Tag Archives: project work

To the Point of Failure

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As a manager, how do we know a team member’s highest level of capability? Capability is invisible. We can only see the output of capability. For that, there is evidence.

We test people through project work. Step one is a quick assessment of their current applied capability. Look at the fruits of their labor. This is an intuitive judgment on the part of the manager.

Step two is to marginally increase the current complexity of the task, in the form of a project, with the promise of project debrief on completion.

If the project is successful, it’s a prompt for the next project, a bit more complex, with the promise of a debrief on completion. Continue. Continue until there is failure.

When a team member reaches the point of failure, we now have a better grasp of the individual’s competence. We know where they are successful and where they fail.

Give it some time and challenge them again. And again. As long as the team member is employed by the organization, it is a continual process of challenge to the point of failure.

What’s the Level of Work?

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“But, we need to ramp up quickly,” Bruce explained. “We have a lot riding on this project.”

“What’s the rush,” I asked.

“We didn’t know if we were going to get the project, it was a very competitive bid process. But we pulled it off, at least the contract. It’s fast track, four months to complete with liquidated damages on the back end if we miss the deadline.”

“When you say ramp up, what do you mean?” I wanted to know.

“We have the production crew to do the work, they’re coming off of another project. But, the project manager is moving to Seattle to start another job. He was good, and a great opportunity for him. Unfortunately, that leaves us in the lurch. I need a project manager and I need one, now!”

“What’s the level of work on this project?”

Bruce stopped to think. “It’s only a four month project, so that’s S-II. I am hoping there will be a decent candidate pool. Sometimes, we post for a job and no one shows up.”

“How does risk play into understanding the level of work in this project?” I pressed.

“There are lots of moving parts, lots of detail, and if we miss the deadline, our profit could be wiped out pretty quick,” he replied.

“But, we have computer software to handle the detail,” I nodded. “What about the risk embedded in the uncertainty of the project?”

“What do you mean?” Bruce furrowed his brow.

“Will you need to trust your suppliers to deliver on time? Hold their pricing? Are the materials in the spec even available? What’s the lead time on materials? Will you depend on your client for approvals? What could hold up the permits for approval? I know you will have subs on the job. Are they dependable and available in each phase schedule? What if there are change orders? How quickly can you identify something out of scope and its impact on the contract? Is the client litigious? To keep the project on track, how will you schedule quality inspections to make sure each phase meets spec before you can move to the next phase?”

I saw the blood begin to drain from Bruce’s face. I continued. “I think this project has more to it than the 4 months timespan after mobilization. The relationships and synchronicity required have to be developed way before mobilization. The trust in your subcontractors needs to already be in place now. This is more likely an S-III project that started before you even got the contract. The biggest mistake most companies make is underestimating the level of work in the project.”

Growing Pains

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“He was my best supervisor, and, now, it’s like he went brain-dead,” Marie complained. “James always followed things by the book. A stickler with rules. Some of our services are life and death, so rules are good. But, now, he questions, pushes back on certain decisions.”

“What else has changed?” I asked.

“When he pushes back, he is unsure of himself. When he enforced a rule, he was authoritative, sure of himself, gave off a sense of reliability. His team followed him with the confidence that he would not lead them astray. Now, when he pushes back, his team is confused. Execution slows down.”

“Example?” I pressed.

“We work in complicated projects with other teams. There is a project schedule that requires we show up at a certain time. James always shows up with a full crew, tools ready with all our materials. Now, sometimes, the project isn’t ready when we show up, so we can’t do our work. James always documents the delay to support our claim for costs, you know, full crew, mobilization.”

“And, our contract requires that,” I confirmed. “What now?”

“Now, James is checking the project status the day before to see if the project is ready. He questions showing up if our project segment can’t be completed the next day. I mean, he’s right, but now, his crew is confused. Are they supposed to show up if the project isn’t ready? Now, they begin to question the accuracy of our project schedules. I hear bitching and complaining that we, as a company, are unrealistic, and that James in particular doesn’t know what he is doing. Most of the time, it’s not James, the fault lies in some other project segment over which we have no control.”

Project Work

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“Who is Marie? And why is she managing only one person?” I asked.

Esmerelda was silent, then spoke. “Marie has been selected to be a manager, but needs some experience, so we gave her a person to manage.”

“And, the impact on your organization is that you added an unnecessary managerial layer. Did you give her a raise as well, did you give her the corner office?”

“Yes, we gave her a raise, and she didn’t get the corner office, but, she did get an office.”

“Like eating an hors d’oeuvre rack of soft cheese, then drinking a glass of ice water. Not good for the digestion,” I said.

“But Marie needs to learn how to be a manager,” Esmerelda protested.

“If she needs to learn, send her to training. Give her project work.”

“Like what?” Esmerelda pushed back.

“Like making a schedule, leading a small project. Give her something of short duration. If your promotion fails, what do you have on your hands, imagine chocolate dripping through my fingers. But, if you give her a project and she fails, you only have a failed project, and you, as her manager, can manage the risk in the project.”

A Different Way to Think (About Projects)

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“So, what’s your observation,” I asked. “Moving from a project manager in charge of three projects to a senior project manager in charge of 20 current projects, plus all the projects in the pipeline?”

Andrew looked down, studied the table. “Every single project has a beginning, middle and end. Each project has defined edges to it, resources are specific, and at the end, there is a finished project, very tangible.”

“And?”

“Twenty projects are all in different stages, it’s fluid, the boundaries move. Sure, we create artificial borders and artificial time frames to measure things, compare statistics. But, there is a difference in how you play one, two or three projects and how you play a portfolio of 20. In a portfolio, we may play for a high profile project with slim margins to raise the company’s visibility. We might attempt a new technology, in which we are currently clumsy, to practice, get better. A single project game might fail its gross margin, where a portfolio game might propel the company in a direction without competitors (at least for a while).”

“So, is this just about having more projects in a portfolio?”

“Not at all,” Andrew replied. “Having 20 projects pushed me to think differently, but, thinking differently is more about the timespan of decisions. And we have to do both. My project managers have to be focused on the individual project, and I have to be focused on the future.”

Don’t Listen to What People Say

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“And, why would you trust the outcome of a project more than a response in a promotion interview?” I asked.

“You told me before,” Marissa explained. “Don’t listen to what people say, watch what they do.”

“And, the two big lies in every interview?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “The two big lies. Yes, I can. And, yes, I will.”

Difficult to Backtrack a Promotion

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As a young project manager, Mario was successful at meeting deadlines and holding profit margins on each of the four projects he completed. Paul, his manager, wanted to give him a promotion, but was gun-shy.

“The last project manager I promoted did well on smaller projects,” Paul described. “But the accountabilities of longer timespan projects overwhelmed him. In the end, I had to let him go. It was almost as if the promotion ruined a good junior project manager.”

You don’t test a person by promoting them. Though not impossible, it is difficult to backtrack a promotion. Instead, test a person’s capability by giving them project work, longer timespan projects. Only if they are successful, do they get the corner office.

Don’t promote the person to test them. Test them with project work to earn the promotion.

How to Test Capability at S-IV

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From the Ask Tom mailbag –

Question:
Your post last week helped to explain our dilemma in transitioning an (S-III) Inventory Manager to an (S-IV) VP-Inventory Control role. You said we should have tested him with a project prior to promoting him. Maybe it’s not too late. I know we already promoted him, but could we give him a project as a training tool to introduce him to this new level of work.

Response:
Yes, not a bad idea. This project will give his manager an indicator of how your Inventory Manager is making this transition. The biggest difference in this transition is a subtle shift from a single system internal focus to a multi-system external focus.

  • S-III – System (creates the system, monitors the system and improves the system)
  • S-IV – Integration of multiple systems and sub-systems (attention to dependent systems, interdependent systems, contingent systems and bottlenecks)

So, here are the elements to embed in the project.

  • The project has to be real. No contrived projects as a test. If you want to build a leader, it has to be a real project.
  • Your new VP-Inventory Control needs to be the project leader, under the coaching of his manager. The VP-Inventory Control’s manager is likely to be the CEO (S-V).
  • The members of the project team need to be interdisciplinary, from functions outside of the authority of Inventory Management. As the project leader, your VP-Inventory Control will have to gain willing cooperation from the team, not as a manager, but in a cross-functional role as project leader (prescriber authority). He will have to negotiate with each project team member’s manager for their participation.
  • To be effective, the VP-Inventory Control will have to understand how separate systems impact each other.

Here are the learning objectives of the project (how to evaluate).

  • How well does the VP-Inventory Control understand the systems outside of inventory control? How does he seek to understand those systems? How does he speak with others and ask questions outside of inventory control?
  • How well does the VP-Inventory Control select people to be on the project team? How does he staff the project team? How does he anticipate the input he will need from others outside his own area of expertise?
  • How well does the VP-Inventory Control state the mission of the project, gain willing cooperation from others where he is NOT their manager?
  • How well does the VP-Inventory Control negotiate with peers in the organization to use their resources to accomplish project goals?

It might have been helpful to engage in this type of project prior to the promotion. But, this project can still be helpful to the new VP’s manager (likely, the CEO).

Testing a Person Prior to a Promotion

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“You told me, before I promote someone to a new role, that I should test them, with project work,” Maryanne surmised.

“So, how will you test this person?” I prodded.

“Her assembly work is good, but to keep everyone on the line productive, we need an ample supply of raw materials. There is a lead time of three weeks from ordering and we can only keep so much in stock. I could ask her to put together the next order from our supplier.”

“And, you will check her order before she places it?”

“Of course. But after she does it couple of times, I can likely trust her. Then I will give her another project to do related to the preventive maintenance schedules on some of our machines.”

“And, what will be the trigger point for the promotion?” I asked.

“Good question. I think I should sketch out an overall plan for this promotion to include a sample project from each skill required in the new position.”

Outbound Air, Levels of Work in Organizational Structure, by Tom Foster, is now available for Kindle, soon to be released in softcover.

Outbound Air

Test With Project Work

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Hiring Talent Summer Camp starts in two weeks.
___________
“What could I have done differently?” Joyce asked. “I thought Phillip was the right choice. I know now, that I was wrong, but how do you make the decision on whether or not to promote someone?”

“Why did you think he was a candidate for promotion?” I asked.

“Well, he has been with us for a little over a year. He knows the ropes. He was a team leader, had the respect of his team,” Joyce replied.

“And what level of work do you think he is capable at?”

“Well, based on what we have been talking about, his current capability seems to be about four weeks or a little more, but not a lot more.”

“So, how could you find out how much more?”

“Well, he was successful at four weeks. I could have given him a task that took six weeks to complete, or eight weeks.”

“Exactly,” I pointed out. “The best way to determine performance is with project work. The problem with project work, is that, until we talked about Time Span, you had no way to determine the level of work. With Time Span, you can measure with more precision. Your job, as his Manager, becomes more precise.”