Tag: accountability

Networking in projects

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As a preschooler, I was best friends with our teacher’s son, Andrei. It was particularly helpful at disciplining times. “If you do not listen to me, you’ll be sent to the babies’ class” was the harshest penalty on earth for us. At the slightest sign of the “penalty” approaching, I was quick to announce “Me and Andrei were listening and did nothing of (whatever was it that caused the teacher’s discontent). “Ok, you two go back to class. The rest – off you go”. This relationship brought to both of us many perks in those pre-school years.

As we find out in adulthood, networking does not come that easy, at least not to all of us. “Why on earth?” “How? How do I start the conversation?”. “What if they will think I am too pushy?” etc are the usual introverts’ inner talks at networking events. I’ve been there. Done that. In time, I learned that the initial contact struggle was the easiest part. Maintaining and nourishing the network is the hardest part. It takes time and effort.

It is self-explanatory that projects do not exist in a vacuum and networking is part of the project manager’s job. “How good are you at networking?” is a question I got on almost all job interviews.

Networks help in projects. Knowing the right person in the right place at the right time helps solve and/or prevent lots of issues. Networks also contribute to the change the project works for.

To make a network work it needs not to be self-serving. The perks of networking need to bring mutual advantages and lasting benefits to those involved and the professional community at large. And it needs to be clean of any allegations of inappropriate actions.

A story:

Mary was managing a multi-million project whose success depended on a vast network of Government officials. She knew some of them through previous professional contacts. The majority though were totally new both in their jobs and to the project.

She did her homework and found out whom from her network she could approach to help her gain access to the rest. Her first strategy of meetings over coffee and introductions at official receptions was successful. She moved to the next step and asked the most influential project partner to convene a meeting with all, to make it official through a charter signed by all. It was an important milestone for setting the common goals and demonstrating the benefits of the network and the project.

As the project progressed, some inevitable hurdles emerged and the network kept changing as the commitment of some of its members to common goals changed due to Government reshuffles. Mary kept true to the charter and continued to pro-actively engage the members of the network at levels which worked: one-to-one, smaller groups, entire network. In the end, keeping the network consistently functioning for the entire duration of the project paid dividends, as its members demonstrated a sufficient degree of maturity for a more advanced phase of the project.


“Corruption in public projects and megaprojects: There is an elephant in the room!” – re-post

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As announcements of unprecedented economic responses rolled on, public procurements worked in an emergency regime. Economic relief plans opened the door to opportunities. Opportunities put to test both the business integrity and the integrity of public institutions. International organisations – such as Council of Europe, OECD – started publishing warnings of corruption risks across industries.

I have not managed investments and/or big infrastructure projects yet, although many years ago I was in charge of overseeing a portfolio, which included a number of infrastructure projects. I remember the complexity of those projects and, in consequence, how high maintenance they were. There was no corruption involved, as reported later by auditors. Yet, my state of alert was constantly high. And understandably so. Seven digit invoices, delays, explanations and justifications, demands for additional budget were some of the red flags. Plus, rubber boots and dusty construction sites came in a package.

The article “Corruption in public projects and megaprojects: There is an elephant in the room!” by Giorgio Locatelli, Giacomo Mariani, Tristano Sainati, Marco Greco equips project managers with a number of valuable insights, both at the planning and at the implementation phase. As the executive summary of the article states: “This paper leverages the institutional theory to introduce the concept of “corrupt project context” and, using the case study of Italian high-speed railways, shows “the impact of a corrupt context on megaprojects.”

In addition to that, the article analyses the salient facets of corruption and characteristics of projects which make them more or less prone to corruption. One can use them as red flags. Authors raise an important number of issues, which are to be paid attention to, in particular as the topic of corruption can still appear as highly controversial in some project management contexts, in particular in times of emergencies.

“Corruption in public projects and megaprojects: There is an elephant in the room!” by Giorgio Locatelli, Giacomo Mariani, Tristano Sainati, Marco Greco, published in the International Journal of Project Management, volume 35, Issue 3, April 2017, pages 252-268, available here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263786316301090

The story of a book which saw the light in lockdown

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On a bright April day, as I was casually browsing Linkedin for updates, I noticed a post by Peter Taylor:

A month into full lockdown, my brain jump at it with delight. “A legacy-book to be published in 21 days? Phew! Why so long?!” I thought to myself. So, I responded to the challenge and so did 55 other project managers across industries from around the world.

“The Projectless Manager: Inspirational Thoughts from a World of Project Managers” is now on Amazon, both in paperback and for Kindle.

It is dedicated to “A global community of health carers and key workers. Its proceeds go to NHS. The book is, as Peter puts it, “unique ‘in the moment’ and ‘of the moment’ book.”

It was such a by-the-book project by itself: on time, within budget and objective – achieved, all this with members of a tribe who basically only know each other by Linkedin profiles.

I have to mention kids here. Those who know me, know that I am a full-time kids’ advocate. The cover is a result of a challenge for 9 year olds. So, it is also an inter-generational act of contribution and sharing. Kudos to kids!

Managing the “No”

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Learning to say “No” can be a vital skill for a project manager. Learning to deal with “No” on the receiver’s end is equally important.

There are many “No”s a project managers finds him/herself obliged to deal with. It could be a “No” to additional funds, or to budget revisions, or to deadline extensions. Or a “No” from a service provider to a request to speed up the delivery. Or a “No” from a team member.

How do you deal with “No” on the receiving end? Is it “I do not take “No” for an answer? Or “How could you, after all I’ve done for you?” Or “Wait until your boss learns about it!” Or a blanc staring, Scarlett’s style?

With experience, you’ll learn to anticipate “No”s coming your way and you’ll deal proactively with it.

Here is a story:

The project sponsor asked for a project on three sites in three different countries. Each had a resident rep of the sponsor. As we started work, the representative of the sponsor on one of the sites changed and with him – the expectations.

We re-entered into negotiations, with some heavy weights on our side. During an intense exchange, it became clear that we are moving nowhere. They said “No” to all our proposals. We dropped that site. We still kept the two other project sites with plenty of opportunities to do good. It also freed some of our resources, thanks to which we launched a regional platform.

We kept the loyalty of our clients from the dropped site. And to compensate the local stakeholders for the lost opportunities, we invited them to the other sites to benefit from the products we delivered.

Couple of years later I met the sponsor’s rep and it gave me great pleasure to share all the good things we did on the other two project’s sites and the regional spin off.

Emergency exit? Make it organised

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As deconfinments start making room around the world, with some degree of clarity, it is time to put in place project management measures for an organised, to the extent possible, return to office work.

Over the past week I kept getting fellow colleagues questions about exiting this emergency. While my advice matched the situation of each particular project, I noticed are a number of common approaches across industries.

Here are 9 tips for an organised exit:

1. Focus on team members. People will come out of this changed in one way or another. Bear that in mind and pile up on your compassion resources. You may also want to know more about their families and the struggles they went through during this period.

2. Make use of your notes over the past two months. Did you notice new skills and abilities of team members? Is perhaps a rethinking of your traditional project roles timely? For example, if a team leader became more productive during the confinement, he/she might be wanting a more executive role. Or if a software developer manifested leadership skills, he/she might be ready for a team leader role. Did the project assistant outgrow his/her role and is ready for a different role? Look around with your talent-seeking eyes.

3. If you had to cut corners in procurement, which I hope you did not, make sure proper justifications are on record and well filed. Integrity should never be compromised, even in times of emergencies.

4. If you and your teams return to work, you may want to get to there first, to greet and welcome them. If it is your responsibility, make sure all safety and hygiene conditions are met. If there is an Organisation-wide policy, make sure all team members are aware about it. If your team returns to a location different from yours, you may want to order something online to greet them. It could be as symbolic as a new office plant or coffee from a nearby coffeeshop. Good for local business. Great for team’s morale.

5. Revisit the communication channels and see together with your teams which are to be kept and which will be ditched.

6. Make plans. And make plans B. Here is still a lot of uncertainty around the situation. Planning to hold meetings and go on business trips? Leave them for later and watch for border policies of countries of your clients. Some countries have reintroduced visas (e.g. Kazakhstan). Check on those as well.

7. Have a clear plan for priorities on the critical path of the project. Check on your first milestone after deconfinment. Communicate clearly to your sponsor, clients and other important partners.

8. Scan the environment for eventual “under water mines”. Video and audio was great in remote work. Yet these means of communication are prone to breed misunderstandings and frustrations. Simply because the screen makes it harder to interpret visual clues, such as body posture and physical gestures. Make sure there is no conflict in the air. Or if there is, manage it pro-actively.

9. Decide on what kind of leader you want to be from now on: an effective manager who gets the job done or an innovative anticipator?

Top five most frequent questions in time of crisis

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These past two weeks, I have been contacted for advice on what to do with projects in these new and unexpected circumstances. Crisis management, here we come.

While my advice and tips matched the variety of situations the projects were in, I noticed several common take aways:

1. Damage control and remaining in control are strongly interdependent. Analyse what you can control and acknowledge that you cannot control the pandemic and its extent. Unless you are a project manager in a hospital in an epicenter.

2. Analyse your project’s work plan/charts and be honest about what can be done in the period announced by the authorities if your country is in a confinement/quarantine. Have a plan B and be ready to change it, as things evolve. Communicate it well to all concerned: sponsor, stakeholders, providers, consultants.

3. Check all your contracts, the obligations part in particular, both yours and the other parties’. Now it’s the time for forgotten or overlooked things to come to light. Get the help of your organisation’s lawyers, if needed. Check the clauses on causes for suspension and delays for payments. Notify the other party, if required so. For new contracts, check what you can agree on and sign electronically.

4. Now it’s the time to move online if you have not done it yet. There is a variety to choose from, from Trello, Monday, Basecamp to Zoom and clouds. Make the technology work for you.

5. Teams will watch you for cues. So, control yourself, by distinguishing your fears from facts. Acknowledge team members’ fears. Offer a mirror of calm. Help when you can. Summon all your empathy and compassion.