During the The Bill Book, it became clear to the protagonist, Bill, that improving his own productivity wasn’t enough. Vernon knew this also and by the last chapter of the book it was quite obvious that “helping” someone else to become productive isn’t simply a matter of throwing a book or a bunch of concepts at them. If you are a project manager or a team manager you probably have a concern, like Bill and Vernon did, that the members of your team aren’t performing uniformly. Some might be quite good, while others might be weak.
I’m sure that you want what Bill achieved by the end – a state of kaizen or improvement where each person has taken responsibility for not just doing their part, but for becoming more productive. It puts you in the interesting role of influencer, coach and motivator. Your team members are probably not even aware that you have a concern, although you may have made an attempt to make a difference. Here are some resources that might help.
Motivating Team Members
In the book, Bill had it easy. His team members were already motivated to upgrade their skills because they were in individual danger of being added to the layoff list at Syscon. You probably don’t know how your project team members would react to the notion that each person should improve their skills in this area. They could resist. They could fight the idea. They could laugh at you and argue that they already have all the time management skills they need, “but thank you very much.” In a way that’s quite similar consultants, coaches, professional organizers and trainers have a similar problem of converting clients who have are used to thinking of them in a different way, to thinking of them as someone who can help them with time management upgrades. Check out the articles on the MyTimeDesign.com website and especially the Wilma Simulation for time management advisers. But here’s a quick tip – don’t tell your team members that there’s something wrong with their time management. Instead, have a conversation about the symptoms you can both see, and strategies for deal with them effectively. When you visit MyTimeDesign, you’ll see this idea tackled from a few different angles.
Lifehack Article
in 2012 I wrote an article on the challenges that time management coaches face when they attempt to change a client’s behavior. The challenges you face as a manager are probably quite similar. If however, you face the challenge of an unmotivated team member who is unable to see his/her symptoms clearly, you may need to refine your feedback skills. There are some wonderful resources from the writers of Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking when the Stakes are High by Patterson, Grenny, McMillan and Switzler. I use this book when I get stuck.
Project Management Institute Speech
A 30 minute speech I gave at a monthly Project Management Institute meeting outlined the difficulty that project managers have in working with team members with different levels of time management skill. In this slide-show and audio recording, I have some specific recommendations on what can be done using time management 2.0 principles, and the contents of my training programs. Project Managers – Time Management presentation.
Reducing the Risk of Un-Productive Team Members
At the PMI Southern Caribbean Chapter conference in Trinidad, I gave a talk on what it takes to work with team members who have weak time management skills. I presented a paper and it’s available at no cost, in addition to the slides I used plus the audio: PMISCC Speech on Unproductive Team Members. If you join our mailing list at the signup page mentioned at the bottom of this page, you will automatically receive the resources in your first email. Update – I also gave a podcast interview on the speech on the Project Management for the Masses podcast.
100 Top Sites for Project Managers
This isn’t exactly a resource, but an indication of the quality of the content that can be found at our research website, 2Time Labs. We look for the best in applied research in the field of time management, and were honored by the Project Management Degree website as one of the top website for time management. As a Project Manager, you may not the time or inclination to venture that deeply into the background of our work. It’s there if you need it!
Interventions/$
At some point, you maybe interested in having someone who is trained to implement Time Management 2.0 ideas to speak to your team. Or, you may already be thinking about the role that G played in The Bill Book. He designed and delivered a custom intervention, which might be something that you think could make a difference in your team’s performance. If this is the case, contact me and we can discuss your needs. Fortunately, a recent training I conducted for consultants and professional organizers means that if I’m not the best choice, there might be someone in your hometown who can assist.
Calling all Project Managers
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