Friday, December 13, 2013

Importance of Emotional Intelligence for IT Leaders

I started reading an IT leadership book this week.  This book uses a fictitious case study to highlight many issues that arise for IT leaders.  What I like about this book is that it does not focus on the technical issues but rather the strategic planning, execution, and relationship missteps that frequently occur in the IT department.  IT professionals are very good at identifying and dealing with technical issues but may mishandle the people issues along the way.  The people-side of leadership is important and one that cannot be stressed enough.

Today I came across an article in the PM Network magazine (see reference below) about the importance of emotional intelligence (EI).  EI is an individual's ability to recognize and respond to emotions; personal emotions or the emotions of others.  This EI characteristic is needed to effectively manage personal interactions.  In IT we often collaborate with professionals from across the organization and need to have good relationships in order to accomplish our goals.  In order to be effective in these relationships, among other skills, we need to exhibit a high degree of EI.

The article's author noted three key personal EI attributes to look for when hiring potential project managers.  These attributes are:
  • Self-restraint: the ability to control one's own negative feelings in a calm and sensible manner
  • Empathy: the ability to sense other's emotions and reactions
  • Communication Skills: the ability to build and foster personal and professional relationships
Although the article was written specifically for project managers it applies to anyone in leadership roles or individuals working in a team environment.  This emotional sensitivity is particularly beneficial for IT leaders since we often work in change initiatives where negative emotions are frequently experienced.

Reference:
Alkhatib, S. (2013). Intangible assets. PM Network, 27(11), 24.


Monday, December 2, 2013

Managing Client Expectations

Later today in my MBA course I'm giving a lecture on project management.  As part of this lecture we will cover the topic of project change management.  In preparing for this lecture I came across an expectations management tool published in a systems analysis textbook I used in a different course.

This tool, the expectations management matrix, is used to understand the client's expectations for a project.  As changes are introduced in a project, the project manager must know how to adjust the project to accommodate the changes.  Using this tool, the project manager can determine which of the project variables (scope, budget, schedule) is more flexible than the other variables.  Below is a example of this matrix:

The project manager shares this matrix with the client to determine which of the three project variables must be minimized or maximized, which variable the project team must try to maintain, and which variable can be adjusted.  For example, a new student union on our campus must fit within the anticipated budget for the college (a check mark in the cost and Min/Max cell), the schedule for when the new building will be ready should try to be maintained (a check mark in the schedule and constrain cell), and the scope (features) of the building can be negotiated in order to meet the budget and schedule (a check in the scope and accept cell).  As a result, any new changes to the cost or schedule will influence the scope of the new building.

Using this tool with the client can help the project manager know which variables can be adjusted when the client asks for changes to the project.  However, we need to keep in mind the premise for this tool is that any change to one of the project variables influences the other two project variables.

Although this tool may not be required to make this expectations determination with the client, this framework is beneficial for the project manager.  The framework can guide the project manager when preparing to carry out the expectations management conversation with the client.  As part of this conversation the client must also be made aware of the influence of changes to any one of these variables.  Having this expectations conversation early on in the project makes the change request process much easier for all stakeholders.

Skills to Look for in Project Managers

Today I read a brief article describing the eight skills to look for when hiring an IT project manager. The headlines caught my attention...