Thoughts on Chapter 9
Management by walking around (MBWA) is an interesting concept. I have always fancied myself a hands-on worker valuing time behind the desk. But Berkun points out that when in the position of a PM, the best way to enhance communication is to form relationships with those involved. This makes sense as I reflect on my prior experiences in various workplaces. My mentors in the business world have always focused deeply on these relationships. And beleive me, I think it rubbed off on me.
Equally useful is the advice Berkun provides by scaffolding states of communication. That is, Berkun gives 5 forms of communication that I can use to diagnose problems in communication. Now that I think about it, this structure is going to be very useful. I am going to reference it as I patch up some problems in a group project. Everyone is clear on what to do, so the err in communication is conversion to useful action. I think the most significant dilemma in this group project is assumption. I assumed that everyone would take the initiative, but the opposite has taken place. So, I will invest more time in helping everyone understand their roles and how their work contributes to the big picture. This is just a thought…
Wow! The role-definitions scaffolding technique is very interesting. Uses for this are quite wide ranging. Not only will people involved see their contributions, but it also helps to strengthen relationships! And of course, I should never be afraid to ask the ever-so-useful question “What can I do to help you do your best work?” According to Berkun, stating this question accomplished three essential tasks. First, it establishes that the person do their best work. Second, it gets them to evaluate their performance. Third, it opens discussion for ensuring that the best work is done and how to acheive the best results.
May 4, 2010@ 08:21
Always keep in mind – its all about social engineering. The ability to read people and grasp an understanding of their goals and dreams (which you will find usually overlaps with some of your own), brings great strength to a PM (or any manager). No matter where we have been in the world, the vast majority of people have the same goals and dreams: protect and nurture their families/attain some degree of success in whatever endeavor they find themselves in/enjoy the time they have on this spinning ball, with as little damage (psychic and otherwise) to themselves as possible. There may be different ways that people try to get to those goals, but the end prize is still basically the same. If you can wrap your head around that idea, and use that knowledge to your advantage, you will be successful as a PM (or as a person). Remember, every time that you go to bed (and in those few moments before you fall asleep where you review the day and what you hope/aspire to), keep in mind that everyone you deal with is probably doing (or has done) the same thing. “Make it about everybody else, while making it about you”.
May 4, 2010@ 15:17
Thank you mysterious mr_melvis for your input on this topic. Your comment is the first of its kind on this blog. I wish more people would approach and respond to my thoughts like you have. You shed new light on my response by adding your thoughts on a “metamotivation?” topic in a few interesting ways.
The social engineering aspect of management depends on the ability to read people – I agree with you. Recognition of overlapping goals and dreams is a great way to create (or find) common ground and establish rapport with players in a system. Another point that hits home for me is having the end point or deliverable in mind. My experience with the aforementioned group project contains a few anomalies.
First, the people involved with the project are students… This opens a pandoras box of implications. Secondly, the project is for class credit… More implications are added. This class is at BGSU… Yet more problems are thrown into the mix. Nearing the end of the semester, I appear the only motivated one to do work and learn. Attempts at inspiring group members with my utmost emotional intelligence have been thwarted by a consequence beyond my individual persuasion. The problems I’ve faced in this project are wide ranging and begin to unfold; revealing a sea of problems matured through not just educational inflation, but borne from a consumer society and its reigning zeitgeist – one that rewards credulity, fatuousness, and puts us in the position to demand our own personal blindfold to truth and knowledge. (Sorry, that’s my little rant for the day)
Perhaps the story will change once I enter the work world… It’s nice to have money as the middle man in the game. People need to survive and provide for their family…
May 5, 2010@ 07:00
I’ve known people that made $100K+ a year that cried on the way to work and on the way home because they hated what they did for a living – but stayed because of the money, and I’ve known people who made $20K or less who had to be told to go home at the end of the day – because they loved what they did for a living. Money is not the main motivation for people (regardless of what Wall Street and Madison Avenue work hard to convince you of). It’s all about ‘place’. ‘What is MY place’? ‘How do I get to MY place’? ‘What happens when I get to MY place’? It’s about striving for something that everyone one of us wants(in varying degrees), will articulate in different ways(some cryptic, some not), and none of us can really define: We want to BE(whatever BEING is…), to have defined ourselves as something that is important in the overall scheme of things, TO HAVE MATTERED. If you can help someone to feel that they have mattered, then you not only move them towards THEIR place, you move yourself towards YOUR place as well. And when you have built that alliance with those you manage (or just interact with on a daily basis), then any task is possible, any endeavor is attainable, any rewards are possible. Students who are rewarded with grades are no different than those who get rewarded under the yoke of a weekly paycheck – you have to get inside their heads and help them BE…