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Author: George Pitagorsky

George Pitagorsky, integrates core disciplines and applies people centric systems and process thinking to achieve sustainable optimal performance. He is a coach, teacher and consultant. George authored The Zen Approach to Project Management, Managing Conflict and Managing Expectations and IIL’s PM Fundamentals™. He taught meditation at NY Insight Meditation Center for twenty-plus years and created the Conscious Living/Conscious Working and Wisdom in Relationships courses. Until recently, he worked as a CIO at the NYC Department of Education.
PMTimes_Aug14_2024

PM for the Changemakers

Written by George Pitagorsky on . Posted in Articles.

For changemakers to succeed, project managers and key stakeholders must recognize the need to go beyond the nuts and bolts of project management to address the need for strategic thinking, adaptability, and resilience to manage in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment. That is the message of PMI 4.0. “a growth strategy to address the PM needs of changemakers.”[1]

 

Changemakers

Changemakers proactively drive change and transformational efforts. The clever ones have for decades used project management concepts and methods to manage the projects and programs that make change happen. Change leaders – entrepreneurs, product and process innovators, and social change agents – have employed project managers.

Those who have not recognized the need for effective project management have floundered.

 

Going Beyond the Basics

Two PM experts said in a recent article that we have “entered a time when requirements-based schedules and estimates are no longer sufficient because the nature of projects has shifted to innovative projects.”[2]

We entered that time many years ago. We have been performing innovative and disruptive projects all along. Projects are and have always been the vehicles for innovation and organizational change.

The need for adaptability and agility has been recognized for years by the PM establishment after decades of practical experience in the field. The need for strategic management to align project work with organizational goals and values has also long been recognized.

Project managers who adhered too strictly to the standard approaches have often failed. Changemakers who have yet to make project portfolio and program management a priority have wasted time and money.

 

PM as an Art

However, project and portfolio management is not a cure-all. We still see large numbers of projects led by professional project managers fail, often because professional PMs have not been cognitively ready and trained to apply the effective decision-making, adaptability, courage, and resilience needed to creatively manage volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) situations.

PM is more of an art than a science.

 

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VUCA is the Rule, Not the Exception

Formal PM training has focused on the performance of projects in which requirements are well-defined and conditions are under the control of the project team or PMO. As a project manager, PM consultant, and technology executive I have never experienced such projects.

Granted, my experience has been in the technology and organizational change realm, not in engineering and construction projects where more firm requirements are likely. But even in those fields, changing requirements and external conditions beyond the control of the project manager have been common.

 

There is nothing new about requirements being discovered as product and process design and implementation take place. To address this reality, the Agile Manifesto was produced in 2001 based on twenty-plus years of prior experience. Jim Highsmith, writing for the Agile Alliance, stated

“In order to succeed in the new economy, to move aggressively into the era of e-business, e-commerce, and the web, companies have to rid themselves of their Dilbert manifestations of make-work and arcane policies. This freedom from the inanities of corporate life attracts proponents of Agile Methodologies and scares the begeebers (you can’t use the word ‘s–t’ in a professional paper) out of traditionalists. Quite frankly, the Agile approaches scare corporate bureaucrats— at least those that are happy pushing process for process’ sake versus trying to do the best for the “customer” and deliver something timely and tangible and “as promised”—because they run out of places to hide.”

 

The Future is Now!

No longer can we strictly adhere to ridged methodologies and attempts at setting schedules and budgets in concrete before we have a sense of the true nature of each project.

But let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater. To be successful organizations must adopt the skillsets and methodologies that directly address VUCA while honoring the wisdom of traditional project management. We need realistic planning, control, and execution.

 

In addition to traditional PM skills, Drs Kerzner and Zeitoun identified the following skills required to manage projects “in the future” in their article “The Transforming Dynamics of Project Management’s Future“[3]  –

“Brainstorming, creative problem-solving, Design Thinking, Idea Management, rapid prototype development, innovation leadership, strategic planning, managing diversity, co-creation team management, supply chain management, advanced risk management, and change management”

These are the same skills, under one label or another, that have been used to succeed in the past and present. The future is now and has been since the earliest days of project management.

 

The Foundation: Cognitive Readiness

The foundation for the effective application of these skills is cognitive readiness –

“The readiness of individuals and teams to apply their skills and to explore their faults and deficiencies and make the effort to overcome them. Cognitive readiness implies the courage and candor to objectively assess performance and improve it as needed. It implies resilience and the capacity to accept uncertainty and paradox. It is enabled by and enables a healthy perspective and the application of knowledge and experience.”[4]

Cognitive readiness, being ready for anything, is the single most important quality needed to address VUCA and the projects we perform in complex environments where change is the only thing we can rely on.

 

Four factors contribute to being ready for anything:

  • Technical and interpersonal skills along with business acumen to enable decision-making during the initiating, planning, controlling, monitoring, and closing of projects
  • A realistic view (systems and process thinking) of the way things are — Interacting systems and processes, the reality of not always getting what you want, and the inevitability of change — to have a solid foundation for planning and managing expectations and conflict
  • Emotional and Social intelligence, based on mindful self-awareness to enable responsiveness, candid performance assessment, and effective relationships
  • The courage and insight to confront and overcome barriers like bias, anger, fear, frustration, confusion, and clinging to untenable beliefs and impossible expectations.

 

Action

To succeed in ongoing innovation and change management relies on cultivating these factors.

To cultivate them, implement the training and ongoing learning management to integrate them into the fabric of the organization. Skills training falls short without the inclusion of the critical factors of systems and process thinking, mindfulness-based social and emotional intelligence, and the importance of the courage to speak truth to power.

If your organization is stuck in the past, unwilling, or unable to recognize the need to manage VUCA creatively, take it upon yourself to develop the skills and concepts you need to succeed.

 

For more on this topic see these other articles by George Pitagorsky:

Ready for Anything – Mindfully Aware https://www.projecttimes.com/articles/ready-for-anything-mindfully-aware/

VUCA, BANI, and Digital Transformation https://www.projecttimes.com/articles/vuca-bani-and-digital-transformation-managing-radical-change/

‘Delay Thinking’ is a Project Success Factor https://www.projecttimes.com/articles/delay-thinking-is-a-project-success-factor/

Decision Making – A Critical Success Factor https://www.projecttimes.com/articles/decision-making-a-critical-success-factor/

The Most Important Thing – Systems Thinking https://www.projecttimes.com/articles/the-most-important-thing-systems-thinking/

 

[1] https://www.pmi.org/chapters/luxembourg/stay-current/newsletter/introducing-pmi-4_0#:~:text=PMI%204.0%20is%20a%20growth,businesses%2C%20people%20and%20society%20overall
[2] https://blog.iil.com/the-transforming-dynamics-of-project-managements-future/
[3]  https://blog.iil.com/the-transforming-dynamics-of-project-managements-future/
[4] https://www.projecttimes.com/george-pitagorsky/project-management-education-cultivating-cognitive-readiness-and-optimal-performance.html)
PMTimes_July24_2024

Six Essential Abilities for PM Excellence

Written by George Pitagorsky on . Posted in Articles.

Six essential abilities enable effective performance in any role, whether as a manager, leader, partner, or team member, at work or at home. These are in addition to traditional project management skills such as planning, scheduling, and managing risk.

The foundation for these abilities is:

  • Mindset – the way you perceive the world through your mental models, attitudes, and beliefs
  • Emotional intelligence – your capacity to manage your emotions and be aware of your impact on others, and
  • Mindfulness – your capacity to be objectively aware of what is happening internally and around you.

 

Six Essentials

The six essential abilities for effective performance are particularly important when working with others in complex, uncertain, changing circumstances to accomplish objectives. They are:

  • Adaptability – the ability to change as circumstances change
  • Communication – the ability to exchange ideas and understandings.
  • Conflict-management/Problem-solving/ Decision-making – the ability to confront uncertainty and problems to resolve them by making effective decisions
  • Time management – the ability to organize and balance your effort, and the way you use your time.
  • Relationship management – sustaining healthy connections with others
  • Resilience – the ability to bounce back when faced with difficult challenges and obstacles.

 

Combining the Essentials

While we can cultivate each ability independently of the others it is the combination of them that makes the difference:

  • Communication, adaptability, relationship management, and resilience support problem-solving and decision-making.
  • Communication, effective problem-solving, time management, and adaptability enable healthy relationships.
  • Healthy relationships are essential for conflict management and problem-solving.

 

Cultivating The Abilities – Integrated Learning

These abilities can be the subject of courses, coaching, and experiential learning opportunities, and embedded in traditional PM skill training, for example, highlighting adaptability as a factor in risk management and communication and decision-making in planning courses. Regular reminders in team meetings and work sessions help to integrate the essentials into daily life and sustain and improve performance.

In this article, we will point out the basics for each ability and identify the roles of the foundations of mindset, emotional intelligence, and mindfulness.

 

Adaptability

Adaptability is the ability to change as circumstances change. And circumstances change all the time. For example, adaptability is being able to shift roles, responsibilities, and schedules when a team member leaves, or when any change occurs that disrupts plans.

To adapt requires emotional intelligence with the ability to remain calm, accept the uncertainty of the situation, and confront any resistance to making sensible changes, including the disappointment about slipping the schedule if that is likely to happen.

A growth, as opposed to a fixed mindset, opens you to alternatives and learning. A positive mindset recognizes that each obstacle is an opportunity to move in a new direction rather than a dead-end. When you apply a positive growth mindset you accept uncertainty and an absence of complete control, it opens the door to adaptability.

 

Communication

Communication is the ability to exchange ideas and understandings. It transcends speech and writing to include listening, body language, and the intuitive sense of the feeling tones that communicate mood.

Whether adapting to change, convincing executives to authorize a project, getting a client to sign off, inform, or motivate the team, the ability to clearly say what is on your mind in a way that enables others to understand it is critical to success.

Mindfulness and emotional intelligence support communication by making you sensitive to your feelings and habits, and to the responses of others to what you are saying or not saying to them.

 

Conflict Management/Problem-solving/ Decision-making

Conflict management involves adaptability, communication, problem-solving, and decision-making. Conflict arises when there is uncertainty regarding a path forward, or there are alternatives that seem to be or are opposed to one another. A decision must be made to resolve the conflict.

An open-minded mindset founded on systems and process thinking enables strategic and critical thinking. These lead to more effective decisions.

Emotional intelligence and mindfulness help to avoid unnecessary competitiveness and promote collaboration, so conflicts are relationship builders rather than relationship busters.

 

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Time Management

Managing your time puts you in charge of optimizing your effectiveness. Cultivate a mindset that respects your time and work style and recognizes the needs of others for uninterrupted work periods and rest.

  • Prioritize and schedule tasks based on criticality, your preferences, the need for collaboration, task duration, and wait times.
  • Focus on one thing at a time to avoid multitasking. But be open to multitasking when it makes sense. In other words, adapt.
  • Avoid interruptions and distractions by blocking work sessions as if they were meetings or other busy periods.
  • Apply mindfulness to avoid being drawn down rabbit holes and away from your task focus.
  • Take rest and recovery periods, mindful of the onset of mental or physical fatigue.

 

Relationship Management

A systems and process mindset acknowledges that relationships are the single most important aspect of project management if not all of life. A project team is a system of people performing processes. If relationships are unhealthy, full of tension, inappropriately competitive, and lacking in mutual respect, performance is likely to be subpar.

Communication, conflict management, and adaptability when founded on emotional intelligence and mindfulness of your emotions and the emotions of others will generate healthy relationships. Healthy relationships will enable effective communication, and conflict management, as well as help the entire team be adaptable.

 

Resilience

Resilience is the ability to recover and be ready to respond when faced with difficult challenges and obstacles. It differentiates highly effective project managers from those who either burn out or perform marginally well under pressure.

You know you or those around you are not resilient when depression and defeatism follow a setback. Resilience is built by

  • Cultivating a growth mindset so you can treat obstacles and failures as learning opportunities,
  • Applying mindfulness to be self-aware of tendencies to over-dramatize crisis, and
  • Enhancing emotional intelligence to avoid reactivity.

Resilience requires being realistic and optimistic. It is enabled when you accept whatever has happened and let go of remorse and blame to recover and move on with renewed enthusiasm.

 

Call to Action

In summary, project management and performance excellence require a positive growth mindset with a base in systems and process thinking, your capacity to manage your emotions and behavior, and mindful awareness of your thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations.

Together these are a foundation for the essential behavioral abilities that enable the optimal application of project management technical skills.

Achieve sustainable optimal performance:

  1. Continuously assess individual and team behavioral capabilities
  2. Assess the degree to which they are valued in your environment
  3. Develop or refine your learning plans
  4. Cultivate the foundations and essential abilities in conjunction with technical project management skills
  5. Assess the difference in performance
  6. Adjust.
PMTimes_July10_2024

Critical Thinking is a Critical Success Factor

Written by George Pitagorsky on . Posted in Articles.

Critical thinking is a process for making judgments and decisions. It applies analysis and evaluation to decide if information makes sense.

 

Scenario

Imagine a scenario in which a convincing speaker argues for prioritizing projects in a certain way. She is in a position to make a unilateral decision or to influence enough people to agree with her opinion. She cuts off anyone who brings up facts or alternative opinions to question her statements and decisions. Her priorities become the basis for capital planning for the next several years.

Were those priorities best for the organization? Without critical thinking, we’d never know.

How often are design, strategy, or other decisions made based on biases, beliefs, and unsupported opinions?

 

Controversy

Critical thinking is a foundation for sound decisions, whether in the realms of project management, organizational dynamics, or politics. Without critical thinking, there is the danger of allowing despots and self-proclaimed experts to drive poor decisions.

Strangely, critical thinking is controversial. There are people, some of whom are in powerful positions to influence decisions, who oppose applying analysis to evaluate opinions, biases, and beliefs.

Is the opposition because critical thinking takes time and effort, or is it that ego gets in the way? People want what they want and do not want logic and facts to get in their way. Objectivity and fact-based reality are annoying to those who want their way, even if their way is of questionable value.

 

Requirements

Critical thinking requires:

  • Active listening
  • Open-mindedness
  • Growth mindset
  • Self-discipline, and
  • Self-awareness.

 

Active Listening

Active listening means listening to understand, by paying attention, allowing others to have their say without interruptions, questioning, staying focused, considering non-verbal clues like the tone of voice and body language, turning off thoughts like “I know what he’s going to say”, and withholding judgment.

 

Open-mindedness

Open-mindedness includes curiosity, the ability to accept multiple perspectives, and the possibility that you may be wrong. It is a quality that enables active listening.

Being open-minded is having a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset. It implies being curious and courageous enough to surrender to vulnerability and uncertainty.

Brene Brown in her book Dare to Lead writes that over time “we turn to self-protecting – choosing certainty over curiosity, armor over vulnerability, and knowing over learning.”

When we avoid the uncertainty of not being perfect, in control, and believing that our way is the right and only way, we face the reality of unnecessary emotional conflict leading to bad decisions and unhealthy relationships.

Open-minded curiosity enables root-cause analysis. It avoids jumping to conclusions based on a need to eliminate a problem’s symptoms or to find someone or something to blame.

 

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Growth vs. Fixed Mindset

Your mindset is the sum of your attitudes, moods, perceptions, beliefs, and mental models. It determines your behavior and emotional responses.

A Growth Mindset thinks that failures and challenges are growth opportunities. Feedback is taken as constructive even when it is negative. A Growth Mindset is open to learning.

People with a Fixed Mindset do not like to be challenged. They define themselves in terms of success or failure and will often either give up or fight when faced with challenges. They tend to think that ignorance is a permanent quality rather than something that can be corrected by learning. They tend to be closed-minded.

A Growth Mindset is a foundation for critical thinking.

 

Self-Discipline

There is often a desire to “get to the point” as quickly as possible. We want to make the decision and get on with the action. We want to be right.

Critical thinking means not jumping to conclusions.

It takes time and effort to listen, analyze, and reflect on the short- and long-term implications of decisions. It takes self-discipline to slow down and avoid impulsively plunging ahead to make snap decisions without considering facts and alternative opinions.

We must take the time to use classical project management skills – estimating, risk management, communication, control techniques, procurement management, quality management, and working with people – to acquire the information needed to make informed decisions based on facts while considering emotions.

And when facts are not available, we must make sure that we are deciding with that in mind – understanding the risks involved. We must be clear and make it clear to others that estimates are estimates and not definitive predictions. Expectations are not always fulfilled.

Assess risks. Assumptions are fine if they are correctly identified as assumptions and there are alternative assumptions with an understanding of the probability of their being correct. We also need alternate pathways in case we run into problems.

 

Self-awareness

“Self-awareness is knowing who or what we are, our goals and intentions, strengths, and weaknesses, and the way the mind works, our inner workings. It is realizing that the blend of these affects our behavior. Self-awareness is the foundation for emotional and social intelligence. It enables self-management, the ability to choose how to respond rather than to react.”[1]

Self-awareness tells us that we are jumping to conclusions. It enables self-discipline and the management of our emotions and habits. With self-awareness, we can tell when we are being humble enough to accept the need to validate our certainty about being right. We can sense when we are arrogantly insisting that we are right simply because we believe it.

Self-aware we can be ready for anything because we have confidence in our resilience and adaptability.

It means questioning mindsets and motivations.

When you are self-aware you can sense when you are succumbing to the fear of stepping out of your comfort zone to confront uncertainty and the possibility of being wrong. And you perceive your effect on others.

 

Critical Thinking – A Critical Success Factor

Critical Thinking is using analysis and evaluation to make effective decisions. It overcomes bias and belief to make highly effective decisions and helps to minimize unnecessary conflict.

To be a critical thinker and to have an organization that values critical thinking, it is necessary to overcome resistance to investing the required time and effort and to cultivate

  • Active listening
  • Open-mindedness
  • Growth mindset
  • Self-discipline, and
  • Self-awareness.

Decisions and the actions they drive will be more likely to be the “right” ones the more people apply objectivity and rational thinking, whether in business, at home, or in governance.

 

[1] Pitagorsky, George, The Peaceful Warrior’s Path, Self-aware Living, 2023, p. 224.

PMTimes_Jun26_2024

Minimum Viable Certainty and Optimal Performance

Written by George Pitagorsky on . Posted in Articles.

Optimal performance is operating as best as possible. It is achieved when we are in Flow, a state in which the sense of time blurs, we have a sense of effortless effort, and we get out of our own way. This is true of individuals and teams as well. To perform optimally we need to be fully absorbed in a task, concentrating on a clear goal.

We need certainty about where to channel our attention to let go into full absorption. And, we need to be able to accept uncertainty to avoid the distractions that come when we are not comfortable with it.

 

Attention and Focus

Concentration is a requirement for Flow. It is the ability to stay focused on a chosen object, a goal, an activity, or a task. But if we look more closely, we see that concentration needs focus and attention.

To sustain focus on a task you must be mindfully aware and persistent. That is what makes it possible to recognize distractions and remain focused by coming back to or staying with your task.

“According to Amisha Jha, a neuroscientist, there are three kinds of attention:

  • Open attention—using a floodlight to see or be objectively aware of what is occurring in a broad expanse. This is mindfulness.
  • Focused attention—shining a flashlight or laser to direct light on a chosen object. This is concentration.
  • Executive attention—deciding what, within the field of open attention, to attend to and what to do about it, regulating responses with mindful awareness and discernment, avoiding distraction. This is the effort required to sustain open and focused attention.”[1]

Focused attention—concentration—elicits and cultivates the experience of resting comfortably in the present moment. Open attention or mindfulness makes you aware of experiences and movement, telling you when you are distracted.

 

Certainty About The Goal

A clear goal is needed to focus attention. If the goal is fuzzy or constantly changing the ability to perform optimally is lost. We know this from experience in project work and life in general.

Once we start on a task, the more we are uncertain about where we are going – the goal – the more we are distracted.

When the goal changes, particularly if it happens frequently, we not only have to shift our attention, but we lose confidence in our leadership. Shifting attention we lose momentum. With a lack of confidence in leadership, we lose motivation.

While goals are subject to change when they are well thought out, they can be relatively stable.

 

Examples

Imagine a team of U.S. Navy Seals on a mission. If their target is changed in the middle of the mission, they will be less able to focus on the objective. If it changes more than once, they will likely lose trust and confidence. Their performance will suffer.

The same is true of a project performer or team faced with frequently changing goals and objectives.

 

Minimum Viable Certainty and Performance

But the need for certainty goes beyond goals. To perform optimally we need certainty about our next steps.

When goals are broken down into short-term goals, the objectives needed to be met to accomplish the goal, then each objective can be accomplished with greater certainty. The shorter the task, the fewer risk events can occur.

In a recent article, A. Poje states that “Recent research and the wisdom of the SEALs suggest that minimum viable certainty might be the key to achieving our highest potential.”[2]

 

Ultimately, one of the few things we can be certain of is uncertainty. Anything can change at any moment. Minimal viable certainty refers to the period during which certainty is high. We can create windows of high certainty, periods during which we can be relatively (though not 100%) certain about what is going to happen.

Navy SEALs, need very short periods of certainty. They seek a minimum viable certainty of 5 minutes or less. While skiing, the skier doesn’t look at obstacles but instead finds and plans for the path of certainty. That kind of planning is moment-to-moment. You sustain momentum and avoid hesitation and unnecessary thinking.

 

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Creating Certainty Windows

Executives, managers, and individual performers often feel the need for some certainty when there is a barrage of priority changes, and interruptions like emails and ‘urgent” calls while they are expected to hit planned target dates.

Each new message amplifies uncertainty. Sometimes it seems there is no way to get into Flow.

In project work our minimum viable certainty window is much longer than it is for the skier or the Seal – it may be hours, days, or weeks instead of seconds or minutes. Even in an environment with constantly changing priorities and interruptions we can plan and create windows of certainty.

While we may have a six-month project plan we can make our personal or team plan for a month, a week, a day, or even an hour out. In that window of certainty, we can focus attention and perform in Flow. Then we can regularly step back to adjust the longer-term goals and objectives.

 

Adaptability

While we need some certainty, we must be comfortable with the discomfort of uncertainty and confident in our ability to accept and adapt to whatever happens.

That comfort and confidence allow us to eliminate the worry that uncertainty brings. Instead of expecting things to turn out the way we’d like them to we focus and remain fully aware of what is happening now and in the next few moments so we can respond rather than react.

Minimum viable certainty is enough to keep you on your game, performing at the highest level possible.

 

To create a certainty window, turn off the interruptions, carving out the uninterrupted time needed to fully focus on the task at hand. If you can’t do it 100%, prioritize the interruptions so that you are increasingly likely to give yourself and your team the uninterrupted minimal viable certainty needed.

While you can never be certain, you can create stability by taking control of your situation as best you can. And you can cultivate the acceptance and resilience you need to be comfortable with the discomfort of uncertainty and anything that comes up.

When you strive for optimal performance, mindfully focus on the now and let go of distractions like worry and interruptions. Find the minimum viable certainty that works for you in your environment.

[1] [1] Pitagorsky, George, The Peaceful Warrior’s Path, 2023, p.135-136.
[2] https://medium.com/@andrewpoje/navigating-the-waters-of-peak-performance-the-seals-secret-to-flow-a8810606b4a9

Managing the Present Moment Even If You Don’t Like It

Written by George Pitagorsky on . Posted in Articles.

A project manager asked what she could do about not liking the present moment.  She was learning to do mindfulness meditation and was finding that when she was being mindful of the present moment, she found it stressful.

She was bombarded by problem after problem experiencing anxiety centered on the fear that her project was going to fail and that she would be fired.

The stress was getting to her. She was experiencing stomach pains and a torrent of thoughts about the impossibility of meeting her schedule commitments and what would happen if she failed. She ruminated about what she could have or should have done differently.

 

Being Present – Here Now

“I find it much more helpful to drop all our ideas, concepts, and beliefs and return again and again to the openness of not knowing and the immediacy and simplicity of this moment, this living presence Here-Now.”[1] Joan Tollifson

From Here-Now you can do whatever needs to be done, say whatever needs saying. The process is simple – note, accept, analyze, act, repeat.

 

Mindfully Present

I practice, write about[2], and teach techniques for being present, to live attuned to the experience of the present moment – mindfully self-aware. That is the objective of mindfulness meditation, breathing techniques, mindful movement, grounding, awareness of physical sensations, and all the other mental and emotional wellness techniques.

Being mindful is being present – fully engaged and aware of your body’s sensations, emotions, thoughts, the environment, and the others you share it with.

Being present fuels healthy relationships and helps to manage stress and anxiety. It is a foundation for emotional intelligence and is linked to the ability to be focused and able to choose the most effective course of action.

Being present is the opposite of being spaced out, distracted, reactive, and in denial. Focus and objective choice enhance productivity and creativity.

 

Accept and Let Go

So, what can you do when the experience of the present moment is unpleasant?

The answer is simple, though not easy – accept and let go into Flow.

To accept is to take note of the unpleasantness and your feelings about it, acknowledging the present moment for what it is. To let go into Flow means to see if you can do something to manage a change skillfully.

 

Common Sense Wisdom

If you know you don’t like the present moment and can ask what you can do about it, you are being mindful of your experience and conscious of the possibility of taking action.

Common sense wisdom lets you know that you cannot change the past or the present moment and that you can influence (but not control) the future. You can accept the feelings and the situation that has triggered them.

Alternatives to that are denial and suppression.

Denial is making yourself believe that the present feelings aren’t happening. It is sticking your head in the ground like the myth of an ostrich hiding from a predator.

Suppression is medicating or meditating yourself to relieve stress symptoms. This is a better tactic than denial. Relieving the symptoms can be healthy if it is a conscious choice used to be more effective at managing your emotions and making change.

 

Manage Your Emotions

Denying your feelings and the situation is the least skillful approach. It offers no way out of the situation. Your project is still going to be late and at some point, you will be confronted with reality.

Suppression is a way to moderate the effects of your stress. Medicating or meditating away the symptoms can be helpful if you do it as a conscious choice to put yourself in a better position to address the situation and avoid the damaging effects of stress, depression, and anger. Suppressing your feelings as a knee-jerk reaction is a form of denial that leads to habitual or addictive behavior.

Acceptance gives you a choice. You can choose to suppress the stress responses, or not. But most importantly you can choose practical options for handling the situation.

With mindful self-awareness, you can manage your emotions. That means you can fully experience your emotions without reacting or being driven by them.

 

Analyze

Then, analyze to see what about the present moment you dislike, why you dislike it, and what you can do about it.

Without analysis, you are reacting. With it, you are responding.

Analysis is using your intellect to break the issue down and objectively consider alternatives. It includes the assessment of your gut feeling, criteria, priorities, and facts.

 

Act – Do Something, Or Not

If it is feasible, do something to make a change. Remember that doing nothing is a choice, though it is usually not the best in the context of projects.

In any case, accept that you can influence the future, but you cannot control it. The outcome is uncertain, and you may not like it.

 

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Application – Manage the Project

Applying this process of noting, accepting, analyzing, and acting in the real world of projects is what skillful project managers do when faced with unpleasant situations. They apply the technical skills of planning and controlling.

For Julie, our project manager, schedule overrun began as small incremental slips on critical tasks. Then, about halfway into the project, a key team member left for a better opportunity. Replacing him took two weeks followed by a learning curve and the work of integrating a new team member.

After an initial bout of panic, Julie took a few breaths and observed her feelings. Stepping back, she took an objective stance and considered her options – let stakeholders know what was going on, work faster, rescope, accept that the project would be late, and take action to minimize the damage.

She realized that hiding from the reality of the situation is a no-win approach. She also assessed her fear of being fired and realized that if she was fired because of events beyond her control, it would be an indication that her superiors were not particularly skillful.

 

Bottomline

The message is that if you don’t like the present moment, accept what you can’t change, analyze the situation and your options, and take action to influence the future. And while you are doing that become comfortable with adversity and uncertainty.

 

[1] Tollifson, Joan, “Death, The End of Self-Improvement”
[2] Check out “The Peaceful Warrior’s Path: Optimal Wellness through Self-Aware Living” https://a.co/d/97LpYib . It addresses the mindset and techniques to cultivate sustained wellness by accepting and letting go into Flow.