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Tag: Career

The faux thinking: “I know it all”

Written by Divya Kishore on . Posted in Articles. 7 Comments on The faux thinking: “I know it all”

Often, I feel I am living under a delusion that I know the answers to all the questions when it relates to me.

Fair enough, right? Each of us knows ourselves the best.  However, a self-assessment check is not only a healthy habit but also aids in taking corrective actions based on the results. How do I perform a self-assessment? Here’s an idea to conduct this evaluation test: Ask questions by playing the role of a stakeholder (describing your needs) and a business analyst (eliciting requirements) at the same time. I know what you are thinking, “How is interviewing myself going to add any value?” This simple yet powerful technique forces us to reflect and come up with honest responses. You will be surprised to see how much of a gap is there between what we are thinking vs what responses we give when questioned.

Imagine you are considering pursuing a certification. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself:

Interviewer (You): Why do you want to become certified?

Response from stakeholder (You): I want to enhance my professional credibility. Also, the sense of accomplishment that I met a professional goal will be satisfying.

Interviewer (You): What specific problems are you facing in your progress towards achieving this certification?

Response from stakeholder (You): I am unable to take out time to prepare for certification and tend to procrastinate.

Interviewer (You): What are you going to do to stop procrastinating?

Response from stakeholder (You): By scheduling the exam date and then backtracking to prepare based on this date.

Interviewer (You): What are the risks associated with this certification?

Response from stakeholder (You): Time and opportunity cost.

Interviewer (You): How would you measure success?

Response from stakeholder (You): Passing the certification exam on the first attempt.

Interviewer (You): What if you don’t pass in your first attempt?

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Stakeholder (You): I will focus on the topics I didn’t score well and schedule my next exam date so that I don’t procrastinate (again!)

Interviewer (You): How will this certification add value to your career?

Response from stakeholder (You): I can apply what I have learned to my daily work and it gives the external world a chance to interpret my level of knowledge in my domain.

Interviewer (You): What would you do differently from what you have done in the past?

Response from stakeholder (You):  I will allocate dedicated study time and follow a schedule diligently.

A few recommendations relating to the self-assessment check:

  1.      Tailor the interview questions to whatever you would like to achieve (personally or professionally). Tip: Find sample questions online.
  2.      Questions and responses can be short or extensive.
  3. Skip the typical questions that you would ask in a requirements elicitation session. Example: You don’t have to ask who is going to benefit from this initiative since this is an exercise for yourself.
  4. You must be self-disciplined to conduct this interview at least once a year. Tip: Schedule a meeting on your calendar for a self-assessment check.
  5. You must be honest when responding to questions.
  6. You must take time to evaluate your interview results and analyze areas of improvement.

What next after this interview?  Create a “to-do” list based on the interview results and post it in a place where you can see it. At a minimum, it will be a reminder to work on those action items before it goes off your radar. I hope you can follow the interview style (or come up with a style of your own) to help you to track progress towards your goals.

“My goal is not to be better than anyone else but better than I used to be” (tinybuddha.com)

Ten Different Ways to Use a Competency Framework in Your Project Career

Written by Lindsay Scott on . Posted in Articles. 3 Comments on Ten Different Ways to Use a Competency Framework in Your Project Career

For any professional working in a change delivery role today there is always that constant need to stay informed with what’s happening in the sector; the skills needed to utilise  different delivery methods; the help need to manage the nuances of people.

In other words, professional development is needed to stay knowledgeable, skilled and competent in the role.

For a long time, project management practitioners have had access to competency frameworks to help them self-assess their levels of competency against best practice benchmarks.

What is a Competency Framework?

“A competency framework is a collection of competences required across the roles in a particular industry or profession. It details the required competences and levels of proficiency needed for each of those roles, encapsulated in role profiles.”

You’ll generally find competency frameworks across most professions – there are certainly already frameworks that exist for project managers and programme managers.

There’s recently a new one for those working in PMO:

“The PMO Competency Framework has been created to provide a standard and a toolset to allow PMO professionals to understand, assess and develop the skills, behaviours and experience to achieve their PMO goals and career potential.”

Ultimately a competency framework becomes a career development tool, something you will keep throughout your career to help you identify skills gaps plus your strengths.

Here are some of the ways you can use a competency framework in your project career.

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Ten Different Ways to Use a Competency Framework

  1. Use a framework to carry out a self-assessment – you work through the competences and identify where your current skills and experience are against the framework.

  2. Use the outcomes of a self-assessment – to identify where you might be falling short against the standard set in the framework. This is all about identifying your skills gaps.

  3. Use the knowledge you’ve gained about your skills gaps to address what you’d like to do about that gap – this is the professional development side of using a framework.

  4. Use a competency framework to assess – or benchmark yourself against an industry-standard – it lets you know how your own skills and experience stack up against a standard.

  5. Use a competency framework to work out what you need skills-wise to perform at the next level up in your profession – you can carry out a self-assessment on one of the more senior role profiles and see what outcome you get – and more importantly, where the gaps are and get thinking about development needed to close these gaps.

  6. Use a competency framework and the role profiles to see what competent looks like for the role you perform – you often find that there are some areas your current role doesn’t touch on. This should help you think about development areas for the future.

  7. Pick up a competency framework and you’ll soon get a feel for that the industry-standard terms are; the terminology used in that industry; how part of the role are actually carried out. It’s a great source when you’re starting out in a new field.

  8. You can use the outcome of your self-assessment with your manager, even using it as part of your performance review – and definitely as a basis for development discussions.

  9. You can use a framework to help you develop your CV – role profiles show what is expected in certain jobs in the marketplace; you can use the indicators in a framework to make sure your CV also highlights you are able to perform these actions and tasks.

  10. You can use a competency framework to write your own job description – how many organisations have you worked in where this is something you’ve had to do – I’ve certainly had to write it many times!

IT specialists and a personal brand or personal nonsense?

Written by Marina Melnyk on . Posted in Articles. 4 Comments on IT specialists and a personal brand or personal nonsense?

Why would a project manager and a business analyst need to create their personal brand?

Recently we’ve discussed the topic of a personal brand with the team and they asked me an interesting question: “Why do I (the questioner), a regular analyst or a hired project manager, need a personal brand? What will it give to me? More money? More interesting projects? Expand my network?” The short answer is “yes, all this and much more”.

And here’s another question that people ask me a lot: “How do some people get the best job offers (although they are not looking for them), but I have already sent a dozen resumes and no one even has called me back?”

What is a personal brand and what value it gives to us when we consciously come to the need for building it.

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For some people, a personal brand is a way to achieve their professional goals: to move up the career ladder, find employees for a team, attract clients or investors. For others, it is an opportunity to gain recognition, a kind of self-expression.

Competition in the IT industry is still strong and while demand is rising, many of the top positions are closed before it comes to posting a job. Moreover, sometimes positions are specially opened for a specific specialist. And this happens because these people are known and talked about, they are recommended.

Before we figure out what a personal brand is, let’s discuss the basic concepts.

A brand is a word that is associated with a certain product or service in the minds of a certain group representatives.

For example, FAGMA (Facebook, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Apple) is the top 5 corporations that launched the global digital transformation. Each of them is a brand. Together they are a brand. But only for a certain, albeit very large, group.

Nutella, BMW, Victoria’s Secret – all of these words say something to certain groups.

By the way, did you know that the word “brand” derived from the Old Scandinavian verb “to burn out” and used to mean “to mark livestock”? Of course, over time, branding changed: at the beginning, artisans began to tag their work. Then it turned into a manufacturer’s race when everyone tried and still tries to prove that their brand was/is better than the others, and that the “burnt” name alone speaks for itself.

Does your name mean something? Again, in your particular group. And how big is this group? If we start talking about a personal brand, we can give the following definitions:

  • A personal brand is what others say about you when you are not around.
  • A personal brand is an impression you create through your words, actions and confirm with results.
  • A personal brand is the correspondence between your inner self-image (you should have one, believe me) and how others perceive you.

Therefore, a professional personal brand can be described as a value proposition that you can boldly and confidently offer to the market. After all, a Youtube channel, an Instagram account with two hundred thousand followers, 5000 subscribers on Facebook can’t yet speak of a professional personal brand. As my colleague, the author of the book “Negotiations with Dolphins” – Maxim Romenskiy, says:

The goals of a personal brand are different.

There are people who need a brand to create a fan club. These people feed on attention. There are people who need a brand to transform it into money / power / influence / promotion opportunities.
It is important to understand that your position will not make people think of you when they open an interesting vacancy. If you want to stand out, you need to share what makes you memorable – “burns” you into the memory of others. These differentiating factors may include your skills, education as well as interesting companies you have worked for, but they can also be related to your personal life, hobbies, passions, charities.

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Try to name your strengths right now.

And it’s not just a common question during interviews. It is what you should know about yourself for sure.

Who am I today and how am I perceived? What are the facts and results that show me as a good specialist? What distinguishes me from other people doing the same job? What kind of specialist do I want to be tomorrow? How do I get there?

Step by step, asking ourselves these questions and conducting an «as is» -> «to be» analysis, we come to that unique image of ourselves, which will be our personal professional brand. This image will make us more competitive, more successful and possibly happier.
At the same time, you need to remember that a personal brand is constant self-improvement. It’s a deep understanding of “who I am today” and how I can fully reveal the potential for my tomorrow-self. You are changing as well as the world around you – therefore your “proposal” must be changing too.

How to build a personal brand?

  1. Understand what unique skills and a value proposition you have or might have.
  2. Create an offline image and online presence that showcase your best qualities.
  3. Become an active member of a professional community: writing articles, participating in conferences, volunteer programs.
  4. Working with a mentor.
  5. Become a mentor to others.
  6. Create a personal development plan as well as a development plan for your brand.

How does a personal brand work?

You will get to the next level in the process of creating a brand. The very desire to build it and the following steps will give you tangible and unexpected results. And then your reputation will start working for you.

Some examples of the situations where a personal brand helped me.

Situation 1

Several years ago, I started an IT conference in Dnipro – RUN IT. The first conference attracted 450+ participants with a zero-advertising budget. A personal brand, a strong reputation, wide networking, the co-founder’s support and the local IT community made this possible.

Situation 2

When I moved to work for another company as a Delivery Manager, my task was to start a project for a new client – a Swiss bank. At the same time, it was necessary to hire a team of 50 people in a short time. For the small Dnipro market, this is not an easy task. Having a reputation of a “reasonable” manager (as others say), I managed to close 50 vacancies within the specified period. About 30% of the team came from my personal contacts.

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So, what can the personal brand development give to us?

Self-confidence, awareness, openness to the world and a calm attitude to negative events, adaptability and understanding that I can do this. After all, the chain isn’t only weak due to its weakest link, but it’s also strong thanks to its strongest one. Thus, we can and should know our strengths to be able to rely on them.

Redefining the PMO as Power Management Office

Written by Abhishek Mishra on . Posted in Articles. 4 Comments on Redefining the PMO as Power Management Office

Straight Talk

When I ask the question to my peers and friends that what does P stands for in PMO, I always got a typical response like “Projects,” “Program,” or “Portfolio.” How about “Power,” “Potential,” and “Pioneer”? Why I am referring to these three, let me explain. Processes and governance are vital aspects to ensure smoother Project execution and delivery, but strong leadership skills are essential to ensure a successful outcome. The next question would be to what extent leadership skills are critical? The answer is straightforward; the most significant project outcome is mostly down to the leadership skills and the project team’s capabilities running the show. I have witnessed this in my career, and I, too, believe this wholeheartedly. Now one may ask, then how about the worst project outcomes? For the worst project outcomes, I always use a single word, “team,” and use such words intentionally. Because I believe it is not down to the Project manager or the portfolio manager or maybe the head of the PMO for that matter. I think it is a team effort, and we all know that a successful team will have great leaders. Strong leadership skills have become essential for making a project successful as they can differentiate success and failure.

Creating the Difference

If someone is looking to improve their PMO or looking to advance their career as a Project Manager, they need to pay strong attention to building strong leadership skills. As per my experience, Project Management Offices led by strong leaders can achieve better results and outcomes. The individuals who have equipped themselves with Strong leadership skills can earn the currency they needed to climb the management ladder.

Second best Job in the World

As a Project Management professional, I always think that I have the second-best Job in the World. I still believe that I have the best Job until my multi-talented wife showed me otherwise. Though what we do is excellent from CIO to Project Managers and the Project Team, we are the change catalyst within our organization. Our Organization’s IT strategy and the entire business strategy is effectively a Project Manager’s responsibility. It is the vision, clarity, Communication, and thought of a Project Manager, which turns the hazy conceptualize projects into a significant market disruptor. Personally, the Project Management/ Project Manager role is exciting, and it is never meant for the fainthearted, timid, or Reticent nature of individuals. It is not only a role; it’s a heck of responsibilities and takes the real strength of character. So, it is not a role or a most sought job, but it is something that can define & refine one’s character.

My Research

I have been doing much research on the “importance of Strong leadership in Project Management.” I did search this on google, and it throws me 10+ million results. Well, practically, someone cannot go through all ten million-plus details. So, I checked some of the posts and articles, and most of them appear to be a list of attributes that strong IT leader’s must-have. It also shows some books, videos that can turn someone into a great leader. The lists are worth a browse, though they are mostly listed a few of the obvious things like “Clear Communicator,” “great motivator,” “controlling your emotions,” but apart from these, those are a good read for anyone. But one thing I observed that all those articles or posts are missing one of the critical elements. Great leaders indeed need to have “integrity” & “delegation” skills, and they also need to be a “great team builder.” Still, I believe it is only 20% because the remaining 80% is always either, You, me, we, or us, i.e., the CIO, the Project Manager, and the Project team. Apart from all, it is an individual’s USP, DNA*, and culture, which makes you a great or a strong leader.

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Difference Between Success & Failure

The difference between success and failure is always you, me, we, or us. Technically there is no book, article, or post that can ever make you a great leader. The mistakes that we made, the lessons we learn from our mistakes, and our success teach us to become great leaders. Overall, it’s a career-long process, and the leaders never stop learning. It is a journey that a person has to travel through with having lots of exciting ups and downs. I have added an asterisked DNA because it is a question that has been raised for ages that “Are the Leaders born or made?” Well, it is a mix of both. I have personally seen some people are born leaders. They started good, got very good and now they are excellent. If I had to put a number or percentage for born leaders, it would only be 5-10%. Some have given it a go, no matter how hard they try, how many books they read, or how many seminars attend, but due to their nature, they will never make it to the league of the great leaders. If I had to put a number for these categories, it would be 10-15%. I never meant that these people are not so important, but the novice may not represent the epitome of teamwork and leadership. It only serves as an exciting demonstration of multiple roles when needed to achieve or not to achieve a particular task. They are still essential for smoother project execution and delivery, and they become a crucial part of the successful outcome, but they are not the actual leaders. The CIOs have Project Managers, who are not genuine leaders but can buy in “strength” like a commodity by accessing the Project Management as a service market. Here are the attributes of strong leadership like robust vendor governance, effective SLAs, and KPIs that can be bought in from Project Management service partners who can make it look good and sometimes even better.

Creating the leaders

There is a large space between the two groups of “high-flyers” and “buy-it-inners,” where most of the rest of us carry out our trade. Between 75% t0 85% of very good or great, strong Project Leaders were not born, but they are made. I mean, they always have the spark, untapped potential, which inspired themselves and others around them. But they are being made on a day to day, Project to Project to Project basis. CIOs’ responsibilities are to nurture their Project Manager’s potential and help them or groom them to become strong leaders. They are the future. Jumping out of the comfort zone is what excites me. Because 80% of the Project Leaders are not born, taught in a book, or read in an online list, they are made. It is only because of you, me, we & us. Whether you are a CIO, a Project Manager, or a Project team member, you are powerful as you give birth to a future leader. If the market for this approach is around 80%, then the potential is huge.

What makes a leader be a Strong Leader? 

Based on my experience and observation so far, one can become a strong leader only by “knowing themselves.” I have worked with various Project Managers, and only a few of them are self-aware and know themselves well. The rest of the Project Manager’s do not seem to be looking entirely into the mirror of themselves. The reason why I am emphasizing the point” knowing oneself/ Themselves” is because if someone is not able to see their faults or not able to see their mistakes, then how will they know where to improve? You can make Chicken dumplings from fish, no matter how hard you try or how religiously you follow the recipe. You will end up with Fish dumplings. Some Project Managers’ careers are built on a false foundation because they cannot see that from where they are starting.

Culture can make you or break you.

Organization owners need to create a culture that allows honesty and transparency, where mistakes and faults are not punished or penalized. Still, it provides an opportunity to learn from such mistakes and faults. When an organization owner does it, then it encourages immediate acknowledgment and significant correction of such errors. Thus, it provides a truthful mirror to the Project Manager, where they get to know themselves well than before. The best way for a Project manager to know themselves is by inviting and, more importantly, listening to the feedback from up and down the command chain. The C-Suite executives usually provide valuable clues in their every single response. I always like to listen, and I always encourage listening objectively, not adding any filter to our perceptions. Do not project your home movie onto the feedback you are being given.

The Beginning

The main strength of a leader becomes clearer through self-awareness. When one realizes that they have fish, not chicken, you start to know and learn what to do with it. So, when you know who you are, what you are capable of achieving when you see yourself where you went, how you can improve, and when you listen without prejudice, that’s when you become a more generous and strong leader, as I have mentioned earlier that it’s a career-long process. You will not be as great or as strong today as you will be in the future, but you already knew that with self-awareness.

***Now, I think you will agree with me that “P” in “PMO” stands for “Power,” “Potential,” and “Pioneer.” If you are still not sure, please join “PMO officers” & “Women PowerUP Network,” where the other prominent leaders and I groom an ordinary candidate to become an extraordinary leader. Please tune to our Podcast channel We_Relearn (undefined) on 16th Nov 2020 for more such exciting topics.***

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are my own. I have shared my professional experience and learnings through this article. This article is based on my observation and perspective. People may have different points of view, and I welcome the same. So please share your views with me to help me understand this topic in a better way.

Project Management and Service Leadership Podcasts

Written by Jon Isaacson on . Posted in Articles. 2 Comments on Project Management and Service Leadership Podcasts

Supplement your personal and professional development by listening to quality podcasts

Many project managers find podcasts to be a great use of their windshield time as they drive from client to client or sit in commuter traffic. Similar to the rise and appeal of audio books, podcasts can be a great way to expand your mind while going about your everyday tasks. Those who are looking to grow their career, elevate their leadership skills or encourage their teams, may be asking, “What podcasts can speak to project management professionals?”

We are glad you asked, and we hope to help you answer that question with the content of this article. Enclosed is a list of the podcasts that we are aware of that provide value for project management professionals with guests who have seen a thing or two and can help challenge, encourage and inspire your growth.

Blue Collar Nation Podcast

Eric “The Tech Whisperer” Sprague and Larry “Pineapple Man” Wilberton built their construction business from scratch, learned their leadership lessons the hard way and were able to sell their company at a profit. They now focus their efforts on helping business owners and company leaders with the pillars of success that they learned while in the trenches of their organization. In addition to their Blue Collar Nation Podcast, they offer Morning Tech Meeting and have recently started Blue Collar Nation Radio which is a 24/7 collection of content for service based businesses.

Recent Guests on BCNP include:

  • Former Shamrock office manager, Lesley Barragan, who started with no industry experience and has gone on to build a thriving career
  • Jon Isaacson from The DYOJO Podcast was a recent guest
  • The pain of entrepreneurship with Eric and Larry

The GMS Podcast

You would be hard pressed to find a person in the service industry who doesn’t like Gerrett Stier. Mr. Stier started out working in his family electrical construction company when he found a need in the property restoration industry for temporary power distribution boxes. He launched his business, GMS Distribution, in the middle of the 2008 recession and hasn’t looked back. He recently launched The GMS Podcast and his genuine interest in grasping the unique services that his guests provide makes for a great discussion.

Recent guests on TGP include:

  • Michelle Blevins, the editor in chief of Restoration and Remediation Magazine (R&R)
  • Ben Justesen of Enlightened Restoration Solutions and Just Right Cleaning and Construction (JRCC)
  • Jeff Cross, Editorial Director of ISSA Media and the host of Straight Talk

The DYOJO Podcast

This podcast attempts to bridge that gap between information and entertainment, what Jon “The Intentional Restorer” Isaacson call infotainment. The DYOJO Podcast, which is the DO Your Job Dojo, brings entertaining and inspiring guests who will help you laugh and learn as you shorten your learning curve for leading service teams in any industry. Host Jon Isaacson is mediocre at best, but at least he tries and we are all surprised at the depth of quality guests he is able to attract for this video and audio experience.

Recent guests on TDP include:

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Flip this Risk

Dr. Karen Hardy “The Risk Management Story Teller” discusses, “The human factor of risk taking and how it influences our business and personal achievements.” Dr. Hardy has committed her professional career towards helping millions break free from the crippling fears of risk by using creative problem solving methods and brings her years of experience and achievement to her podcast. 

Recent guests on FTR include:

  • Nick Nanton, attorney and CEO of the DNA Agency
  • Nancy Potok, former Chief Statistician for the U.S. and COO for the Census Bureau
  • 5 risk management tips for protecting your organization from reputational harm 

Straight Talk

Straight Talk is a webcast from Jeff Cross, the editorial director of ISAA Media which also produces Cleanfax as well as Cleaning and Maintenance Magazine. Straight Talk will dig into industry issues, providing how-to tips, marketing and management advice, news, trending topics, and more.

Recent guests on ST include:

Pro vs. Joe Podcast  

Pro vs. Joe is a podcast within a podcast from The DYOJO Podcast. Bryan Close, The Joe, is not new to construction but their company All American Real Estate Services (Tacoma, WA) is pivoting to focus a significant portion of their business in water and fire damage repairs. He is new to the nuances of the industry and reached out to Jon Isaacson, The Pro, of The DYOJO, to assist him and his partner Brandon through this process of change and growth. For those new to the industry, you will receive a crash course in building your business. ​For those who have been in the industry for sometime, you will find that the conversation re-ignites your passion for the good work that our teams do day-in and day-out.

Recent topics on PVJ include:

  • PVJ 004 Motivating your team with vision
  • PVJ 003 The growing pains of a young business
  • PVJ 002 Powering up with good partnerships
  • PVJ 001 Branding fails and networking

So many great tools at such a great price (free)

Keep listening, growing and being intentional. Wherever you are at in your career, it is awesome to know there are peers who are sharing their knowledge to help you chart your path. Please, share your favorite podcasts to listen to for leadership development, business growth and property restoration via our website www.TheDYOJO.com or on instagram @theDYOJO as we would enjoy expanding our playlist.

If you listen to any of these great podcasts, be sure to help them out by subscribing, writing a review and sharing on your social media accounts. Keep doing good things and keep an eye out for my soon to be released book, Be Intentional: Estimating which will be a compilation of content related to building the right mindset and habits for success at any level within the property restoration, construction and insurance claims professions.