Self-Management To have the will to do what is important even when you don't feel like it and having the vision to see that it will bring internal and/or external meaning at some future point.

Change is a given in any project. Change occurs because it is an inherent part of life, human nature, and projects. So change is really something that we should be comfortable with because we know it is just a matter of time before a change event occurs. But this is often not the case. Often, we are uncomfortable with the changes that occur because we didn't anticipate them, we didn't see them coming, and when they do arrive unexpectedly, we find that we haven't thought through or prepared a game plan for evaluating and managing the influencing event. We are, in effect, surprised. Surprises are fun when it's your birthday, but not so fun when you are managing a critically important project.

Integrated change management is concerned with identifying and anticipating those influencing factors that create change events and coming to an agreement, with project stakeholders, of how manage the actual event once it has occurred. Integrated change control requires that the project manager has current baseline plans that reflect the current state of progress and performance. In other words, project managers must know where they are in the life of the project relative to time, dollars, resources, performance, and quality, so they can perform an integrated analysis of the influencing capabilities of the change event. Integrated change management requires project managers demonstrate the following abilities:

1. The ability to manage the integrity of the performance measurement baseline plans.

2. The ability to ensure that changes to the scope of the project are reflected in the project definition and project plan documents. When scope changes occur, the impact to time, dollars, resources, and performance measurements increases and must be analyzed and evaluated by the project manager and key stakeholders before a decision to accept, or rejected is made.

3. The ability to coordinate changes events across the cross-functional areas with the organization. Communication, metrics, and performance standards are critical in helping to communicate needs and expectations.

4. The ability to regularly update and manage the four tools essential for coordinating integrated change management: Project definition document, plan document, performance reports, and documented change requests.

5. The ability to establish a change control system that formally documents how project performance will be monitored and evaluated. Steps to change control are formally documented and communicated to key stakeholders. Tools that make up an integrated change management system include: a tracking system, approval levels for change, specific processes, configuration management procedure, and performance measurement techniques to help assess variances.

6. The ability to extract lessons learned from change events. It is important to be able to identify the causes and reasons behind accepted change events. An analysis of the corrective actions is also important so the organization can build upon an historical database of lessons learned. It is a waste of time, energy, resources, and dollars to make others "reinvent the wheel" when lessons learned can help prevent others from making costly mistakes.

The Other Side of Project Management

Much is written about the science and tools of project management. But as we all know, project management is also about art of leading and managing people, including ourselves. The ability to listen and self-manage is critical in project teams, but particularly for those teams whose teammates work across company sites. Managing cross-functional and cross-site teams presents many unique situations. More often than not, when we get back to the basics of good communication skills, we can do an effective job of resolving issues before they become problems and well before they become conflicts. One of the time-honored and most effective things we can do is really listen to our colleagues, and allow them to be heard completely before you cast a judgment or interrupt. The next time you are in a meeting, see how long you can keep quiet and really listen, with an open mind, to what is being said.

The Art of Listening

No matter what we do in life we must be able to listen, to comprehend what is going on about what is expected and what we must do. Listening involves the act of making a genuine, concerted effort to comprehend the message and understand the person. Let's face it, we all can hear pretty well. It's not the "hearing" part of listening that is the problem-- it is realizing that effective listening requires we have the "right" attitude and intention to put forth the effort to comprehend and understand what is being said and what is not being said. Like anything we do, we need to contextualize our experience so we can better understand the experience relative to the specific situation. In other words, our ability to effectively listen has a lot to do with the context in which we are asked to listen and the attitudes and behaviors we exhibit in that context. Context more often than not influences the degree of our success or failure.

Not too long ago people took the time to sit around a table, in their office and at home, and talk leisurely and listen to each other. We weren't distracted by screaming deadlines, 24/7 news programs, soccer games, cable TV, and the Internet. Perhaps life did move slower and we were able to make room and take time for the more important things in life, like each other.

Today, things are different. Too many people are walking through life on "autopilot" and not paying attention to what the road signs ahead are trying to tell them. It should not come as a surprise to know that the majority of people in personal and professional relationships feel they are not being heard. We seem to have lost the skill and art of listening both in the workplace and in our homes. Without real listening, we lose our ability to understand and connect with one another. Without the ability to understand and connect with each other, we lose the power and momentum that only teams can bring to the workplace and to life.

Effort, Attitude, and Integrity

Real listening requires a good deal of effort and concentration. It requires that you give a person your undivided attention. It is best if you sit down, relax, and face the other person who is talking to you so you can see their expressions and couple them with their words and vocal inflections. If you are not able to be physically be with someone, then you must give yourself quiet space without distractions so you can really hear and concentrate on the voice over the phone. Pay attention to any vocal inflection that might suggest discomfort, conflict, or confusion. What you don't want to do is pick up the phone and make a "quick" phone call on your way to another meeting knowing full well that the conversation requires your total effort and focus, but you've run out of time. If you want to be a really good listener then you have to accept the fact that you are probably not a good listener after all. Yes, you no doubt hear the words and perhaps get most of the message technically correct, but do you really hear the heart of the message?

In order to hear the real message, you have to give up the need for validation, acceptance, and self-righteousness/ aggrandizement. You have to stop thinking about what you are going to say to the other person before they've had a chance to finish talking. Too often people start formulating their response to another person before the person has even had a chance to finish talking. Maintaining an open mind that is not attached to an outcome is key to being a good listener.

Real listening requires that you act upon your personal integrity. Integrity based listening acknowledges the importance of other people and does not cast judgment. Judgment and discernment are two different things. Discernment involves acumen; judgment is condemnation. When we listen with integrity, we ensure that others have a right to be heard and that we hear with an open mind that is not closed by ego and pride.