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How to Stop Herding Cats: Leading Project Teams Through the Chaos

Bill Fournet, President and CEOThe Persimmon Group

Herding Cats

TEAM PERFORMANCE CHALLENGES

The Chaos

THE CHANGING WORKFORCE

Today’s LearnersCAN EXPECT TO HAVE BETWEEN

10-14 JOBS…BEFORE THEY TURN 38.

(Dept. of Labor)

www.ThePersimmonGroup.com

The number of employees voluntarily quitting their jobs surpassed the number being fired or laid off for the first time since October 2008.

(U.S. Bureau of Labor, 2012)

www.ThePersimmonGroup.com

THE CHANGING WORKFORCE40% of Millennials think they should

be promoted every two years.

So how far have we come?

1994 2014

1994 2014

The Emergence of Social Media

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

200820092010201120122013

Trends

Temporary job growth leaves other industries in the dust

Military hiring comes front & center

Returnships become popular

Trends

Leadership standards, behavior, and values training

Customized career paths

Upsurge in flexible working

Skills gap reach global proportions

Trends

Organizations getting flatterMore project schedules will move to cloudPM and business function synergiesBig data gets bigger

HERDING THE CATS3 Techniques to…

Change what you control and how you control it

New Ways to Lead

Traditional (Command & Control)

Micromanage, “order-takers”

Change what you control and how you control it

Traditional (Command & Control)

Micromanage, “order-takers”

Collaborate and Attack

Support, self-directed, enable, “hole fillers”, cutters

P

P

C

T

O

M

V

E

Leader’s Intent

“No plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy's main strength.” [no plan survives first contact]

Field-Marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke

Elements of Leader’s Intent

The Leader’s Intent is a concise statement in every order (plan) that

communicates to the organization the operation’s/project’s:

Purpose: The why

Method: A general scheme, framework, or approach; it is not a detailed “how to”

End-state: What success looks like, feels like, acts like, and sounds like

SUCCESS to me looks like ________.

Example of Intent Statement

Success to me is…For 90 days after we deploy the

software, my phone rings with only compliments.Coming out of this meeting, we will capture all of the requirements or

know where to get them.

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has occurred.”

-George Bernard Shaw

5Cs: CONSISTENT, CONFIDENT,CONCISE, CLEAR, CONTEXTUAL

Baby Boomers Gen X Gen Y

POWER TECHNIQUE: THE BLUF

BOTTOM LINE, UP FRONTBLUF: Need your answer by Tuesday March 31st at 3 PM

BLUF: We have 2 options for a meeting date: Friday March 5th at 3:00 PM or Monday March 7th at 10 AM. Please respond with your preference by Tuesday March 1st at 3 PM.

leadershipprincipled

Principled Leadership

Values + Approach = “The Way”

Principled Leadership

Establishes boundaries Enables innovation

Engages the workforce

Before taking an action, imagine yourself as the customer.

Contribute to the mission Today! Don’t just keep your chair warm.

Don’t bring issues without options.

Examples of Guiding Principles

Defining the PrinciplesBest Practices

Principles are accessible by anyone within

the organization

Principles should evoke an emotional

or visual reaction

Would you be willing to fire someone for not

adhering to the principles

HERD CATS?Are you prepared to…

Successful Cat Herding Culture

Leveraging Generational & Cultural Differences

Managing to Objectives & Effects

Recognizes that Innovation Requires Risk

Teaching over Telling

Discussing the Boundaries

Talks it. Walks it. Lives it.

Bill Fournet

Thank You!

Email: BillFournet@ThePersimmonGroup.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/billfournet

Twitter: @billfournet