40-Day Series: Thank You Susan Morgan

I honestly don’t have any idea what kind of career I would have had if I had not met Susan when I was assigned to work network migrations. Here I was this 20-something, high-energy, over eager kid not knowing a damn thing about technology, network or project management. I know there were times she had to just shake her head wondering what in the hell she was going to do with me. She had incredible patience and always took the time to answer my endless amount of questions. She would teach me just about everything I would ever know about managing projects, reporting on projects and dealing with project politics.

She taught me to understand the big picture. Always start with the big picture. If you didn’t understand the why and what you couldn’t develop the when, where, and how.

She taught me the importance of understanding the various team members and their why and what. Always respect your team members. You needed to know where your team members were coming from, what their role and responsibility was and why they may push back (typically because their boss was telling them to, which you could figure out if you knew the big picture).

She taught me the power of the project sponsor. Always treat your sponsor like the customer. Without a project sponsor you don’t have a project.

Finally, she taught me to be a project manager meant you were the leader. The buck stopped with you. If there was an issue, a delay, a quality issue you took the blame…you never ever threw a project member under the bus. You took responsibility; you fixed the problem and ultimately led the team to deliver the project per plan.

She also taught me the importance of continuing your education. Susan was always working on a new degree of some kind. She also taught me to enjoy hobbies and appreciate being good at more than one thing. Most important, she taught me to be kind to the rookies, embrace the challenges and be a real leader who stands up without fear.

Golden Nugget: Learn, stand-up, reach-out and lead

Be who you are and learn to be better,
Lisa

40-Day Series: Thank You Tony Krueck

Tony was a key contributor to my project management skills. I learned how to give bad news, communicate program risks, and escalate issues that with some executives may not have been well received. Not that Tony didn't appreciate good news, I can assure you he did. In fact, he would often give public praise to those who kept their projects within control. Unfortunately, I had a very complex program that faced numerous obstacles. Without Tony's support I am confident that the program would have never seen the light of day.

After years of watching others manage difficult programs while leading a few myself, I could understand the fear many project manager's had when reporting issues. Executives could make it downright painful to tell them the truth. So much so in some cases that some PM's would outright lie or water down issues to the point where no action was taken. Delays, quality issues and budget overruns were commonplace as a result.

The culture of fear changed when Tony took the helm. Not that project's stopped having issues but Tony understood facts were a necessity to making quality decisions. He encouraged his PM's to identify risks early, communicate often and share bad news when necessary. He helped teams by removing obstacles, encouraging his peers to get engaged and escalating to his superiors if needed. He applauded truth. He removed the air of fear by creating a forum that welcomed open and candid conversation. In turn, quality decisions were made, risks mitigated and issues minimized.

Golden Nugget: Create a culture of quality and trust by encouraging and accepting candid discussion.

Be who you are and learn to be better,
Lisa