Having an affinity for a group of people working effectively and with relative harmony must be a good intrinsic drive. This is the foundation for making sure that people are communicated with properly during the project and it should also be inspected in conjunction with one's communication facet.
In many large projects however, we are also seeing the degree of dispersion to be a major challenge for a group-oriented project manager. Oftentimes project managers are separated by function, organisation and location from large parts of their project team. This is calling into play increasingly creative (check your creative facet!) use of technology through instant messaging to teleconferencing, in order to sustain some degree of group cohesion.
As stated, overall, group orientation is one of the highest scoring facets from the 800+ project managers who have so far completed the psychometric. According to the our company's analogy of project leader as orchestra conductor, this is a good thing. One of the key attributes of a great project leader is the ability to delegate work to the right people and build the trust required to know that work will be done well.
"Projects, sooner or later, require the project manager to make a tough call. Maybe this is a key differentiator between project manager and leader. It requires the project manager to score high on pragmatism, positive intolerance and stability."
On the flipside, as we come to the end of our 7-facet review, there are possible dangers with a highly group oriented bunch of project managers, and we see this in every industry, all sectors. Projects, sooner or later, require the project manager to make a tough call. Maybe this is a key differentiator between project manager and leader. It requires the project manager to score high on pragmatism, positive intolerance and stability. In some cases, high group orientation (which values the fun, safety, security and conformity of teams) runs at odds to this requirement.
In conclusion, this is typically our experience. Project managers, especially in the UK, are just too nice and on the whole, a bit too introverted. Without creating a profession of David Brents we do have to deal with this.
Our work with the facets has enabled focus and specificity in dealing with the leadership deficit in project management. Our existing work is refining our tools and partnering with global and national firms to increase everyone's understanding of how to deal with the project challenges that await.
Spencer Holmes is the managing director of Global Project Leaders Ltd. He runs projects, trains and consults globally on the subject. His passion is for helping project managers develop the resilience required to thrive in an increasingly pressurised world. His company can be found at www.projectleaders.com
