Articles

Learning to Adapt

As the number of ways of delivering projects expands, project managers must get comfortable with switching between different approaches. But when the overall approach to project management changes from one project to the next, it can be harder to adapt. 

PMI Picks recently covered adaptation and offers the following tips to make the process easier to move from project to project: 

Consciously reset. If you have been a project manager for some time, it’s natural to go into the next project almost on autopilot. You know what you must do, so you just get on with it. But when the approach changes — even if only from one type of hybrid to another — you need to consciously stop and think about how you are going to move forward. 

Engage with the team. You have an idea of how to manage the project, but so does the team. Work with them to think about how different aspects will be carried out. This is one of the best ways to get them on your side from the start. 

Conduct an appropriateness test. Stakeholders, team members, and even project managers will have a preferred style of management or a preferred methodology. But answering the question “Is this the best approach for this project?” will help to ensure that the most appropriate methodology or variation is used for every initiative. 

Be prepared to adjust. The reason hybrid is growing in popularity is because teams are realizing that sometimes a particular approach will work better for one aspect of a project. Even if a project starts out as purely predictive, there may be some aspects of delivery that would be better served using adaptive techniques. Making that shift will help with the overall success. 

Project managers should also consider how their teams can adapt to different methods. Most team members will have a preferred approach, and they won’t always be the same. As a result, some individuals are likely to feel more or less comfortable with how they have to work than their colleagues.  

Project managers must ensure that the team understands why the decision was taken to use a particular approach and must provide all team members with the support they need to succeed. It may be appropriate to allow some team members to work differently, but only if it still enables the project to succeed. The ability to deliver the business benefits outweighs any personal preference of working style. 

With individuals who are new to a particular working method, the project manager must ensure that team members are receiving the support and guidance they need, but that they are also given the freedom to develop their own experience and confidence. That way they will be better equipped for the next project they are assigned to. 

The reality today is that project managers must be comfortable working with many different approaches, whether those are significantly different or simply different flavors. The skills that make a project manager successful allow those adjustments to be made relatively easily, but they still require conscious adjustments and resetting with each initiative. 

Key Takeaways: 

• Adjusting to different ways of working is an inevitable part of project management today. 
• Consciously resetting and thinking about how each project approach is different helps with the adjustment. 

• Team members also must adapt and may need help doing so.