Healthy Project Management
What's a project manager to do? I spend time thinking about how to reconcile my vision of a healthy organization with the demands of project management for the project manager, for the project team, and for the bottom line of the organization. This is not an article about how to follow project management principles, there are great resources out there that talk about that and offer great value. Rather, I am focusing on the research based findings that integrating wellbeing into project management results in better outcomes.
As a facilitator, a consultant and a director in an operational setting, I have spent countless hours in conversations about why projects fail, root cause analyses, and lessons learned. As an analyst from a project management office I held people accountable to standards of practice. Nonetheless, projects continue to fail at often alarming rates and at great expense with the same explanations offered. We are not getting to the actual root cause and not correctly identifying the lessons. One critical missing piece is often organizational and individual wellbeing.
A healthy organization recognizes that integrating employee wellbeing into the project plan, the project itself, and the implementation plan is a key to success. Healthy employees in a healthy environment produce more effective, efficient, and successful project implementations. Research and science point to wellbeing as a key factor for an effective workplace. Where once it was a badge of honor to be found at work at 3AM or to walk in with dark rimmed circles under the eyes from a late night at the office, now science recognizes that we perform better and more efficiently when we have had eight hours of sleep.
Ten tips to incorporate into your project management to ramp it up to the next level
As a facilitator, a consultant and a director in an operational setting, I have spent countless hours in conversations about why projects fail, root cause analyses, and lessons learned. As an analyst from a project management office I held people accountable to standards of practice. Nonetheless, projects continue to fail at often alarming rates and at great expense with the same explanations offered. We are not getting to the actual root cause and not correctly identifying the lessons. One critical missing piece is often organizational and individual wellbeing.
A healthy organization recognizes that integrating employee wellbeing into the project plan, the project itself, and the implementation plan is a key to success. Healthy employees in a healthy environment produce more effective, efficient, and successful project implementations. Research and science point to wellbeing as a key factor for an effective workplace. Where once it was a badge of honor to be found at work at 3AM or to walk in with dark rimmed circles under the eyes from a late night at the office, now science recognizes that we perform better and more efficiently when we have had eight hours of sleep.
Ten tips to incorporate into your project management to ramp it up to the next level
- Plan realistically. One of the best pieces advice I got as a project manager was to estimate a project as if someone else was doing it. In thinking about this, consider the the individual's wellbeing and be realistic.
- Be healthy. As a project manager, if you are not aware of and responsive to your personal wellbeing, you will not be able to be effective and, you will likely get sick or lose momentum for the project.
- Be a healthy leader. Team members take cues from the things that you do, rather than the things that you say. If they see you taking smoking breaks, they will join you. If they see you taking walks in the middle of the day, they will likely join you on that as well. Part of being a healthy leader is being able to communicate up the chain about your strategy and to demonstrate the successes that result. This is rarely easy. Being a part of the change that is needed in an organization you can be successful in your projects and recognized for the value of your message.
- Sleep. We now know that our bodies function better on eight hours of sleep a night. We also know that it is important to shut down computers, phones and other electronic devices a couple of hours before going to sleep. It is optimal to keep these devices out of the bedroom. As a project manager, this means considering realistically how much time a team member will have in a given week to work on a project. It means that when crunch time comes, it is often important to send people home or not look for answers to questions about the project at 11:00 PM. This is a significant adjustment for many organizations, but the truth is those late night answers are rarely useful and can be harmful.
- Step away from the computer. The Human Performance Institute talks about work not as a marathon but as a series of sprints. They recommend some sort of stretch or physical activity every 25-30 minutes. In fact, it is the recovery time from a work session where they say some of our best thinking is done. Try the Pomodoro Technique. Turn off email and distractions and work without interruption for 25 minutes. Then, take a five minute break followed by another 25 minute session. It is amazing how much you can accomplish and how much can get done.
- Walk for your meetings. Again science is our friend here. We now know that walking sparks creativity, that sitting all day is bad for us, that a break from the computer is good for us, and that walking every day is good for our health. Combine this and conduct walking meetings. If necessary, the agenda can be tracked and outcomes recorded on a SmartPhone.
- Set reasonable deadlines. When I went to the Center for Creative Leadership, we were assigned a project and the deadline kept being moved forward. This is reality for many of us. And, wanting to be appreciated, successful, or keep our jobs, we find a way to meet the deadline, to be “team players.” In fact, though, we are often doing a disservice to the organization and ourselves. What if, instead, we provided a reasonable timeframe and when asked to adjust it, explained the impact. I’m a big fan of saying “yes, if” rather than “no, because.” I think we can change a great deal with just those two words. “Yes, I can meet that revised deadline, if we remove an element of the deliverable, or if I can get assistance in a different area, or if I could skip these four meetings.”
- Build community. I was on a project team once where they referred to us as the “dream team.” We were, I must say, a group of very talented, well seasoned consultants with broad and complementary experience. Little effort was expended to create community either within our team or between our team and our clients. As a result we never forged the types of bonds that would have enhanced our success. By taking the time to create a community on this team, our efforts would have been enhanced and some of our challenges avoided. There are many effective ways to build a community -- in the way the team is treated all of the time, in specific team building activities, and in joining together as a team to do something for others, perhaps a volunteer activity.
- Manage stress. According to WebMD, stress costs American industry more than $3 Billion annually. When we are stressed we make poor decisions, remember less, communicate poorly, and get sick. Working with a project team to manage stress, will improve results. There are many stress management tools available. I am a HeartMath™ mentor and have found it to be a powerful tool for improving workplace efficiency.
- Be Kind. Science has shown us that our brains react better when we are kind to others and when we experience acts of kindness. All too often, for many of the reasons listed above, people choose not to be kind in the workplace and some even consider it a weakness. This tears apart the fabric of the team and will result in suboptimal outcomes.
- And a bonus tip. If nothing else, drink water and make healthy food choices. If you are providing snacks for your team - have whole fruits and vegetables available. You will be amazed at the difference just that will make. If you are dubious, try my sugar challenge. You will feel better.