Tagged with: about • effective communication • knowing yourself • labeling • manifesto • personal branding • project leadership • self promotion • self-awareness
“Know thyself” – Temple of Apollo at Delphi
“I thought this was a blog about Project Management… uhm … Project Leadership?”
Thanks for bringing that up. Yes it is. In my view a project is nothing more than a bunch of people interacting together to achieve a certain goal. And it’s the role of the Project Manager to make sure the sum of the interactions fulfills the desired goal.
So, it’s about communication, and it’s your job to make sure communication is good.
If people know what you’re about, what your thing is, they know when to contact you, and when not.
You don’t contact me with questions about your critical-path. I know about it, but it’s not my thing.
By setting expectations on what you’re about, you can steer the assumptions people have about you in the right direction, with as a result improved communication.
But first, you have to know yourself what you are about.
What is your thing?
Finding out is a fabulous training for communication. You have to dig deep and find the words to express what you have found.
Sometimes people need a manifesto to explain what they are about. I love Chris Guillebeau’s Guide To World Domination and Ken Thompson’s Bioteaming Manifesto.
My manifesto can be summed up in one sentence:
“If your project sucks, you must have earned it.”
I try to explain this a little more. I still struggle finding the right words.
I started creating slidedecks for this purpose. It’s a medium that works for me.
By explaining yourself and engaging about “your thing” you practice your communication. And you learn a lot about yourself while you are at it.
Find out what you are about. It improves your communication. It improves communication with you.
If you need help with that, or want to tell what your thing is, just leave a comment.
