Having a team of PMs that excel in the art of project management doesn’t just happen. There is a complex process of personality and work styles involved that emotionally intelligent and socially aware supervisors consider when guiding and building a team.
As Diane Buckley-Altwies of Core Performance Concepts and Brenda Williams, Founder and CEO of Academy of Leadership Communication discussed in the PM in Theory – Coaching other Project Managers webinar, the pool of project managers in the workplace are full of promise but many struggle with the day to day processes and specifically these key items:
- Closing projects
- Managing budgets
- Ensuring that the project delivers the expected value
- Overcoming the tactical mindset
- Making decisions
It’s critical to continue to coach each individual and make them stronger. But how? How do you get them to listen? How do you get them to hear you? And most important how do you get them to make the changes you deem necessary to their success?
Many people use the Myers & Briggs MBTI® personality test, or something similar, to determine their own personality type and that of each member of their team. There are 16 different MBTI types and as we all know, different personality types work together in different ways. 16 Personalities allows you to take a test and determine your type. We all fall into a combination of these 4 areas:
Diane and Brenda shared a nice graphic in the presentation that makes links between 8 personality types and occupations. Knowing your own result and each team member’s results can be very powerful. Share the results with the team so everyone is aware of the makeup of the team. Encourage each of them to learn more about their personality type and how best they communicate with other types.
In the webinar, Diane and Brenda also give great insights into looking at your own triggers and thinking. Communicating is rarely successful because you change other’s thinking. Communicating is successful when you change your own thinking and emotional self-awareness, therefore changing the way YOU succeed.
Coaching and consulting your team are two different ways to communicate and both have their place. Coaching is about having people do for themselves, where you are making a long-term investment in a resource. This type of communicating gets people thinking and discovering through experiences. Having your team learn about their personality type is a good example of coaching.
Consulting is more often described as “telling someone how to do something” and is usually best used when something must be done immediately as it does nothing to build your team. There will be times when your team comes to you for consulting, i.e. just tell me what to do, and you’ll have the opportunity to coach instead. We all live and work in a fast paced environment but try not to miss these great opportunities!
When coaching, invest your time by showing appreciation and respect for your team. Get up, walk around, talk to people. Engage in their day to day lives and make sure they are doing what they LOVE to do. After all, people don’t do things that they don’t like for long.
Questions or comments? Feel free to share them below!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Patti is a Project Management Consultant with over 15 years of experience managing complex website projects. She works with clients in many industries including software development, healthcare and professional organizations. Learn more about Patti on LinkedIn.