Episode 139 – Project Managers, People Managers

The podcast by project managers for project managers.  Project managers or people managers? In this episode we talk about leadership development and the project manager’s role in creating self-sustaining and cohesive teams. Hear about steps for building high-performing teams that function independently and effectively, and how to create a healthy culture and strong team alignment.



Table of Contents



01:37 … Leadership Development Areas for Project Managers03:00 … Adapting Leadership to Evolving Teams07:40 … Behavioral Differences in High- and Low-Performing Teams09:26 … An Agile Approach10:05 … Healthy Culture in Hybrid Environment11:52 … Being Intentional about Equity and Inclusion13:27 … How do I Know They’re Doing Their Work?16:13 … Creating Project Team Alignment17:58 … What is Getting in Your Way?21:01 … How Do You Get People Aligned?24:00 … Reward and Recognition Systems27:13 … Providing Constructive Feedback29:22 … Strengthen Relationships with Senior Manager or Sponsors33:06 … Get in touch with Ken33:23 … Closing



KEN WAGNER: ...the more information that people have about the bigger picture, the more they can connect their piece to the, not just to the overall mission, but also their piece of the overall outcome, the more they are to contribute in ways beyond their specific function.



WENDY GROUNDS:  Welcome to Manage This, the podcast by project managers for project managers.  I’m Wendy Grounds, and in the studio today with me is Bill Yates. I must apologize, there are a few gremlins in the audio for some reason.  So we apologize if the audio is not quite as clear.   Today we’re talking with Ken Wagner.  Ken is a senior principal for ALULA.  ALULA is a management consultancy.  And he’s talking to us from Jacksonville, Florida.  Ken has a passion for helping leaders be successful.



BILL YATES:  Yeah.  Ken is an expert.  He’s even got his Ph.D. in Behavioral Science.  And we know project managers have to get things done through people.  And people are complex beings.  Right?  Some days I’m excited about working.  Some days I’m not as excited about it.



WENDY GROUNDS:  It’s a complex thing.



BILL YATES:  Yes, yes.  So not only does Ken have expertise in an area that’s of keen interest to me and project managers, but he’s also worked across all industries.  He’s coached managers and C-Suite level executives in all different industries, and I know he’s going to be able to add a lot to our conversation about managing projects and managing people to get things done.



WENDY GROUNDS:  Hi, Ken.  Thanks for joining us, and welcome to Manage This.



KEN WAGNER:  Well, good morning.  Thank you for having me.



Leadership Development Areas for Project Managers



WENDY GROUNDS:  We want to pick your brain on leadership and leading project teams today.  What leadership development areas are important for project managers?



KEN WAGNER:  Ah.  Boy, that’s a great question.  You know, many project managers are certainly skilled at change technology and project technology.  But much of that job, as I see it, is about influence, and ultimately about positive influence skills.  And so when I think about the most effective project managers, I notice that those that give direction in objective terms, can clearly describe what they want people to accomplish, what they want them to do, tend to have more success.  Those who frequently do alignment checks, so they ask probing questions to make sure that people are hearing what they think they’re hearing, or understanding what they think they’re understanding, they provide lots of feedback – feedback not only on outcomes, but on what people are doing and how they’re doing it.  And they do that in ways that are timely, and they do that in ways that are actionable.



And then the last skill that is often overlooked is that they tend to be good at positive reinforcement, meaning they attend to the things that they want more of, things that add the most value.