Project Management Success from Pronouns. A typo? Nope.

In a matter of minutes, a student of mine opened my mind to a better way of thinking about projects, and more importantly how to make them perform better. Here’s what happened: It seemed kind of weird, but, during a class discussion this student stood up and said “I just remembered something we started doing really early in projects to figure out which projects will be successful and, those that won’t.” He had my attention. Think about it, who wouldn’t want to know early about a projects’ prospects for success? Everybody in the class was waiting, especially me; he said “All we do is ask team members and participants about the project in general, and, listen to the pronouns they use when talking about the project.” “If they use terms like, they, them, and theirs when referring to the project, then, it’s predictable about what’s going to happen over time.” So, now when I teach, I tell the story above to my participants, and, ask what are the preferred pronouns for success?” Everybody gets this – and, quickly! Answer: we, us, and even better is ours and/or mine.

OK, if you’ve read (and stayed awake while doing so) some of my other articles, you’ve picked up on my belief in the value of a team that’s driven to perform. Don’t get me wrong, I love project management tools and processes as much as anybody, maybe more (OK, OK, I’m kinda geeky about that stuff) … But, it’s really about the team.

That few minutes; a gift really from a student, changed my life because from that point on in project management I’ve attempted to think about and implement every little thing that helps a team think about the project with the preferred pronouns of: We, us and ours. I have my ideas, and likely you have yours that might be even better. From the comfort of your luxurious chair, or stand up desk, you might be thinking something like: “How do I do that in the real world?” I’m glad you asked! I’ll give you an example of something serious project managers should really love – here goes: The premise of having a team gain ownership of the project by constructing its objectives, work breakdown structure, tasks, etc. is vital of course; for many sound reasons. In addition, I believe each core team member should be responsible for a small piece of project administration as well. Perhaps have one core team member build, maintain, and publish the project team roster. Any project manager knows this is not particularly difficult, especially on smaller projects, but, that’s not the point. Have another team member responsible for entry of project status into the chosen tool each fortnight or week (easier than it sounds). In fact, if you’re lucky enough to work with the same team on a new project– rotate the various administrative tasks – it makes it easier for you to take a vacation, because your team will be able to survive with-out you for a week or two. Tell me what’s wrong with that.

Having a team excited about accomplishing project goals is an amazing thing to behold, high performing project managers seem to have teams that do that consistently.

Watch out for a team that has a psychological stake in the project, if they “own” it you’ll know it by the pronouns they use when talking about the project. Help the team see the project the right way, think of it from their perspective; they really do WANT do be part of a winning project. Good managers do the little things that help the team succeed, and, get out of the way when needed to let that happen.