Greek Gods' take on the Effective Project Manager: - discover your inner Zeus when managing projects in a fun and practical way using real life experiences and examples

By Peter C. Williams

Let the Greek Gods help you discover your inner Zeus when managing projects! Whether you are a novice or an experienced project manager, this book will help.  With over 520 colourful illustrations, easy-to-follow real-life examples and useful tips, the Greek Gods’ take on the effective project manager is a fun, yet practical way to le

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ovester Publishing
• Release date: Mar 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9781999797683

Peter C. Williams

Peter C. Williams is an experienced and highly skilled change consultant in the European Financial Services industry. Peter has used his 20 years of commercial experience to write a number of technical books, which provides the reader with practical advice, based on experience rather than theory. Peter's unique writing style and approach is fun, and he often tackles difficult and complex subjects, making them much easier to understand. Peter has a diverse skill set, of which includes a strong range of delivery and analytical skills, coupled with a proven track record in driving and delivering multi-million dollar projects (regulatory, separation, divestment, integration and transformation programmes). Peter is an experienced problem solver in a change management environment, including process automation, organisational re-designs activities and much more.

Book preview

Greek Gods’ take on the

Effective Project Manager

Peter C. Williams

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This book is dedicated to all the project managers out there, the people that no matter what, stay focused, calm and ensure that everyone around them remains on track. For throughout time project managers have made and delivered amazing things, not always getting the genuine recognition that they deserve

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Copyright © 2018 Ovester Limited. All rights reserved.

The rights of Peter Stephen Williams also known as Peter C Williams to be identified as the author of this book has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

This work is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office

Cover design by Peter Stephen Williams

Some of the Images featured within the book originated from the Shutterstock, Pixabay and iStockphoto services

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First Edition, 2018

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN Number:  978-1-9997976-8-3

A paperback version of this book is also available

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PROLOGUE

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Dear Reader,

I would like to start off by thanking you for purchasing my book. I hope that by the time you finish reading the Greek Gods’ take on the effective project manager, that you not only have a better understanding of project management and the various tools and techniques but that you also have the confidence to try out and put in to practice whatever you have learnt.

You do not have to be a project manager to benefit from this book as the subjects, tools and techniques can be used in used in almost every role, industry and sector.

So what is project management?

Project management has been around for centuries in some guise; we may have created formal methodologies more recently, however, think of all those wonders around the world that were built thousands of years ago. It was likely that when they began building these magnificent structures, they had to do things in a particular order and at the same time manage vast amounts of people to achieve the end result.

When you look at those structures, you cannot help but be in awe of the feat those individuals overcame, moving large masses of stones and materials over long distances, constructing symmetrical structures all without the use of machinery or sophisticated tools. Even today people still are unable to fathom every aspect of how these great buildings were constructed.

Project managers are ultimately great organisers, of not just tasks or activities but also of people. They have a variety of stakeholders and team members to navigate, whether it is the sponsors and their demands or ensuring that the team remain focused and continually deliver high-quality solutions every time.

People may also think that project management techniques can only be used on projects which is not true. What you have in the project management discipline is an approach, direction and a series of tools and techniques, all designed to ensure that you do not miss anything and that you approach whatever you undertake in a structured way.

Think about your personal life, as with analysis, you often consider what you want to do and then decide the best approach to achieve it. Once you have thought through what you want to do, you will likely work out how long something will take, where you need to go, who should do it etc.

Let’s take an example of daily errands. You wake up in the morning aware that you have four tasks to carry out, three which are close to your home and one that is far away. Using your experience and all of the information available to estimate how long each errand would take and order them in the most efficient and effective way. Once you have analysed it, you will then apply your timings to each one. For example, let’s say it is 2 pm and you know that you have to be back home by 4 pm. You have established that the longest errand consists of a 30 minutes’ drive, and the remaining two tasks are only a 10 minutes drive away. If you completed the longest part of the trips first, you would likely be back close to home by 3 pm (30 minutes each way). By planning in this way, you are structuring your day efficiently and devising a plan that makes the best use of your time, all of which are a basic form of project management.

Effective project managers not only manage the tasks or activities, but they are also psychologists, multitaskers, problem solvers, motivators and so much more. For when you work as a project manager, you are effectively a chameleon, adjusting your approach and tone depending on your audience. Project managers remain focused and supportive of the team, but also are firm but fair when they need to be.

For me, to be an effective project manager, you meet all of the aims and objectives set out, as well as bringing all of the people (team, stakeholders, suppliers etc.) on the journey, often seamlessly with each person knowing what is required of them. Being an effective project manager, you will have to ensure that you have the full support and commitment of those around you, by having them trust and believe in what you are trying to achieve.

When writing this book, I wanted to design it in a way that it helps both those starting out in this exciting career, but also to cover areas that might be useful to an experienced project manager. I have used over twenty years of commercial experience across a wide range of roles, sectors and disciplines, to provide both the fundamental aspects of project management, as well as areas that conventional project managers may have little to no exposure in applying or adopting.

My personal writing style is direct, speaking to you on a one-to-one basis, describing the various subjects and examples in a simple and straightforward way. My approach has meant that this book will complement conventional training books and courses, as the subjects, tools and techniques are tackled from a real-life application and experience perspective that will often bring the theory to life.

I do hope that ultimately you find this book useful and will refer to it frequently as you go through your career in the exciting and interesting world of project management.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you the best of luck for the future

Yours faithfully,

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1.0 WORLD OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT

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When you think of Egypt and the Great Pyramid of Giza you may, like me, be in awe of the sheer scale and complexity that went into its construction, however, you might not immediately think of it as an early example of successful project management.

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Another example is the magnificent amphitheatre within the Colosseum in Rome, which took eight years to be built. Emperor Vespasian ordered the construction of the great amphitheatre, as a place to entertain the citizens of Rome. To complete this enormous undertaking, it was likely that a number of key individuals were put in charge of its construction. They would have planned, organised and executed all of the work relating to all 100,000 cubic metres that form the building and the estimated one million travertine stones that were used. There was not only the construction itself but also the logistics of transporting the materials. The travertine stones used were quarried twenty miles away in the town of Tivoli and transported to Rome manually by thousands of slaves.

In reality, the practice of project management has been around for thousands of years in some guise and could easily date back as far as 2,560BC. The principles at the core of project management are based on any activity or undertaking, in which all of the tasks to be carried out share a common goal and need to be completed in a certain order or a particular sequence of events.

In modern times we follow similar practices to those used by these ancient civilisation project managers, but the resources used within our projects will be very different. Whether it is a small or large undertaking when we manage a project, we need to plan, design and execute the delivery to ensure a successful outcome.

1.1 What is project management

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Project management is in effect a series of tasks or activities, grouped under a shared goal or objective. Each task or activity works towards achieving the end deliverable, in a structured and formalised way.

One of the best definitions of project management is from Wikipedia, and it states

Project management is ultimately understanding the objective and ensuring that the order and resources execute their tasks on time and to plan.

Although project management has been around for thousands of years, since the twentieth century it has become more standardised, and for each type of project and industry, there are a variety of approaches you can follow or adopt.

The approach or methodology provides a common framework and language that everyone can follow and understand. The framework you use will typically be well documented and known, with each person involved in the project aware of the sequence of events and steps to be undertaken.

Project management is a framework, a structured approach designed to ensure that all of the tasks or activities meet the goals and objectives successfully, on time and to budget, whilst at the same time managing aspects such as key stages, documentation and even the tools used and applied.

The frameworks are designed to ensure success, that expectations are managed, no tasks or steps are missed, and responsibilities and accountabilities are clear for those involved in the project.

Importance of the project manager

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The framework and approach may help structure, support and aid success, however, the person driving the project is pivotal. Take the example of the building of the Colosseum in Rome. With the amount of materials and individuals involved in the construction, there had to be someone ultimately responsible for managing the delivery, and that person would have been the project manager.

The project manager is typically responsible for initiating the project, planning and understanding all of the requirements, steps, objectives, and tasks as well as managing the project day-by-day. The stakeholders and sponsors will support the direction and help by making important decisions, but it is the project manager’s responsibility to ensure that the project is delivered by and within the agreed set of parameters and requirements.

Managing the people, the costs, time, risks, issues and anything else that could affect the project requires that the project manager provide leadership, clear direction and the necessary focus in order to achieve the end goal. Although a project plan could be formulated without a project manager, there would be, in all likelihood, no one looking at the entire project end-to-end and the various stages and steps. There would be no one to understand the impact and risks, no one ensuring that tasks are delivered to plan and to budget and no one making sure that unexpected factors or events are managed and their implications minimalised.

The project manager is key to the success of any project, and the role they play in directing and structuring helps to ensure a successful implementation.

Project manager roles and responsibilities

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Like with any job or role we perform, there will likely be a list of what is expected of us and what we will be personally responsible and accountable for. In order to understand what being a project manager entails, let us now look at a high-level list of roles and responsibilities.

The project manager is the point person for the project, the person everyone goes to and the person that initiates, controls, organises and communicates all matters relating to the project.

Some of the key roles and responsibilities of a project manager

▪ Initiating & defining the project – the project manager is responsible for overseeing and putting in place the main components of the project, what are the goals, objectives and requirements etc.? Looking at the aims, requirements and helping both the sponsors and stakeholders understand the viability of the project

▪ Planning & organising the project – the project manager will identify all of the tasks and activities that need to be completed, organising them into manageable groups, identify timelines, dependencies and all of the required resources as well as overseeing all of the necessary documentation, approvals and governance controls

▪ Managing the project – the project manager will monitor and track the project plan to ensure that all of the tasks or activities are completed as scheduled, establish a team that remains focused on delivering a quality solution and identify any factors that might have an impact on the project. These factors might be areas such as risks, dependencies, constraints, issues or just changes that arise throughout the lifecycle. The project manager is responsible for identifying, controlling and putting steps in place to ensure that any impact is minimalised or fully understood by all the relevant parties. The project manager will not only manage the delivery and plan but also other factors such as costs and approvals

▪ Implementing & monitoring the project – ensuring that the project is implemented successfully, that the go-live or handover is controlled and that the sequence of events is executed in accordance to the plan. Once live, making sure that the project continues to deliver as expected

▪ Closing & lessons learnt from the project – finally once live and after a period of monitoring, the project manager will ensure that the project is successfully closed down, that the project has met the goals and objectives and finally that lessons are learnt from the implementation of the project

The project manager is ultimately responsible for managing the team, stakeholders and at the same time supporting, facilitating and directing all those involved in the project to ensure the objectives are achieved. The project manager is an important player within the project, but there are other roles that are also critical to the successful delivery within a project, and it is the project manager’s responsibility to ensure that they are managed correctly.

1.2 Key project manager attributes

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We now have a better understanding of project management and the importance of the project manager, however, what does it take to become a good project manager? To start, as with many careers, anyone can be a project manager, but it takes work and commitment to become good. There is also not just one route or path in becoming a project manager, as over the years, some of the best project managers I have worked with discovered project management purely by luck or by chance. It is quite common for someone to start on a different career path and end up becoming a project manager later on in their career.

In order to become a great project manager, however, you have to hone and strengthen key skills continually. In this next section, we are going to look at some of the skills and attributes that I believe help to make great project managers.

Provide direction, but be fair

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The first skill relates to providing direction to your team, stakeholders, sponsors, and basically anyone else that is involved in the project. There is a misconception that you have to be extroverted, overly confident and assertive to manage or give direction. For me the key is trust, believing in whatever you are doing and of course that it can ultimately be achieved. Imagine you have two people, one that is loud, assertive, but not confident, and the second person is quieter but confident and passionate about the task at hand. Whom would you follow? It is true to say if you believe in yourself you could convince Inuits to buy ice! Ultimately everyone likes to believe in someone or something.

The second part relates to being fair. In any project, there will be times when you have no option but to reprioritise and reassign work, refocus people or even have to rein in discussions or work activities. When doing so, it is important that you manage it fairly as no one likes to feel as though they have been ignored or unfairly treated. The art of good project management is to do what needs to be done in a fair and transparent way. Take reprioritising and reassigning work; if you explain the reasoning and rational, giving the person(s) a chance to discuss and ask questions, you are being fair to them. For refocusing or reigning in discussions or work activities, it is important not to become dismissive but instead to acknowledge the point that they are making and explain that it will either be discussed at a later point in time or if the point is not relevant, reminding them of the overall goal or objective. As mentioned, no one likes to feel undervalued or like they are not being heard, acknowledging can help avoid this.

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To build on my guiding and directing skills, I will often work with junior members of the team, helping them develop a new skill. By providing them training, I am giving them direction, at the same time building and improving my leadership skills. By doing it in this way, I am also strengthening my colleagues’ skill sets and the overall effectiveness of the team.

Inquisitive, but focused

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It can be difficult to judge and gauge what is too much and what is too little, and this is also very true regarding project management. Within the project you will have individuals, such as business analysts whose jobs it is to identify and analyse requirements, problem solve, identify and quantify solutions etc. As a project manager, it is important that we understand all aspects of the project, but there is always the risk that we get too involved.

It is healthy for a project manager to be inquisitive, as it not only provides a fresh perspective but also ensures that we understand what is being worked on and the details of any solutions. The project manager will also be the primary communication conduit for the project, so at least a high-level understanding of the proposals, solutions etc. is key.

Inquisition is good; however, it is important that you remain focused and keep to the subject at hand. Though it is important to understand the proposal or discussion, it needs to be relevant and relatively high-level. Focusing on the key elements or details is also important, as if you get too detailed, you will have to be involved in every meeting or conversation concerning the project. Being that involved is just not feasible or possible for large-scale implementations. However, having a well-rounded understanding enables you to keep focused and drive the project successfully.

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To build on my inquisition skills, I will often listen in on a complicated subject. During the conversation, I will make brief notes of the points raised, and place them into one of two columns, the first entitled key/important and the second column entitled supporting information. Once the discussion is over, I will look over my list of key and important points and summarise them into a simple statement. If there are some key or important points not used, then they are likely not relevant, and I will move them into the supporting column. By carrying out this activity, it will help to focus my mind, and with practice, it becomes pretty intuitive.

Strong communicator

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An obvious skill for a project manager, however being able to communicate is not enough, you have to be good at all aspects of it! Starting with written communication; you will often be given vast amounts of information and have to summarise it. You will be required to digest all of the information received, identify and summarise key and relevant points and then relay your summaries back to your various stakeholders and sponsors.

Verbal communication can be more difficult. As a project manager, you will be working with many people, with different personalities, focuses and priorities. Understanding to whom you are speaking to or dealing with, empathising, understanding their motivations and interests and then applying all that you know about them in your approach will be a major element of your role. If you can put yourself in their shoes, you will be able to begin tailoring the information and addressing key points they might potentially have.

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To build on my writing skills, I would typically carry out exercises similar to the one used in the previous section. For verbal skills, I will focus on an individual, setting a goal and then plan and plot how I will handle them. For example, let’s say I have a colleague who keeps telling me that he is too busy to do any of the tasks I have assigned. By empathising I know that he is stressed and juggling numerous priorities, my initial approach may be to start by saying I know you are rushed at the moment and I am sorry to ask, however…. This simple statement acknowledges, empathises and prepares him for the requirements. I would then discuss what I need and establish how long it will likely take. By knowing my colleague and approaching him in the right manner, I would hopefully get the outcome I am looking for, on or near to my timeline.

Adapts quickly to change

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No matter how much planning or effort you put into controlling a project, there will always be situations that change the scope or direction of the project. More than often it is the stakeholders adding or enhancing requirements, but unforeseen events can cause delays to your overall deliverables. Once you accept it is inevitable that things are going to change, you can then plan how to respond to those changes as they arise. You are also going to need to control the change, understanding its impact at the same time remaining calm, logical and identifying solutions.

If the change is as a result of a stakeholder or sponsor, you first need to ensure that the project remains focused on the original requirements until the change has been fully assessed and agreed. You will also need to understand the change, review what is involved and assess the impact with regards to cost, resources and time. Once all of that has been completed, only then can you gain agreement to include it within the scope of the project.

For any changes that occur due to unforeseen events, you must try to understand why it happened, what is the impact and what corrective actions need to take place. It is common when managing systems or third party activities that situations arise in which the system does not respond the way it was expected or the supplier was unable to deliver what was agreed within the time frames. By analysing the change, involving key stakeholders and understanding the impact, you can create a corrective course of action or plan.

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You will often have situations in which someone asks you to change something, albeit small. To build on adapting to change, imagine you are working on a report for your manager, and suddenly you get a request to add three new data fields into the report. In this sort of situation, I will carry out a mini-impact assessment: what is the change? How long will it likely take? Does that affect my original timeline? Etc. Carrying out impact assessments in everyday situations can help you hone your skills for situations arising in projects.

Calm & considered

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Most projects will run smoothly for the majority of the time, but there will be occasions when a problem or challenge suddenly occurs that increases the stress levels and sends the team into panic mode. Every project I have ever worked on, no matter the amount of planning that went into it, had unforeseen events take over. Being a good project manager means keeping your head when those around you are losing theirs, remaining, calm, logical and considered.

In situations that arise, keep to the facts, what has happened? How did it happen? What does it affect? What do we need to do etc.? The focus should be less on who did it rather on how it happened and what to do to resolve the situation. Blame only exists where clear accountabilities have not been defined. If the focus is purely on resolving the situation, once resolved you can then carry out analysis on the events that caused it to happen in the first place.

Being considered means evaluating and reasoning all that you hear, not quickly jumping to conclusions, and getting all of the necessary information and coming to a reasonable and rational conclusion. If you approach situations in a calm and considered way, you will more often build better relationships with your teams, stakeholders and sponsors, as the focus remains on the overall goal.

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To build on being calm and considered is somewhat difficult. Unfortunately, when we are presented with serious problems or issues our bodies react to the change often leaving us feeling stressed or confused. To work on this attribute, you need to allow yourself time to digest what is going on and then calmly focus on the facts. In highly stressful situations, it is often worthwhile stepping out for a short while, gathering your thoughts to then re-approach the situation once you have your composure back.

Inclusive & collaborative

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Everyone likes to believe that he or she is inclusive and collaborates well, however, we can all on occasion fail to include people, sometimes unintentionally, but often due to us forgetting what we told, to which person. As a project manager, you need to lead by example; you will probably have people on your team that will protectively hold onto information, only telling you what they feel you need to know. You cannot change their behaviour if you, yourself keep valuable information to yourself.

The majority of the time, you will likely fail to tell people as a result of forgetting, or not realising who was present at a meeting and who was not. To avoid these situations from arising, you can employ a cascade method, whereby you tell a certain number of people, and they then tell another group of individuals and so on to reinforce messages. If you have made a number of key points in the regular team meeting, I would suggest that you follow it up with a summary email to all those concerned, even if they were not present, as it ensures that everyone gets all of the necessary information.

It is true that you can run projects without being inclusive and collaborative, however, in my experience, it makes the whole process a lot more complicated than it needs to be. People are unlikely to be enthused or passionate about their work or end deliverable if you do not involve them.7

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To build on being inclusive and collaborative, I will often follow up meetings with emails detailing key points. The emails offer an opportunity to ensure that I have not misunderstood anything that was agreed, but also ensures that everyone is on the same page. It can often be useful canvassing your team’s views about how well everyone is collaborating. It can be difficult to get people to open up, but one approach could be to use the start, stop and continue method. You ask the team to individually list all of the things that they would like to see start within the project, what they would like to see stop and lastly all the things that they would like to continue. Once you have all of the responses, you can review areas for improvement and plan accordingly.

Other attributes

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The key attributes listed are what I consider to be important elements of being a good project manager. As with the discipline, there are a lot more skills and attributes required to carry out and to be a successful project manager.

Project managers will typically have to be good at relationship building and working with a variety of people at any given point in time. Managing your own time will also be crucial to enable you to manage the day-to-day deliverables as well as your own roles and responsibilities.

Another attribute is the ability to be independent and unbiased. Many within the project, especially stakeholders will often have their own priorities and agendas; it is important as a project manager that you remain independent and do not align yourself to one area, ensuring that you stay focused on the overall objectives of the project. If there are hidden agendas then ideally you want to expose them, turning them into requirements or goals and to then get everyone involved in the project working towards them.

You will also be given a vast amount of information; you will have to quickly assess, reassess and then prioritise what you have learnt. Much of what you will be involved in will have an impact that needs to be factored into the project and overall approach.

Though many of these skills and attributes may seem hard at first, over time, they become instinctive. Once you have mastered them, you will quickly realise that working within projects can be both fun and rewarding.

1.3 Different types of project managers

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In any business, sector or industry, you will find a variety of different project managers. Though the principle of what they do will remain the same, the focus and approach will differ.

Whether it is business or construction project manager, the overall aim and objectives are the same, to deliver whatever is being worked on to plan and to a high standard.

Let’s now look at some of the main types of project managers that you can find in the various industries and sectors.

Business Project Managers

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One of the most common types of delivery managers within the business world is the business project manager. They typically work within and likely have come from all areas of the organisation. The projects they work on can range from organisational restructures to new product launches. The business project managers will work with their stakeholders to deliver the agreed goals and objectives.

You will commonly find business project managers in the finance, operational, change/project areas and marketing departments working on a variety of different projects and implementations.

Building & Construction Project Managers

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When most people think of project managers they will typically think of the building and construction type of project managers. This role has been around for a long time and can probably date back to ancient civilisation.

Within any building or construction project, activities need to be carried out in a certain and particular order. For example, you cannot build the walls of a house, without first building the foundation. The project manager will typically oversee all of the stages and steps, managing the resources and various trades (plumbers, plasterers, painters etc.) to ensure the smooth completion of the new building or infrastructure.

Engineering Project Managers

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Whether in manufacturing or design, engineering project managers typically pool together people with specialist knowledge, skillsets and expertise. They will help formulate the plans, group the resources and manage the delivery against the project plan.

For example, the design of a new car. The engineering project manager would likely break the process down into parts (interior, exterior, engine, wheels, lights etc.). For each part, a team of specialists will be assigned to work on their particular component within an agreed timeframe. Not only would the team work within the timeframe, but they will also ensure that the vision and overall design works seamlessly together.

Scientific Project Managers

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Scientific project managers are similar to their counterparts in engineering. Whether it is theoretical or research-based, the activity or task will need structure and focus. From outlining the conditions and goals of the project to the teams and the specialists involved, the scientific project manager is responsible for ensuring that the shared goals and vision are understood, controlled and managed.

For example, a group of researchers are looking for a cure for the common cold. They would likely try a variety of different conditions and parameters to see what effect it has on the virus. The approach and level of planning would be organised and managed by the project manager.

Systems or IT Project Managers

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Over the years various systems, applications and underlying infrastructures have become important in both our business and personal lives. The increased use of technology has seen the creation and demand for system or IT project managers grow. Whether it is managing a new system development or implementing new infrastructure, the project manager is responsible for planning, coordinating and managing all of the tasks until completion.

For example, when working on a system development, it is quite common that the development is broken down into component code parts. Those parts are given to specific groups of developers to work on and once completed, all of the components are joined and configured to ensure that they all work together successfully. The project manager will work on managing the resources and ensuring that the parts are all completed to plan and to the required specification.

1.4 Project manager personality types

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By now you have more of an understanding of project management, the types of skills and attributes required to be a successful project manager and some of the most common roles and responsibilities that project managers carry out in their daily lives. In this section, we are going to talk specifically about the four most common personality types or characteristics you likely might see in many project managers.

Over time as many project managers become more experienced, they will often form a particular approach or preference in the way that they work; some might prefer to become a specialist in a specific area, whilst others prefer to use the discipline to deliver whatever is asked of them.

Think of project managers as having a combination of these personality attributes and types, however, some project