Comments on: 25 Ways Project People Can Train Their Mental Flexibility

By: Bas de Baar

Bas de Baar — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 17:15:16 +0000

Well said. Thanks for the great links… interesting reads.

By: JoeBindeman

JoeBindeman — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:35:16 +0000

Thanks for sharing your interview with Esther Derby on Self-Organized
Teams. Esther says these teams may be responsible for tasks,
cross-training, membership, and setting direction. She points out that
they must exist within context of organization. The role of a manager is
still vital to set boundaries, establish goals that make sense, provide
guard rails, and the freedom to do what's needed... They also observe,
provide help out of the "stuck places", provide coaching and skills
training, and get involved in difficult situations. She acknowledges
that it is a failure to abandon the team - I agree. It is leaders who
provide the context in which any team works, self-directed or otherwise.
Interpersonal effectiveness certainly begins with intrapersonal
effectiveness: "Know thyself" and know your team. Some tools I've found
to be effective in these areas are the DISC Model of Human Behavior from
http://www.personality-insights.com/ and the Kolbe Index from
http://www.kolbe.com/kc08/index.cfm?.

Joe Bindeman, PMP
PMO Liaison to Project Managers/EDS Ahold Account

EDS, an HP company
Project Management Delivery/ASFO-A
1080 W. Entrance Dr
Auburn Hills, MI 48326

Tel: +1 248 370 1493
Fax: +1 248 754-2436
Mobile: +1 586 524 5449
E-mail: joe.bindeman@eds.com

We deliver on our commitments
so you can deliver on yours.

By: Bas de Baar

Bas de Baar — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:47:55 +0000

Hi Joe, sometimes when you write in a “the whole world is an ocean of love” mode, you get carried a way leadership matters. Always will. I have some postings in this topic but let me point you to the story told by Esther Derby about self-organization: http://www.basdebaar.com/self-organizat…

Let me know what you think. Cheers Bas

By: Joe Bindeman

Joe Bindeman — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 00:55:41 +0000

I agree that it is very important to stay mentally flexible and offer some balance to the implied call for being free (from rigidity, rules, processes, procedures, “artificially imposed images “, etc.) When I see an idealistic phrase like “The world moves on with or without us, so should your project” I think, “No, leadership matters”. Yes, the world moves on but I have a responsibility to influence my portion of it. Does my project move on with or without me? Not likely. Without leadership it might just be a good idea that never gets implemented.
For example imagine a tomato vine. Left alone it surely grows taking the path of least resistence and becoming a sprawling clump of mangled branches sometimes smothering the fruit/vegetable beneath. Under excellent care it is instead propped up with stakes, fertilized, watered, and spread out to achieve maximum light, growth, and results. The structure, used wisely and flexibly(ex. scaled), provides the best environment for the all the natural elements to achieve their desired results. The seemingly burdensome rules(processes, procedures) actually provide “freedom” to thrive. They were designed to prevent the painful lessons of being “free”(no rules, no structure, chaos).

By: Project Shrink 2008: Oh No Not Again — Project Shrink

Project Shrink 2008: Oh No Not Again — Project Shrink — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:18:20 +0000

[...] months later, and I am all over the %$$# place: first going way of the scale chanting about mental flexibility, and now I just have to drag my “Save The Planet” / “We All Can Live Together” idealism into the [...]

By: 25 Ways Project People Can Train Their Mental Flexibility « Gurat journey ,,,

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 08:50:12 +0000

[...] Posted by Ramdhani on September 16, 2008 25 Ways Project People Can Train Their Mental Flexibility [...]

By: Bas de Baar

Bas de Baar — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:46:24 +0000

Hi Maria, thanks for the nice remark… was one heck of work to compile yes, we need to keep our minds busy… great list you link to … mentally nimble… YEP THAT’S IT!

great new layout on your site BTW

By: Maria | Never the Same River Twice

Maria | Never the Same River Twice — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:45:33 +0000

"8. Meditate. No, I am not repeating myself. There is the relaxed reflective meditation and then there is the real process of meditation. Find your empty corner and at least start your breathing exercises." This is a great collection of resources, Bas. I, too, often sing the praises of meditation as a way of staying mentally nimble. It seems that so much resistance to change stems from people becoming comfortable in their current patterns. We need to keep "stirring the pot" to make sure that we are ready to change when needed.