The Utility Player Advantange
Any sports fan can define a utility player. What they probably can’t do is name one. Utility players are generally not given the All-Star nod, they’re not seen shaving in a Gillette ad or featured in magazines escorting models to events. Ask someone to name a great shortstop; quarterback or center and the conversation could likely go on for days. Ask them to name a utility player and out comes their device for a Google search
If the specialists get the glory, the bank and the arm candy, why bother with being good at a multitude of things?
In my big corporate days and now in my consulting career, I’ve always considered myself to be a utility player. The key to playing that part is being able to perform several functions effectively and competently. Effectiveness and competence in the wake of change, growth or shifting economies are things I want on my team all day, every day. While being great at one thing has its advantages so does being able to succeed in multiple roles.
For example, excelling across multiple disciplines will help you:
Prepare for bigger roles with wider reach – Quick, name a CEO who’s only good at 1 thing! I can’t either.
Raise your profile throughout the organization – The more you do, the more people know you, the bigger your network and fan base.
Be invaluable during tough times – As companies are tasked with doing more with less, the jack-of-all-trades becomes the go-to staffer.
Remember effectiveness and competence are critical. It’s not enough to be able to do a variety of things or to be willing to try something different. You have to crush all things equally whether you’re playing first base or playing shortstop.
Who's your favorite utility player? Leave your answer in the comments. Be creative! There are plenty of utility players outside of sports.
Three Strategies for Rapid Problem Solving
Consultants are often brought in to create a strategic assessment of a process or to solve a business problem. By the time the consultant is hired you can be assured that the team has been operating with sub-optimal processes in place and has learned to work around or work within its limits. No consultant ever hears the words, “Take your time figuring it out.” So how do you get to the heart of the problem quickly? I’ve found the following three strategies to be integral to swift problem solving:
Talk it Out: Stakeholder interviews are fundamental to information gathering. Talk to the people involved in the process, consumers of the process and observers of the process. These groups can provide a well-rounded view of what’s happening day-to-day, where the pain points are and how their own jobs are affected by the process issues. You’ll be amazed how in sync opposing groups can be when they’re offering feedback about what’s not working well.
Draw a Map: Whether you use the coolest flowchart tool or a pencil and the back of a napkin, laying out information visually will help highlight disconnects, redundancies and gaps in a way that talking through something never will. It will also help convey a problem to time-strapped execs in a succinct way. I once had a senior technology executive ask me to consolidate a 15-page analysis into three bullets. From that point forward, I’ve made sure I could articulate problems and solutions with pictures.
Find the Facts: Gather as much data as you can up front. Numbers don’t lie. Having solid data in your pocket will give you power to draw irrefutable conclusions and support your recommendations. In a data driven business ecosystem a gut feeling no longer carries the weight needed to secure buy-in for your recommendations.
When time and money are of the essence, the faster you can draw fact-based conclusions the better you position yourself as an efficient problem solver and invaluable resource to your clients.
Using Process to Accelerate Growth
If I’ve learned anything from my big company experience it’s that documentation is key. Very little gets done without an approval or a tick on a spreadsheet that says the VP of XYZ approves this. And with good reason, many industries are regulated and these decision archives become necessities in doing and staying in business.
But what about in smaller, ever-changing organizations like startups? In the nimble start up, often decisions are made on the fly or in the kitchen area over the free snacks and artisanal brew. Documenting decisions or process feels like overhead, when in reality it can be the jumping off point for next-level growth.
Earlier this year I met with a startup CEO with his sights set on scaling the organization. The team had grown exponentially and the reach of its product set was expanding. The company’s growth was outpacing its day-to-day operating model. He asked me how I could help them manage change within the organization. My answer, I’d write stuff down. After a month of working for this CEO, we had a plethora of project plans, process flows and accountability matrices. Laying this information out visually helped the team identify opportunities for improvement that would align standard operating procedures with the current size and scale of the organization. In addition, these newly defined processes were extensible enough to support future growth.
Another client hired me to build a pitch deck for a prospective ad agency. My assignment was to tell a cohesive story about the product, the brand and the market. I asked my client to send me whatever documents she had that I could turn into a presentation. She sent me roughly 20 multi-page emails containing discussion threads amongst the leadership team with cogent ideas, random thoughts, decisions made, decisions overturned, decisions remade. Email was this team’s only way of keeping track of what they were doing. From that stream of information I was able to build an easy to follow presentation that was used as the baseline for investor presentations and business plans.
When done right, taking time to document and archive ideas, processes and plans is an accelerator to growth. After all, you have to know where you are in order to see where you can go.
The Art of the Process
Last fall I was chosen to lead a component of my child’s school auction. The auction is the largest fundraiser the school holds each year. Making the auction happen requires partnership among parent volunteers, vendors, artists, businesses within the community, teachers, school administrators, maintenance staff, and a host of others. My piece of this intricate puzzle was to manage the art auction inventory. When I was first asked, I wondered why someone with a financial services background would be needed for anything closely related to art and the art world. The auction chairs’ vote of confidence stemmed from two things: my organizational skills, and my ability to work with anybody and everybody. Sound like project management put to work in a non-work setting? You bet!
My job for six months was to manage the art inventory, which amounted to 100 plus pieces of art valued in total at close to $300,000. Breaking this down into process, there were three main components to my role: art intake, documentation and delivery. Get the donations cataloged, get the artwork in the door, get it ready for installation. This simple breakdown is something that comes easily for process-oriented, left-brained thinkers. The trick was applying this in the right-brained artistic realm. In previous posts I’ve written about the combination of left and right-brained thinking into a comprehensive approach. My consulting business, Valiant Mind, is based on this very premise. The winning combination in the auction scenario was appreciation and respect for the artistic process and by extension the artists themselves coupled with the most fundamental of tools, the Excel Spreadsheet. A very simple spreadsheet outlining the artwork, its donor, its value became the main communication and tracking vehicle for all involved. It was art in it’s own uncomplicated right. This was a case where the logical side (process, spreadsheet) and the creative side (empathy, curiosity, appreciation) worked together perfectly.
Once my job ended, the sum of my efforts was turned over to a team in charge of installing the artwork for the big event. This team was made up of professional artists, gallery owners and art experts. Watching this team in action was a great learning experience for a process geek like me. Even in a creative environment there is inherent logical process. For example, placement of artwork based on size, value and the buzz around the artist. The process was carefully thought through and executed upon seamlessly. What's more, the creative work was supported by the very same Excel Spreadsheet that bolstered the inventory piece. It was interesting to see fundamental tools and interpersonal skills come alive in a non-traditional working environment. When armed with Excel and empathy you're ready for anything!
Putting Childhood Truisms to Work
As any parent of a pre-schooler will tell you there are a set of rules by which their children live inside the classroom and on the playground. Luckily for parents, most children feel very comfortable bringing these rules home with them. How many times has little Timmy, who can’t ever stay quiet, said that he’s just using his words? Classroom rules are there for a reason. Sure they keep order and help teachers manage a herd of 4 year olds but they also create a sense of harmony and community that helps get stuff done.
How then can these rules be applied to the workplace, or better still the project team? As the leader of the team you’re pre-ordained to control and move the effort along. It’s your job to influence, cajole and get people on-board to do your bidding. By applying the fundamentals of school-aged children to your project you can set down a path that runs more smoothly than your average project.
1) Use Your Words: one of the most important things a Project Manager can do is to communicate. Whether it is to his or her team, the project stakeholders or to senior management. When I’m managing a project, it is my goal to get the message out before someone has to ask me for it. I take pride in being an excellent communicator and having the ability to anticipate someone’s question in advance of them asking it. Communication from the PM out isn’t the only way to use your words. Encourage your team members to do the same. Communication of statuses or feedback on what’s working and what’s not within the context of the team supports bonding and fortifies the group around the common goal of delivering results.
2) You Get What You Get and You Don’t Get Upset: getting a complex effort off the ground takes a myriad of drivers and doers. What happens when your doers don’t want to do? From the PM perspective, you’ve been dealt an inadequate hand. From the doer's perspective, you’ve gotten a request that you don’t have time for or perhaps you don’t have the interest in. In this scenario, the PM has to be the first to have a good attitude, to not get upset if you will. As the project leader, the PM sets the tone and the best example for how the group will move forward. A PM who throws up his or her hands creates a dynamic of melancholy which will ultimately lead to disinterest on the team’s part. On the flip side, the PM has a chance to flex some empathy skills to encourage support from the defiant doer or has the opportunity to come up with a creative solution for getting the required tasks complete. Going head to head with a member of the team presents challenges and can cast doubt on one’s skills as a leader. Embracing this dynamic and managing conflict in a constructive positive way gives us all a chance to grow as PMs.
3) Take Turns: differing points of view can help challenge a PM and boost idea generation and creativity. If the PM insists on being the single voice within a work effort he or she is short changed. Soliciting input, or giving others a turn to lead, comment, or provide a perspective helps build energy and enthusiasm around a project. Throughout my years in corporate America, my initial response when someone came into my office asking what should be done about a particular task or challenge was, “Tell me what YOU think we should do first.”
4) Clean Up After Yourself: since most of us don’t have toys in the workplace, this maxim applies to owning your mistakes, fixing them and learning from them. There are so many points within a project where things can go wrong. Admitting you’ve dropped the ball and offering an answer to how things will get back on track is a brilliant show of competence. We’ve all had the Teflon project team member from time to time. That someone to whom nothing sticks. Ownership and accountability build your credibility and your good-will with colleagues and management, whether you’re the project lead or a supporting player on the team. I can guarantee there’s not one working person today who can say they’ve never screwed up at work. Cleaning up your mess after doing that will help you stand out in a good way.
If only work could be as much fun as going to pre-school or playing on the playground. Melding some of the rules of childhood with day-to-day project management can be almost as entertaining plus it comes without the scraped knees.