In the third and final article of this series, we’ll address the ‘Art of Time Management.’ Our most precious asset is Time. It is a crucial commodity that must be appreciated and respected. As Project Managers, how we manage our time impacts every member of the team, as well as the outcome of the project so it is crucial to manage our time wisely. This article will cover a few simple and high-value ways to become more efficient and help manage time more judiciously.
Organization, Organization, Organization
“For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned.” – Benjamin Franklin
As referenced in the opening of this mini-series, change drives the need for sound Project Management, because amid change there can be chaos. Organization is one of the best tools for overcoming chaos, and bringing structure and order to the team. Unfortunately, organization is a term that’s used very loosely and is often taken for granted.
The word organize is a verb, an action, and the definition sounds exactly like a job description for a Project Manager:
Organize (ôrɡəˌnīz): 1. arrange into a structured whole; order 2. make arrangements or preparations for (an event or activity); coordinate.
A strong project manager knows there are multiple layers to getting organized. Similar to the topic of accountability from the previous article (Part 2: Build a Culture of Engagement & Accountability), organization starts with you. From the moment you start on every project, it’s essential to organize yourself, from your files and your meetings to your meeting notes, communications, and follow up /action items.
Organize your files. You will need quick, easy accessibility for yourself and your team. My approach has always been to have files on my local client drive, which are also saved on the company’s shared drive (e.g. SharePoint); both being mirror images of each other. The shared drive (e.g. SharePoint) enables accessibility and transparency, and having a local copy is beneficial if SharePoint goes down for any reason. Everyone will have a different approach for the specifics of their file system, and my advice is to keep it as logical as possible so the project and leadership team can easily find the information they need.
Organize your meetings. As discussed in the previous article, have an agenda for every meeting you own, and hold the team accountable to do the same. Confirm the attendance of key stakeholders prior to the meeting, and if they are not able to attend or send a delegate, then reschedule the meeting to save everyone’s time. Another important factor in organizing your meetings is to prepare the agenda and materials in a way that anticipates questions and/or concerns people may have; this will help avoid spending time on less critical topics which can be addressed without derailing the meeting.
Organize your meeting notes. In preparing meeting notes, the order and the structure of the words matters. Keeping a bulleted list makes the information easy to digest, and forces you to distill information to the key takeaways. I use the following framework for all of my meeting notes:
The order is structured to keep people’s attention:
Action Items always come first because people may not read through all the notes, and follow ups may get lost if they are put at the bottom
Key Meeting Notes are next. Write these to allow someone who was not in attendance to review and capture the essence of the meeting.
List of Attendees is last (if needed)
Include materials and links presented and/or referenced during the meeting.
Organize your follow ups/actions items. The principle of accountability, which we discussed quite a bit in the last article, and the importance of holding yourself accountable as well as holding the project team accountable, is an important complement organizing your action items. One tactic to help do this is to keep a running list of ‘Action Items’ from every meeting; there’s a reason why Action Items are documented, as they’re important to the delivery of the project. Reviewing this list on a daily basis, helps you to own the outcome of both your work and what you commit to doing, and it also helps you follow up with the project team to make sure they’re completing the necessary actions and follow ups the team requires. This helps avoid things from falling through the cracks, and helps you engage the team and proactively hold them accountable . . . it also feels great to check things off the list as they are completed.
Own the Day, Own the Week, Own the Results
You’ve heard the phrase “don’t let the day own you,” but how do you put that into practice, especially when many of your days are spent putting our fires? There are many excuses for why you didn’t accomplish what you set out to, however, the excuses don’t get projects competed on time. A helpful motto from a mentor of mine is “don’t put off to tomorrow anything that can be done today.” Here are a few other tactics I use to own the day and the results:
Action over words: Respond immediately – think before you respond, but respond immediately, so your emails, texts & calls don’t back up
Block 30 – 60 mins on your calendar every day for your own work. Make time for the follow up calls, emails, material development, etc. and don’t let the day control you
Start your day a little earlier . . . it’s amazing how much you can accomplish between 7:00 – 9:00am before your phone and email start to blow up
For meetings, have an agenda with clear objectives; if you don’t have the right audience to meet the objectives, don’t waste anyone’s time, including your own
Escalate Early & Often
There’s a common misnomer, that escalating or raising issues to the leadership team sends a message that the Project Manager is not doing their job, or is not on top of things. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. The leadership team understands there will most likely be challenges or issues along the way. They appreciate these being called out early, so action can be taken to avoid or mitigate the risks and issue. They are also your best ally in overcoming these issues, and should be viewed as another tool in your arsenal to help drive progress.
Preparation is key when escalating to leadership. Throwing your hands up, and just crying for help, isn’t the best approach. Instead, be prepared to explain the issue, how we got here, possible solutions and your ask of them. The following framework is what I use when escalating issues:
The outline above is used for formal discussions, however, the framework is the same for informal conversations. By having a framework you can clearly layout the issue, walking people down the path to your ask to achieve quick resolution. This also builds confidence in your ability to effectively manage the project.
This brings us to the end of this three part series on Project Delivery Excellence. The objective was to provide actionable ways to improve your delivery skills. I’d love to hear your feedback and/or answer any questions you may have; you can reach me directly at steve.chamberlain@aseemgroup.com.
With that, I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes: “Vision without execution is another word for hallucination.” – Mark Hurd
This is awesome😁