R isks can be identified and described at different levels of detail, and there can be considerable variation between different projects or or-

ganizations. Some projects identify just a small number of high-level risks, while others have many hundreds or even thousands of de-tailed risks. A generalized or high-level de-scription of risk can make it difficult to de-velop responses and assign ownership, while describing risks in a lot of detail can create a great deal of work. How can we determine the correct level of detail? There are three compo-nents to consider: management, ownership, and reporting.

Firstly, risks should be described at the level to which they are going to be managed. A high-level description such as “Something unex-pected might happen during the project” is quite useless as no management action is pos-sible at this level. Too much detail is also pointless, for example “George Smith the jun-ior system architect may break his right leg at the football match next Tuesday night and not be able to finish the Phase 2.4.2 detailed de-sign drawings.” The risk might be better stated as “Key staff may not be available when re-quired to complete the system design.” At this level the risk can be managed proactively, with careful resource planning, use of shadowing or deputies, and ensuring that key tasks are not assigned to one person. Of course it is true that some risks will need to be managed at a de-tailed level while others can be addressed at a higher level.

Secondly, each risk should be described at a level of detail where it can be assigned to a single owner, with clear responsibility and accountability for addressing the risk. How-ever this also allows for some variation in the

level of risk description, as risk owners can range from junior team members who might be responsible for detailed risks, through to the project sponsor or senior managers who are only interested in the higher level.

Thirdly, the level of risk description should match the reporting needs of the person receiv-ing the risk report. Project team members need detailed risk descriptions for those risks which they are responsible for managing. The project sponsor or client needs less detail, perhaps with groups of risks being summarized into high-level descriptions.

Each of these three answers suggests that risk descriptions can be useful at various levels for different purposes. There is no one right level that meets all needs. So what can be done?

One useful tool addressing this issue is the Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS), which is a hierarchical structure describing sources of risk to the project. This allows risks to be de-scribed at increasing levels of detail through-out the project. At the top level (Level 0), all risks are simply “Project Risks”. But this can be broken down into major sources of risk at Level 1, such as Technical Risk, Commercial Risk, Management Risk, External Risk. Each of these major areas can be further detailed at Level 2 (for example Technical Risk could be subdivided into Technology, Performance, Reliability, Interfaces etc). At the lowest level individual risks are described under each spe-cific source.

Different RBS levels can then be used for dif-ferent purposes. Detailed risk reporting, own-ership and management can take place at the lowest level. Higher RBS levels allow groups of risks to be rolled-up and summarized for

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D E S C R I B I N G R I S K : H O W M U C H D E T A I L ? Dr. David Hillson PMP FAPM

© 2004 Dr David Hillson PMP FAPM, All Rights Reserved

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PMI NJ News Email address: davecase@damaca.com

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I am very grateful to have the opportu-nity to serve as President of the NJ Chapter for the next 2 years. I will strive to continue to provide the guid-ance and leadership that we have re-ceived from our past presidents. The officers that will serve with me for the next two years are: • VP Administration – Stacy

Miltiades • VP Finance – Pat Bonanni • VP Membership – Pat Chapman • VP Professional Development –

Ava Heuer • VP Programs – Linda Glickman • VP Symposium – Aita Salasoo • Recent Past President – Ed Miller I would like to offer an open door pol-icy to all our members. We are here to

serve you and make the chapter a vehi-cle for our members to achieve profes-sionalism in Project Management. To that end, currently we offer Monthly meetings, PMP Prep Classes, the an-nual Symposium, and initiatives to recognize our members (Project of the Year, Student Papers, …). I encourage all members to get involved in these activities. Last year, the IS SIG started an initia-tive to provide additional opportunities for members to learn and network. They are now officially affiliated with the NJ Chapter. We look forward to working with them and other SIGs to provide similar opportunities for growth. The monthly meeting on Sep 21, was one to be remembered. Dr. Rick

Brinkman provided an excellent mes-sage for all of us. To paraphrase Ed, I’m sure that none of us are ever at our worst. But, we need to be aware of the ‘other’ individuals in our projects and how to address them. Also, don’t be the teenage daughter. Openly share your thoughts and con-cerns to improve our chapter and the services we provide. In fact, Pete’s persistence to improve the chapter’s presence is influencing changes to our web-site to better serve our members (more to come soon). The Lottery ad says, ‘you have to be in it to win it’. It will only be through your participation that you will fully gain the benefits of the organization and it’s not by chance.

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P M I C E R T I F I C A T I O N S F E B 2 0 0 4 — J U N 2 0 0 4

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Ms. Moyosola O. Ajaja Ms. Jacquelyn A. Albany Mr. Jay S. Altman Ms. Vijay Aluwalia Mr. Chet R. Anderson Ms. Denise A. Argast Mr. Ramkumar Athmanathan Mr. Senthil K. Ayeram Mr. Malathi Ayyandurai Ms. Margaret Babikian Mr. Senthil K. Balasubramanian Mr. Ananda Banerjee Mr. Rajesh Bansal Mr. Gregory H. Bassett Mr. Robert Bastian Mr. William E. Benner Mr. Bruce E. Betz Ms. Brinda V. Bhatt Mr. Deven J. Bhatt Mr. Harjeet S. Bhogal Mr. Amit Bhutra Mr. Philip A. Binder |Ms. Joshua Blatt Ms. Ingeborg E. Blazina Mr. Alexander Bronstein Mr. Sanjay J. Buddhadev Mr. Jeffery S. Burgess Ms. Deborah I. Burklow Mr. Gerry Burns Ms. Irfan M. Butt Ms. Lisa M. Calabrese Ms. Barbara A. Calhoun Mr. Jon Carlo Camarador Mr. David E. Canfield Mr. John F. Cannizzaro Ms. Lauren Ann Caputo Mr. John F. Caroselli, Jr. Mr. David L. Carreon Mr. Steven M. Carroll Mr. Frederick L. Carter Mr. Thomas E. Case Mr. Anthony M. Ceneviva Mr. Kamaldeep S. Chahal Mr. Niloy Chakravorty Mr. Sanjay Challani Mr. Balaji R. Chandrasekar

Mr. Gregory Joseph Chauvette Mr. Diego M. Chavez Mr. Honghua Chen Mr. Anthony Christiano Mr. Alton Y. Chung Mr. Eric R. Cieciuch Mr. Mark W. Cohen Mr. J. Michael Connell Ms. Patricia M. Connolly Ms. Justina A. Crisanti Ms. Aida N. Cuevas Ms. Marisol Danois Mr. Roopesh K. Das Mr. Peter Dattolo Ms. Zac Davidi Mr. John L. Davis Mr. James N. Decker Mr. Patrick B. Deely Mr. Jeffrey B. Derus Mr. Ravi S. Dharmalingam Mr. Michael B. Diener Ms. Gina M. Domenico Mr. Sathyanarayanan Dorairaj Ms. Cynthia M. Doucette Ms. Joan W. Douglas Mr. Thomas J. Drexler Ms. Kathleen G. Duckworth Mr. Murat E. Dulger Mr. James T. Dunn Ms. Jennifer T Durna Mr. Laurie St. Elmo Hughes Mr. David Emero Ms. Rebecca G. Esmi Mr. Francis R. Febbo Ms. Tracy L. Fennell Mr. Michael A Feula Mr. Bill Fitts Ms. Debra L. Foote Ms. Eti Friedman Mr. John T. Galloway Mr. Matthew J. Gawron Mr. Dominick J Genoese Ms. Sonia L. George Dr. John G. Gilman Mr. Glen J. Giolli Mr. Joseph Glen Mr. John Le Goff

Mr. Prasanna P. Gogwekar Mr. Paul M. Goldsmith Mr. Javier Gonzalez Mr. Boris Gordon Mr. Brent F. Greenspan Mr. Harvey Greenstein Mr. Brijesh Gulati Mr. Pavan Gupta Ms. Ann Chase Haller Ms. Sheri J. Hampson Ms. Karen Diann Harjes Mr. Deepti Harpale Mr. Shane M. Haverstick Ms. Susan J. Havison Ms. Sherri J. Hayes Ms. Julie Herard Ms. Emma Herrick Mr. Fabien M. Hill Mr. Orrie M. Hixon Mr. Samuel W Holzer Mr. David E Isaacs Mr. Reiner M. Jaeger Mr. Alok Jain Mr. Sudhir Jain Mr. Sudhiranjan Jena Mr. Barry Jerkowicz Mr. Santosh K. Jha Mr. Anthony P. Johnson Mr. Ronald O. Johnson Mr. William S. Johnson, III Dr. Joseph Dudash, Jr. Mr. Tejas N. Kamdar Mr. Suresh Kasthuri Mr. James V. Kastner Ms. Kathy L. Kelley Mr. Nigel A. Kennedy Ms. Helen Kerekes Ms. Rose Kervabon Mr. Charles E. Kieran, Jr. Mr. William A. Knaus Mr. Sridhar Koduri Mr. Michael J. Kolpak Mr. Randolph J. Koncelik Mr. Adam S. Konigsberg Mr. Ramesh Koovelimadhom Mr. William J. Korff

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The Chapter congratulates the following 294 PMI NJ Chapter members who achieved PMP certifications or recertifi-cation between February 2004 and June 2004. Of our 3178 active members, 1355 are PMPs. We strive to provide the opportunity for the members to renew certification through participation in programs or actively serving the chap-ter. Remember that articles for this newsletter also qualify.

P M I C E R T I F I C A T I O N S F E B 2 0 0 4 — J U N 2 0 0 4 ( C O N ’ T )

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Mr. David Kravitz Ms. Usha R. Krishnamurthy Mr. Ronald J. Krowiak Mr. Ankur Kumar Mr. Mukesh Kumar Mr. Venkataraj Prabodh Kumar Ms. Leslie M. Laiuppa Ms. Cathrine L. Lambert Mr. R. Jeffrey Lanigan Mr. George LaRose Mr. Antony Hyacinth Lawrence Ms. Andrea R. Legatt Mr. Lanier B. Leonard Mr. Joseph T. Leshko Ms. Adam Levine Ms. Lois N. Liccardi Dr. Haiying Li Dr. Acer M. Maamoun Mr. Ranga Rao Madisetty Ms. Samundeswari Mahalingam Ms. Aruna Makhija Mr. Vincent J. Manna Mr. Srini Masanam Mr. Peter J. McKeon Ms. John Sylvester McNally Ms. Melanie K. Meehan-Teixeira Mr. Anthony A. Mei Mr. Gerardo M. Menegaz Ms. Victoria Mesropian Mr. Gallus C. Messmer Mr. Dong Jin Min Ms. Falguni Mittal Ms. Laureen Modder Ms. Suzanne J. Moller Mr. Steven E. Mongon Mr. Wayne R. Morris Ms. Linda A. Morton Mr. Alan J. Mosley Dr. Charles S. Mukasa Ms. Valerie I. Muniz Ms. Margid Mussi Ms. Nawal M. Najjar Mr. Ravi S. Narava Mr. Vijay Narayanan Mr. George C. Neil Mr. Kenneth A. Nevola Ms. Jennifer Nicdao Mr. Richard C. Noel Mr. Alan C. Novitsky Ms. Denise D. O'Brien Mr. Shawn W. O'Connell Ms. Philomena T. Ogleby

Mr. Paul A. O'Reggio Mr. Felix A. Ortiz Mr. Stephen M. Palasciano Mr. Michael F. Palladino Ms. Lakshmi C. Pamula Mr. Denny A. Panakal Mr. Dillip Panda Mr. Florencio R. Pantaleon Mr. Joseph Edward Paolino Mr. Devang A. Patel Mr. Richard N. Paterson Mr. Sudhir Patil Mr. Bijay Pattanaik Ms. Sunith Peethambaran Ms. Nellie Pekerman Ms. Rupa C. Pereira Ms. Usha A. Perinkulam Ms. Carol Petherbridge Ms. Ildiko Antal, Ph.D. Mr. Tom G. Philip Mr. O. Julian Plys Mr. William A. Porterfield Mr. Valsaraj O. Poureil Ms. Heidi L. Proodian Mr. Sebasten Raffal Mr. Arvindh Rajaraman Mr. Rajasekhara P. Rajeev Mr. Narayanan Ramanarayanan Mr. Chandrashekhar Ramchandran Ms. Mary A. Ransom Mr. Venkata Vijaya Rayan Ivaturi Mr. Sampath S. Rengarajan Ms. Cara D. Richardson Mr. David Rifkin Mr. Thomas Rulon Mr. Christopher J. Salerno Mr. George J. Samuely Ms. Diane Sandora Mr. William L. Sasso Mr. Samir M. Sathaye Mr. Milind Sathe Mr. Vivek Sawhney Mr. Steve Scala Mr. Robert S. Schiavone Ms. Nancy Schmidt Ms. Stephanie M. Schwartzhoff Mr. Stephen Michael Schwarz Mr. Eric Joseph Scott Mr. Jeffrey G. Scott Ms. Shannon S. Scullin Ms. Janet Scuorzo Mr. Frank W. Seman Mr. Natarajan Sethuraman Mr. Hassan Sharafi

Mr. Prakash P. Sharma Mr. Deepak M. Shastri Ms. Sanina Shen Mr. Dinesha Sheshadri Ms. Julie A. Shoemaker Mr. Ahmad Shuja Mr. Barry J. Silberstein Mr. Anurag Singh Mr. Shivnarayan Singh Ms. Anita Singhani Ms. Deepa K. Sinha Mr. Harris R. Snyder Mr. David Sobolowski Ms. Susan E Soto Mr. Mangadu Srinivasan Mr. Peter W. Staples Mr. Greg L. Steffe Dr. Francis A. Steffero Mr. Ramanathan Subramanian Ms. Elizabeth Sweeney Mr. Steven W. Tarlow Ms. Adrienne J. Taub Weber Mr. Richard W. Tettemer Mr. William N. Thomas Mr. Bruce C. Tillson Mr. Rajgopal Tirumalai Mr. Jim C. Tom Ms. Eleni Le Tourneur Mr. Gerard A. Turano Mr. Joseph J. Turdo Mr. Nandakumar Kollukkattuvalasu Va Mr. Rajesh Vaidyanathan Mr. Subbu Valliappan Mr. Viswanath Vangala Mr. Frank A. Vecchione Mr. Rajeev Vellore Mr. Deivanayagam Venkatachalam Mr. Ramaswamy Venkatanarayanan Ms. Suzie Vincent Ms. Nikki R. Walter Ms. Connie A. Walters Mr. Gregory Wayand Ms. Suzanne Weston Ms. Cindy H White Ms. Sally Wiggell Ms. Theresa Marie Willstaedt Ms. Divya T. Yerraguntla Mr. Manoj Zachariah Mr. Louis Zucker

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On May 3, 2004, the Pines Manor in Edison, NJ was packed with project managers, guests, speakers, vendors, and poster presenters revving up their project management skills. The enthusiasm was felt throughout the day. Visit the chapter web-site (http://www.pminj.org/04-smp/045smp.htm) to download the presentations (speakers and posters) or relive the experi-ence through the photo gallery. Dr. Harold Kerzner provided a dynamic opening keynote, em-phasizing learnings from the Second Edition of his book “Advanced Project Management, Best Practices on Implemen-tation”. His enthusiasm was supported by the response from the attendees. Speakers throughout the day discussed all areas of the PMBOK and specific industry topics. The attendees were entertained and were provided exacting details for value and decision-making equations. This was the 18th annual symposium sponsored by the chapter. It is an excellent opportunity to network with peers, learn and exchange ideas. And for PMPs, the event provides the ability to earn PDUs for re-certification. For all project managers, it provides the opportunity to understand PM tools and tech-niques used by their colleagues. Through the feedback provided at the symposium, some en-hancements have been identified that will be addressed for next

year (see accompanying article). This is an exciting event! It is even more meaningful if you participate on the symposium team. Contact Barbara Borg-mann if you are interested in volunteering. The work for next year has already started. The 2004 symposium by the numbers:

Thanks, all, for a successful event!

514 Registered Attendees

3 Keynote Speakers

15 Speaker Track Sessions

15 Posters

14 Vendors

69 Symposium Team Members who made it happen

R E V - U P Y O U R P M S K I L L S — T H E 2 0 0 4 P M I R E G I O N A L S Y M P O S I U M

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What Does Flawless Execution of Projects Mean to You?

The theme of the 2005 Chapter Regional Symposium is “Execute Flawlessly!!!”. We will be focusing on project exe-cution and how to do it right. We are interpreting our theme to cover many aspects of projects in many arenas, where the com-mon goal is to execute flawlessly!!! In the real world!!! Sure, stuff happens, but by working to adapt readily to changes and being on top of planned-actuals reporting, Project Managers can still execute flawlessly!!! Our logo reflects that it takes personal courage and skill to perform well, that there are risks inherent in any project, and that there is a team involved, even when at a given time a sin-gle performer may be in the limelight. We are hoping to attract a variety of examples, lessons learned, and tools to support your flavor of flawless project execution. The Symposium Planning Team reviewed the evaluations from the 2004 event in detail, and took some of your messages to heart. Among those important areas of feedback we are ad-dressing are more advanced topics, tools and technology pres-entations, keeping the event costs down, avoiding crowding, providing hands-on value and networking opportunities for participants. For this event, we are asking vendors, poster presenters, and speakers to focus on skills, tools, and proven techniques that allow Project Managers and their teams to execute flawlessly, in some specific way or scenario. For example: • Risk Management • Change Management • Disaster Recovery • Global Tracking Programs • Asset Management • Supply-Chain Management • Security Management • Logistics Management • Relationships (e.g., Ethics, Trust, Mentoring, Coaching) • Applying Lessons Learned We are seeking variety from which we can all learn, in terms of project arenas. They include the pharmaceutical industry, IT, public sector projects, manufacturing, small businesses, education, non-profits, special events management (including entertainment, sports, conferences, etc.), and more.

Save the date, May 2, 2005, on your calendars!

Please contact the following team leads and check the Sympo-sium web site (www.pminj.org/nj_smp.htm) if you wish to be a speaker, poster presenter, or vendor at this exciting event. Speakers: Carol Smith (973 660-6285, smithc11@wyeth.com) or Theresa Feil Sumpter (732 699-3630, tfeilsum@telcordia.com) Poster Presenters: Meher Lanka (732 321-0936, mlanka@microsoft.com) Vendors: Eric Litman (201 567-7870, ecl1115@msn.com) or Michele Pabuwal (732 699-5264, mpabuwal@telcordia.com)

E X E C U T E F L A W L E S S L Y ! ! !

P M I R E G I O N A L P R O J E C T M A N A G E M E N T S Y M P O S I U M — M A Y 2 0 0 5

B Y A I T A S A L A S O O , P M P , V P , S Y M P O S I U M

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You never can tell when you will come across something in the newspaper that can be useful to us as project managers. I often keep my scissors handy when reading the newspaper. Recently, I clipped several articles from The Star-Ledger newspaper that addressed effective leadership. Steve Adubato wrote an article entitled The Seven Deadly Sins of Leadership. You may already know that he writes a weekly column on Communications in the Business Section of The Star-Ledger. Adubato identifies two truisms about leadership that we usually take for granted: leadership is a complicated craft and it invariably requires trial and error to be performed well. He tells us that most effective leaders admit that they learned their craft through the mistakes that they and those around them have made. In the book Project Management Terms, “Leadership” is de-fined as “(1) Use of influence to direct the activities of others toward the accomplishment of some objective (2) Ability to persuade others to do things enthusiastically (3) Human factor that binds a group together and motivates it toward goals”. Adubato identifies a number of managerial mistakes as the seven deadly sins of leadership. As project managers who are consistently in positions of leadership, we should avoid these behaviors when leading project teams and interacting with stakeholders. Adubato’s seven sins are: • Micromanaging • Being surrounded with “yes” men and women • Poor listening • Not acknowledging or thanking people • Not growing or learning • Not being candid with employees • Running boring and uninspired meetings To a seasoned PM, avoiding these actions may be obvious, but sometimes it is worthwhile to repeat the obvious. Adubato’s article can be used as a cautionary guide when setting up a new project team, treating people as individuals and with respect, developing plans and commitments, tracking progress and keeping a project running smoothly. Micromanaging Attention to detail is important on any project, but hovering over team members while they are working can de-motivate individuals or entire project teams. After a work breakdown structure is completed, activities are defined and time frames are estimated, skilled individuals are identified and then as-signed to the project team. A good leader will ensure that each

person understands his/her individual responsibilities, and has the right level of support needed to complete their deliverables. After that, the PM should let them do their jobs. In other words the PM should manage the project and the team members should manage the work. Regularly scheduled status meetings along with reasonable levels of status reporting are two ways of managing progress without holding on too tightly. The ground rules for tracking progress, completing deliverables, identifying roadblocks, and updating schedules should be agreed upon early in the project’s lifecycle to minimize confu-sion. Managing the work doesn’t mean that the PM has to do all the work! Being surrounded with “yes” men and women Most people feel comfortable when they are surrounded by others who think the same way as they do. But this behavior isn’t particularly good for project managers, or anyone in a leadership role. Project plans and schedules need to be closely reviewed and criticized during the planning phase to create a sound, realistic plan that has buy-in from all involved. It is important for a PM to have access to all points of view, favor-able or otherwise. Team members who are too ready to agree with the boss, or who are unwilling to criticize, tend to down-play problems that could arise. Other “yes” people can stifle creativity by not rocking the boat. Adubato comments that leaders need to challenge their teams and also to be challenged. One way is to encourage all stake-holders to think “out of the box”, and to consider prudent risks for the benefit of the project. People may be reluctant to take risks because of bad experiences in the past, horror stories from other projects or simply the fear of failure. An effective PM will assess the risks and provide managerial support to the team with a risk mitigation plan. Why is this important – because it can affect the quality of the decisions and actions on a project. Diversity of viewpoint along with effective risk management can bring out the best alternative solutions for any project. Poor listening There are times when a PM may not listen to what is being said. Sometimes a PM will believe that he/she already knows the answer, and accordingly shuts out comments or sugges-tions. Other times, when the pressure is on, it is very easy for a PM to just lose patience and reach for the quickest solution without hearing all the viable alternatives. Or poor listening can be a reaction upon hearing “bad news”. Negative conse-

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reporting, ownership and management further up the organization. So the project safety engineer may need to know about a specific risk affecting a particular product trial (RBS Level 4), whereas the company's Chief Tech-nical Officer may be interested in the overall level of technical risk on the project (RBS Level 1).

Risk descriptions at different levels of detail are useful in different ways. Instead of insisting that all risks are described at a single level which may not suit all needs,

using a hierarchical RBS can provide the necessary flexibility with both high-level and more detail as appro-priate.

[For details of the RBS concept and use, read : www.risk-doctor.com/pdf-files/rbs1002.pdf.]

To provide feedback on this Briefing Note, or for more details on how to develop effective risk management, contact the Risk Doctor (info@risk-doctor.com), or visit the Risk Doctor website (www.risk-doctor.com).

(Continued from page 1)

D E S C R I B I N G R I S K : H O W M U C H D E T A I L ? ( C O N ’ T )

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PMP® Prep Program 35 hours of intense, focused preparation

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With the growing demand for certified PM’s, you already know this is the next step in your career success. We offer an knowledge area-based, iterative approach to dy-namic learning which introduces and reinforces PM processes. Study books, guides, and practice exams are all included in the course. We work with you to create your individual plan of attack. So in just 5 weeks, 2 evenings per week, you are fully pre-pared to pass the exam. For registration information go to www.OuelletteGroup.com.

Our PMP® Prep course, plan and ap-proach has been 100% successful. Attend the course, follow the plan, and you will have your PMP in 7 weeks.

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Everyone has people in their life they can't stand, (but of course not our em-ployees or customers). Dr. Rick Brink-man literally wrote the book on it. Deal-ing With People You Can't Stand, How to Bring Out the Best in People at Their Worst, is an international bestseller with translations in 15 languages. In his trademark enter-taining, humorous style, he will show us how to success-fully transform behaviors like: Whining, Negativity, At-tacks, Tantrums, Know-it-alls, Think-they-know-it-alls, Sniping, and more. Dr. Brinkman says, "Communication is like a phone number, you need all the digits to get through and you need them in the right order. There is a strategy for each of the difficult behaviors that can transform them. It is just a matter of being a Conscious Communicator™ and taking responsibility for the power you have to influence others." Dr. Brinkman has been in "public practice" since 1980, touring nationally and abroad to share his human be-

havior insights and practical communi-cation strategies via highly entertain-ing and educational keynotes and trainings. Dr. Rick is a regularly fea-tured speaker for Young President’s Organization, Institute for Manage-ment Studies and many associations

and corporations. He was one of only 15 people se-lected by the Tom Peters Group to present the In Search of Excellence and Thriving on Chaos programs in 1988. He has authored four audio and two video training programs on customer service, communication and life management. Dr. Brinkman has been featured on CNN and in the Wall St. Journal. Dr. Rick is a frequent keynote speaker at industry and corporate events such as executive retreats, training sessions and seminars. Additional information can be found at http://www.rickbrinkman.com or by calling The Gentry Agency at 415-382-0505.

WHINERS, AND SNIPERS, AND TANKS, OH MY!!

T H E S E V E N D E A D L Y S I N S O F L E A D E R S H I P ( C O N ’ T )

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quences can result from poor listening. One is that people may simply stop making meaningful suggestions or telling the truth because they believe they are not being heard. Effective listening requires patience and concentration. To avoid this particular sin, Adubato suggests that an effective leader should anticipate miscommunication and seek to clarify. When communicating verbally, one effective practice is to repeat back to the speaker what you think you heard as a way to clarify and confirm what was said. This interpersonal give-and-take is a very easy way to communicate. Another effective technique to improve listening is to ask ques-tions for clarification. When a person asks relevant questions, the speaker quickly realizes that the recipient is actively listen-ing. Some techniques for better questioning are: • Make sure questions are clear and easy to understand • Direct questions to a particular person, not to an entire

group • Ask them one at a time • Don’t make the questions sound confrontational, unless

there is a good reason.

Project managers learn from experience that it is hard work to be an effective listener, but it is important to maintain credibil-ity and reduce misunderstanding. Not acknowledging or thanking people Adubato says that no matter how talented or secure, everyone needs to be recognized and thanked for his/her work. Lack of proper recognition can alienate even the most productive mem-bers on a team. Providing team recognition is something that project managers have drummed into them from their first training class on managing people. This is especially true when project milestones are reached. All contributing participants should be appropriately recognized after each milestone. And at project closure, all stakeholders should be invited to cele-brate the successful completion. Recognition should be given in a timely manner and with en-thusiasm. It is not always “what you say” but also “how you say it” that conveys sincerity. Simple public acknowledgement for jobs well done is the minimum. There can be personal re-wards, financial and otherwise, as additional recognition for measurable contributions. Organizational reward systems often exist along with project-specific actions to thank individuals,

(Continued from page 10)

(Continued on page 14)

Write articles, get PDUs Please make sure your mailing

address is correct.

Go to www.pmi.org and log in to update your information.

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groups or entire teams. Proper acknowledgement of work rein-forces respect and recognition between leaders and those whom they lead. Not growing or learning A quote from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Project Manage-ment says, “Know enough to know that you don’t know every-thing”. If a project manager stops growing or learning, he/she will become stale, or even worse, an ineffective leader. With our hectic daily schedules, it is very easy to not allow our-selves the time to do the things we need to recharge our batter-ies. Because of the continuous changes in technologies and business practices, project managers need to be aware of new ideas and remain open to alternative ways of doing things. There are lots of ways to keep improving our technical, busi-ness and interpersonal skills, including reading articles and books, researching similar projects that have been completed, identifying new trends in project management and attending seminars and other educational venues. The monthly NJ/PMI

chapter meetings are an excellent source for enhancing our PM skills and knowledge. Not being candid with employees If a project manager is not forthright in communicating, or tries too often to sugarcoat painful facts, or looks for scapegoats to blame, he/she risks losing their credibility as a leader. The role of a PM is based on being recognized as a trusted and reliable source of information. Being an effective leader also sometimes means taking the blame for the actions of someone on your team. This type of PM creates an environment of open communication and trust, and stands behind his/her team in times of crisis or stress. Team members accustomed to a climate of trust will often ac-knowledge their personal responsibility for something gone wrong and resolve to fix the problem. Adubato reminds us that being a leader is not a popularity con-test. In the end a PM must have the respect of the team mem-bers, program manager, sponsor and other stakeholders, even if

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they are not always happy with some decisions or particular outcomes. Telling the truth clearly and honestly is a key to gain and retain the respect of all those impacted. Running boring and uninspired meetings To meet or not to meet – that is the question. Being forced to attend rambling or unfocused meetings can de-motivate a team very quickly. It is important for a PM to decide if a meeting is really needed, or if communication can be accomplished in other ways, e.g. an email message sent to the appropriate re-cipients. Once the decision is made to schedule a meeting, the PM should prepare and distribute a clear agenda, before the meet-ing is held. The agenda should contain relevant time-bound items, with a clear end time for the meeting. This demon-strates that a PM has a clear grasp of the important areas that need to be discussed. When conducting the meeting itself, the PM should adhere to the published agenda, especially the meeting end time. If unexpected issues arise during the meet-ing, they should be put in the "parking lot”, and follow-up meetings with the appropriate audience can be scheduled. Again structured agendas should be published for these meet-ings too. This practice should be applied to all meetings during a project lifecycle, including planning meetings, the project kickoff, work sessions, recurring status meetings and the close-out meeting. Managing your own time and the time of others is a clear demonstration of leadership.

I enjoy reading Steve Adubato’s weekly articles on communi-cations and leadership. Once clipped from the newspaper, Adubato’s short article on the sins of leadership can be very handy in a lot of ways – I like to use it as a bookmark in my copy of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Project Management.

References:

The Seven Deadly Sins of Leadership, Steve Adubato, The Star-Ledger, December 16, 2002.

Thinking Out of The Box, Steve Adubato, The Star-Ledger, October 5, 2003.

Many Meetings are Uncalled-For, Steve Adubato, The Star-Ledger, November 9, 2003.

Think First, Then Ask Questions, Steve Adubato, The Star-Ledger, November 16, 2003.

Resolve to Express Yourself, Steve Adubato, The Star-Ledger, January 11, 2004.

Good Leaders Step Up for Others, Steve Adubato, The Star-Ledger, February 8, 2004.

Project Management Terms, J. LeRoy Ward, ESI International, 1997.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Project Management, Sunny and Kim Baker, Alpha Books, 2000.

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P M I N J M E M B E R S H I P O C T 2 0 0 4 : M E M B E R S : 3 , 2 0 8 P M P : 1 , 3 7 4 ( 4 3 % )

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