-
Management by Heroics
May 22, 2012
-
Project Planning for Project Sponsors: Why You Need To Be Involved
May 22, 2012
-
Lost in Projects - Integrated Project Management
May 22, 2012
-
10 Warning Signs that Your SharePoint Implementation May Be Heading for Difficulty
May 21, 2012
-
Smaller is Better and More Effective
May 21, 2012
-
Finding the Roots of Organizational Incompetence
May 21, 2012
-
Project Management Office Basics: Six Secrets For Efficient Shared Services
May 20, 2012
-
Project Management Foundations - What Makes Projects Fun?
May 19, 2012
-
How to Make a SWOT Analysis
May 18, 2012
-
Brutal ICT Development Project Classification
May 18, 2012
Leadership 101
December 30, 2009 | Author: PM Hut | Filed under: Leadership, People Issues, Project Management Musings
Leadership 101 (#4 in the series A Cynical Perspective on Project Management)
By Barry Otterholt
The first thing you learn is to surround yourself with smart people. But why would smart people want to surround you?
Not sure? Just go with these sure-fire answers until you figure out your own.
- We have a great opportunity to make a difference.
- You have experience I just can’t get elsewhere; I really need you.
- The boss has given me the authority to run this project, and I’m not afraid to use it to get what we need.
- This project will require innovation.
- I’ll give you latitude to do it the way you think best.
- I won’t let the good stuff be contracted out; we’ll keep that work for ourselves.
- I have an advanced degree.
- I’m in the middle of writing a book.
- I’m an entrepreneur.
- Did I mention I have an advanced degree?
They key is to say these things with such conviction that people don’t question your assertions. It helps to walk with a swagger too.
When the smart people get tired of following you, you can always look for wise people. The only difference is they will require substance behind your assertions before getting in line.
Barry Otterholt, CMC, PMP
Barry Otterholt has been a project management specialist and coach for the past 30 years. He is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and a Project Management Professional (PMP). He works with both public and private sector companies in the USA, Europe and Scandinavia. Mr. Otterholt was a Director with Microsoft, a senior consultant with Deloitte Consulting, and a COO with a nationwide consumer electronics enterprise. In 1988 he founded Public Knowledge, LLC to provide independent management and operational support to the public sector. More recently, he founded Stouffer & Company, LLC to provide as-needed project management services to fill an obvious skills gap in both private and public sectors.
Mr. Otterholt is an adjunct professor teaching project management at Northwest University. His essays on project management have been published in PMI newsletters. His runs a blog, Project Management Essays, where he muses about various project management topics.
Mr. Otterholt is a member of the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) and the Project Management Institute (PMI). He has a BA in Accounting and Computer Science and an MBA in Business Administration. He lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
Related Articles
No comments yet.
feel free to leave a comment
Comment Guidelines: Basic XHTML is allowed (a href, strong, em, code). All line breaks and paragraphs are automatically generated. Off-topic or inappropriate comments will be edited or deleted. Email addresses will never be published. Keep it PG-13 people!
XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
All fields marked with " * " are required.
- Agile Project Management
- Ask the Hut
- Certification
- Change Management
- Communications Management
- Computer Based Information Systems
- Concepts
- Corporate Transformation
- Cost Management
- Critical Chain Project Management
- Delegation
- History
- HR Management
- Implementing Project Management
- Integration Management
- Lessons Learned
- Management
- Miscellaneous
- People Issues
- PMBOK
- PRINCE2
- Procurement Management
- Program Management
- Project Lifecycle Phases
- Project Management Advantages
- Project Management Advantages
- Project Management as a Career
- Project Management Best Practices
- Project Management Charts
- Project Management Definitions
- Project Management Ethics
- Project Management for Beginners
- Project Management Guides
- Project Management Musings
- Project Management Office
- Project Management Proposals
- Project Management Templates
- Project Portfolio Management
- Project Workforce Management
- Quality Management
- Requirements Management
- Risk Management
- Scheduling
- Scope Management
- SCRUM
- Soft Management
- Time Management
- Training
- Uncategorized