Strategies for Managing a Mobile Team
Posted by Brad EgelandI ran across a great document put together by Terrence Gargiulo for Makingstories.net. Mr. Gargiulo discusses what he feels are the top ten strategies for managing mobile workers. His full document is a very good read because he also discusses things such as risks and issues to consider when managing mobile workers. You can access his full document here.
I’m sharing this here because so many times as project managers we are overseeing the work of a very geographically dispersed team. In the past three years I’ve only managed one project with a team that I could see on a daily basis. Dozens of others involved remote workers all around the country.
Here are Mr. Gargiulo’s Top 10 Strategies for Managers of Mobile Workers as described in his document.
Top 10 Strategies for Managers of Mobile Workers
1. Focus on building relationships
You are now in the business of managing relationships. Once a quarter audit your time. How much time are you spending engaged in activities meant to foster stronger relationships with your mobile employees? Rate each relationship on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is weak and 10 is very strong. Craft a strategy for continuing to develop your strong ones and triage the weak ones. Ask yourself why they are weak and what you can learn from them. Avoid finger pointing and hold up the mirror to reflect on your own opportunities for improvement. Extreme cases of under-performance do not warrant time or effort. These however are few and far between.
2. Streamline communications
Consolidate and prioritize communications. Use email and IM (instant message), texting, blogging, threaded discussions, etc. for relationship-driven communications (i.e., staying in touch and being personal). Communications of an important nature should be cohesive and never delivered in fragmentary pieces that have to be cobbled together by the receiver. Mutually assess the communication preferences of yourself and your team members to develop a communication plan. Avoid assumptions and revisit your plan on a regularly basis especially when the nature of the work is about to change.
3. Incorporate less didatic forms of communications
Determining the right amount of detail and when to provide detail is an ongoing responsibility of a manager with a mobile worker. As a general rule, less is more. This leaves bandwidth for the times when lengthy, explicit instructions and information are essential for the work at hand. Try working with more story-based forms of communications. Sharing tidbits from the field and office in the form of stories, anecdotes, case studies (use cases), jokes, innocent productive gossip, and even metaphors will relay context, encode key pieces of information, and give mobile workers a sense of inclusion.
4. Spend more time listening
Obvious, but counterintuitive. When you are out of easy reach and you are tasked with managing the performance of others it’s easy to get sucked into the trap of needing to transmit lots of information. In most cases the opposite is what is most productive. Make listening a priority. This is the hardest and most tiring aspect of managing others. It is also the single most important thing you can do accelerate the development of strong relationships. Listening is not enough. Keep an open mind. Be present and try to enter the perspective of the speaker. This will help you ask effective questions and identify what direction to go with your own needs and agenda. You’ll be surprised at what emerges.
5. Let mobile workers define communication and reporting practices they want to follow
Structure is critical. Adopt rules of engagement that place people at the center of their own decisions. Managers provide the boundaries and constraints but let employees define the working and communication styles, tools, and processes that will help them perform at the best. Set expectations on two fronts. First, treat these employees’ defined practices as privileges that can and will be modified if key performance metrics are not hit. Second, let employees know there will be times when a projects or work require less flexible, employee-driven communication and reporting practices.
6. Manage deliverables, not activities
Lots of project-oriented work is well suited to mobile workers. Even roles that are more task driven can be effectively managed if they are broken into deliverables. For mobile workers this may mean collapsing some of the activities of a business process or workflow that had manual checkpoints and controls associated with them into deliverables. Automation where possible can be used or batching activities into larger groups can transform task oriented jobs into deliverables. Realize that there can be many facets of people’s jobs that need to be adjusted to accommodate a mobile work style.
7. Engage in more frequent and informal performance management activities
When you manage mobile workers, relationships are at the heart of your job. Performance management does not need to be a loathsome, “administrivia” obligation. Designing some unstructured, informal ongoing dialogs with mobile employees about their performance goals and personal development plans is a great way to strengthen communications, and shows an active interest in employees and relationships. This might look and feel very different from one employee to the next. This is another tangible way managers can adapt their style to match the needs and preferences of employees. It works best when the performance management conversation flows in both directions.
8. Give complete trust until given a concrete behavioral reason to do otherwise
According to a recent survey conduct by HR.com and ic4p, listening and trust are the two most important factors to virtual and remote teams. Without trust, relationships are bankrupt. Abuses of trust can always be found but these occur in spite of whatever systems we put in place. Mobile workers thrive when managers give them complete trust. In some respects managers of mobile workers have no other choice. Use trust to create strong relationships. When some concrete behavior and not just someone else’s word of mouth shows that trust has been violated, then take it away, but not until then.
9. Use adaptive management styles tailored to individual workers
Every employee is different. Mobile workers make it easier for managers to take a more personalized approach in how they work and interact with members of their team. It takes more work and effort on a manager’s part but the results can be phenomenal. Understanding what enables each employee to perform at his or her best is the most important responsibility of a manager.
10. Leverage technology
Technology drives and supports managing mobile workers. Using technology well is not as simple as it appears. Standard models of communication and transaction should not always be mapped in a simple one-to-one way. Communication and collaboration technologies offer new and exciting models. These need to be purposely exploited in order for organizations to realize the full extent of benefits these wonderful new capabilities and features offer.
Beyond email, IM and phone, Web conferencing plays a key role in virtual team enablement. Take an inventory of “stuff” you need to collaborate on with your virtual team. If the list includes Word docs, spreadsheets, software applications, or anything else on your desktop, Web conferencing will be critical for collaborating in real time. You’re projects will lag if you can’t be on the same page with mobile workers.
Australian project management to go international
Posted by Arjun ThomasSource : Dynamic Export
The Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Project Management Association (IPMA) with view to becoming a member of the IPMA in September.
“Being linked in as a key member of this reputable international body will bring a wide range of opportunities,” said Dr Bill Young, AIPM national president. “Membership of IPMA will enhance opportunities for our colleagues in the Asia-Pacific region to participate in a large and growing global project management community.”
Young said the membership would assist the transferability of Australia project management skills internationally: “Ultimately we expect this initiative to raise project management standards and open doors for Australian project managers internationally.”
Signing of the memorandum occurred at the close of the 23rd IPMA World Congress in Helsinki yesterday. The AIPM will submit its membership application later this year and also make a submission to host the IPMA World Congress in Australia.
PM Jobs
Posted by Arjun ThomasProject Manager – Bahrain – Interior Management
Location: Middle East
Salary: Negotiable
Company: Globester Recruitment
Sector: Building services
Job role: Project manager
Job type: Permanent
Date posted: 12/06/2009 19:32
Our client has an immediate requirement for a Project Manager who is highly experienced in the project management of large scale interior fit-out projects. This company works on ambitious and prestigious interior contracts throughout the GCC region.
This role will be based in Bahrain and the client will only consider applicants that fulfill the below requirements.
Experience of working in the Gulf region area is essential for this role. No candidate will be considered without this experience. This client is not providing schooling allowances for families so this role is most suited to professionals who do not require this. The package depends on the candidate’s experience. It will include transport and accommodation, transfers and insurance.
Location: Saudi Arabia
Salary: £50k+ (dep on exp) + relocations bens inc housing, medical, schooling
Company: M2R Ltd
Sector: Building services
Job role: Project manager
Job type: Permanent
Date posted: 12/06/2009 13:01
Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest exporter of petroleum and as a result the kingdom’s wealth is world renowned. With extremely low crime rates and high standard of living Saudi Arabia has a history of being a destination of choice for skilled professionals looking to make the most of their skills.
Our client is a provider of engineering, construction, and project management. With a global presence and a reputation for delivering exceptional results on the most demanding and complex of projects they are a true market leader.
They are currently working on one of the most ambitious construction projects in the world and have a requirement for an Area Project Manager to work on residential projects.
Responsible for the planning and execution of contracts for all residential areas within the project from initiation to hand over alongside the management of construction personnel including budget management , you will provide technical information and guidance to construction and engineering personnel on the projects and will also oversee a wide range of engineering and design functions.
In order to be considered for this unique opportunity you will have substantial experience in project/engineering/construction management in the civil or residential sectors and will have managerial and design expertise.
A degree in an Engineering discipline is also essential.
Our client is offering an excellent salary and benefits package to suitable candidates inclusive of housing, medical insurance & schooling making the role a very attractive proposition for the right candidate.
Salary: £50k+ (dependent upon experience) + Relocation benefits including housing, medical insurance, schooling + annual return flights etc.
If you fulfil all of the criteria above and would like to be considered for the role please apply immediately as my client is looking to recruit as soon as possible.
City of Woodland Hills- Airport Development Project Manager
Job Description:
- Responsible for project management duties including design, coordination and approval processing of projects as well as assisting in business development efforts for California.
- Coordinate the work of individual design team members through all phases of development.
- Provide mentoring to team members as well as quality control of the project work.
- Establish and maintain good client relations, and be involved with marketing, contracts, design and production meetings.
- Provide overall strategy and technical solution development for project needs and challenges.
-Successful candidate will participate in reviews with various government agencies for compliance. – Conduct work sessions for design development and contract documents in conjunction with other staff.
- Responsible for tracking the financial aspects of the projects, including preparation of billing, account collection, proposals, etc.
PM Jobs
Posted by Arjun ThomasTranstec: Project Manager – Framework Contracts Department
Job Description :
You will be managing Framework contracts within one or two specific sectors. Specific Tasks: Project Management, resource planning, building and continually motivating the best experts available within a specific sector, selection of candidates, reviewing CVs, development of financial proposals, budgeting and cost control, supervising the financial aspects of all projects, approving incoming invoices, providing general back-office support to field staff, coordinating progress meetings with consortium partners, ensuring formal communications with the client, establishing and delopping good relations with partners and experts, field-visit on some of the assignments. Based Brussels, Belgium with some field visits
Job Description:
Internationally renowned artist seeking New York based freelance Project Manager/Architect with 6-7 years project management experience.
Construction site project manager experience applied toward overseeing the fabrication and installation for a sculpture. This job does not involve design phase of the project, it is strictly overseeing and inspecting the process for fabrication, shipment and installation of the work. Please have 6-7 years experience in architecture, project management, sourcing fabricators within budget, inspecting architectural specs, coordinating shipments, scheduling and managing construction/ art installation, all with impeccable professionalism. Some travel outside NY required.
Senior Project Manager – Saudi Arabia – Consultant
Role: Senior Project Manager
Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Project: 80 plus storey High-Rise Commercial Tower
Reports: Project Director
Requirements:
- Experience of working for a consultancy
- Extensive experience of Middle East Project Delivery
- Degree Level, ideally with RICS
- Westernised education
Knowledge in Projects
Posted by Arjun ThomasOrganizations are growing quickly. mergers, acquisitions and attrition are just some of the challenges to overcome when trying to maintain a knowledgeable workforce.
Companies battle everyday to maximize the capture of tacit and explicit knowledge from their employees and have come up with a number of ways to do so. Collaboration tools, knowledge maps , communities of practice, content management tools, after-action reviews and lessons learned sessions are just some of the methods organizations have devised to counter knowledge attrition.
No single approach however is enough to ensure that knowledge is retained, a mix and match of approaches is required. Though the bottom line is this, unless an organization’s culture is geared towards sharing knowledge, creating systems and processes to enable the sharing of knowledge is a moot point.
These approaches can be followed within the a project as well and become essential tools you , as a project manager, can use to your advantage in running a successful project.
The After-Action review : This is a strategy that has been adopted from the military. Often after an engagement the team will sit down together and go over what occurred, analyzing strengths and weakness. This is an excellent feedback mechanism to promote learning within the team. On a large scale, trends and patterns can be observed by comparing multiple groups, allowing best practices and lessons learned to be replicated across teams.
Communities of Practice: Is one of the simplest ways of connecting people who need knowledge with the groups that have it. Communities of practice are an excellent way to collect and disseminate information to a large audience. In order to maximize the use of a CoP a careful balance of leadership and freedom needs to be given to the community to promote sharing of ideas and knowledge, as a lack of leadership or direction could seriously damage the usefulness of the CoP in the long run.
Expert Directories : Another great way to tap into the tacit knowledge that exists in the organization – the expert directories is a method by which people can interact directly with people considered Subject Matter Experts ( SME’s ) . This however requires voluntary participation by the experts as it requires them to devote time from their busy schedules to address questions that do not benefit them directly.
Information Repositories : The simplest method of extracting and storing explicit information is the information repository. In its most basic form is a large folder with information stored in some sort of a structure. Advanced information repositories or content management systems use meta-tags and taxonomy structures to organize information for the end user in such a way as to provide the maximum value. By creating processes around the system, organization can ensure that all explicit information find’s a place somewhere in the application. It also acts as a medium for the transition of tacit knowledge to explicit.
These are just some of the methods that you could use to promote knowledge sharing and transfer in your organization or project. Keep in mind however that true knowledge retention is a daunting task and unless you have a clear approach mapped out it could lead to some serious complications.