Transparency, Accountability, and Commitment to the Projects Execution.

Currently, the requests and expectations of clients for the projects they hire are increasingly demanding in terms of execution times and costs. Nowadays, projects with execution times of less than one year are frequent, and more frequent those with execution times of 6 months or less, all with very tight budgets. Along with this, now it is also frequent that customers do not completely define from the beginning what is the scope of the work to be hired, but they only express their needs or what they aim to. Also added to this is the request to estimate as soon as possible the costs of major equipment and key contracts to have the necessary budget in advance.

To address the challenges described above, the current trend calls for strategies structured in accordance with PMI best practices and the application of three fundamental keys that would provide the solid base needed to achieve successful team management and a satisfied customer. These fundamental or essential pillars to be applied by all: managers, intermediate leadership and, executing staff, are the Transparency in the performance of the activities, the Accountability of this performance and the Commitment to the objectives of the project and the client needs.

Transparency, Accountability, and Commitment, essentially independent pillars, once activated, they positively interrelate among themselves. Therefore, Transparency leads to trust and then to a harmonious and safe work environment, which consequently drives to the reinforcement of natural leadership and then to Accountability at all levels, which in turn leads to alignment with the Commitment to the client, their needs and, the own organization ones.

For the activation of Transparency, Accountability, and Commitment within the working group, the following is recommended:

Transparency:

• Promote open communication and the exchange of information as a habit. This is the execution without secrets. It should be noted here that the internal security information of the organization may be exempt from transparency (e.g., administration, finance, and, human resources).
• Promote honesty and camaraderie among members.
• Encourage the need to receive comments.
• Promote due respect among all.
• Admit errors, if any, without fear of reprisal.
• Listen to each other. Do not assume anything a priori.

Transparency in the actions of the organization and communication of the team is as simple as establishing an execution without secrets. This is, executing the actions in such a way that others can easily see them. People like to know things. No one feels comfortable surrounded by secrets and hidden information, especially in a workplace.

Productive people thrive on teams that rely on trust.

Accountability:

• Clearly identify the roles.
• Promoting periodic alignment with the objective.
• Promoting expansion of the focal vision and reinforce the global vision.
• Delegate activities and promote the sense of ownership over the results obtained from this delegation.
• Strengthen the working group self-confidence in the approach of solutions that lead to appropriate and timely decisions. Managers remain behind the scene vigilant and responsible for what the team is handling.
• Emphasize that the management is confident in the working group.
• Dignify the integrity of each person in the working group.
• Emphasize that management supports and defends the working group regarding proposals that led to the decisions taken, the risks assumed and the results obtained.
• Promote problem-solving without seeking blame.

The promotion of accountability of the working group responsibilities helps establish peer respect and guide the team to meet their expectations.

Commitment:

• Give staff visibility and recognition within the organization.
• Define clearly from the start the expectations to be met.
• Identify realistic goals
• Provide the staff with the necessary training.
• Provide recognition about achievements, big or small.

Teams that manage to internalize the commitment use a common language, share ideas and opinions and debate them internally, supporting the decisions as a group, even if someone initially disagrees.

Spanish version available at: 
https://ingconcurrente.blogspot.com/2018/07/la-transparencia-la-rendicion-de.html

The Lessons Learned and the Storyteller

The lessons learned from an activity, project or any entrepreneurship are the documented information that reflects the positive and negative experiences of that activity, project or entrepreneurship and includes recommendations to improve future performance in new developments. So it is about preventing a person or organization from repeating the same mistakes and taking advantage of the successes achieved. 

According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), the process of Lessons Learned from a project includes five steps: Identify the findings, Document them, Analyze them, Record them and Take Advantage of them. 

The first step: Identifying the findings, means discovering and capturing the facts, figures, comments, and recommendations of the project under study, which could be valuable for future projects. This requires that the lessons learned sessions be Prepared and Oriented or Conducted. 

Preparing the lessons learned session means identifying the participants, including the Facilitator, defining and assigning roles and responsibilities, writing the basic rules of the process and developing the agenda. Additionally, the selected Facilitator must provide a summary of the project to the participants (scope of the project, key facts, and figures, etc.) to help them be better prepared for the sessions. 

Guiding or conducting the lessons learned session means focusing on identifying the successes and failures of a project and obtaining recommendations to improve performance in future projects. Here the Facilitator is the key figure, because he or she is in charge of ensuring that all relevant issues are included in the debate and that the process of lessons learned is fluid, in line with the basic rules, promoting among the attendees the criticism to the facts and findings that are identified, avoiding signaling people. 

Under this scheme, the Facilitator acts as a guiding and pivoting element of the session, in which the listed facts and figures of the project lead to the participants being able to identify the potential findings. 

Now, let’s imagine that the lessons learned sessions instead of starting with the guidelines given by a guiding leader begin with a fluent narrative (the Story), presented by the Facilitator or someone selected to do that (the Storyteller), which describes in a pleasant way what happened in the project from the beginning, starting with the start-up meeting of the project and from there tells the story about how was the relationship with the client at all levels: management, administration, planning and execution, continuing the narration with those key events that could have impacted the course of the project and how we reacted to them at that time, at all levels. Here the Storyteller could open the "Story" by promoting the audience participation in the narrative, asking for example, what other experience or relevant event happened to us? Who were the featured characters? and what was the positive thing that they did to solve the event, including also, in a positive way (without signaling people) how we could have failed and how these events were also closed. 

Nick Morgan, author of "Power Cues", points out the following: "The facts and figures and all the rational things that we believe are important in the business world, do not really stick in our minds at all." 

In addition, activating our memory with memories of the project's experiences facilitates the visualization of the events under the situations experienced, which favors the detection of findings that could otherwise be omitted. The incidents experienced move people internally more than the evaluation of the facts and the figures that are shown on a blackboard. Consequently, saying an incident can be worth more than reporting facts and figures. Here is the importance of telling the story of the project.

Then, for an activity that is based on the review of past events like as the lessons learned sessions, it would be useful to use any tool that allows the events reappear as smoothly as possible. Thus, the implementation of the figure of the Storyteller at the beginning of these sessions, who would tell the summarized history of the project under evaluation, acquires strength in comparison with the traditional procedure of identifying findings from a list of facts or figures. However, it should be noted that this summary history of the project must be effective (focused on key events) and should motivate the participants of the lessons learned session. So, the following question arises: How to make a summary story of the project effective and motivating? 

Carolyn O'Hara in her article "How to tell a great story" (Harvard Business Review - July 30, 2014's edition) wrote the following: 

"Stories create sticky memories by adding emotions to things that have happened". 

"We tell our co-workers and friend stories to persuade someone to support our project". 

When we listen to a story, our mentality changes drastically. Not only are activated the language processing parts, but also those areas that would be used if you were in the story yourself. Thus, "stories create sensory experiences" (The Psychology of Stories: The Storytelling Formula Our Brains Crave, by Shane Jones, Hubspot blog, 2017). 

"When you listen to shocking stories, the brain can really make you develop thoughts, opinions, and ideas that align with the person telling the story. When we tell stories that have really influenced our way of thinking, we can also achieve the same effect on our audience, influencing them. The brains of the narrator and the listener can really synchronize" (The Psychology of Stories: The Storytelling Formula Our Brains Crave, by Shane Jones, Hubspot blog, 2017).

Then, a motivating story could be based on the following: 

• It must be chronological. It contains a beginning and end. 

• It must say who we are, not only what we do because human relationships require reciprocity and authenticity. 

• It must explain how the shared purpose will be fulfilled and also explain the roles needed to fulfill it. 

• It must ensure that the figures and events that occurred are explicitly translated into clear, simple and visual messages. 

The objective is to say something that provokes the emotional response of the audience.

" I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."_ Maya Angelou.

Spanish version available at:

https://ingconcurrente.blogspot.com/2017/08/las-lecciones-aprendidas-y-el-narrador.html

Application of some principles of Quantum Theory to Project Management

If we aim for effectiveness, we must acknowledge the observer effect and also consider that there can be multiple incompatible solutions to any problem.

Understanding the unpredictable.

Integrating Quantum Theory principles into Project Management is still evolving and needs further research and testing. Nevertheless, due to the innovative and significant nature of this approach and its considerable potential, it deserves to be evaluated.

It is widely recognized that Quantum Theory fundamentally deals with uncertainty, which is a critical factor in the deviations that can arise during project execution. This leads to essential questions for the Project Manager or Planner when confronted with a deviation that jeopardizes the schedule and budget: How could this have been prevented? What actions should be taken now?

Answering this question, some experts in the field have referenced the principles of quantum mechanics related to uncertainty, specifically Superposition and Complementarity.

Quantum Superposition suggests that, in any process, a defined state does not exist; instead, multiple overlapping states coexist simultaneously. The definition of any state is determined only when the process is intervened. This means that the outcome influences the state before the intervention, and the origin and consequence of any action are interconnected and interact with each other.  Here, an example of intervening is observing the process (as evidence of the "observer effect", see the outcome of adding observation to the "Double-Slit Experiment" on a light beam).

Quantum Complementarity suggests that conflicting interpretations can actually be complementary. This means that for a specific phenomenon, different explanations may seem exclusive or interchangeable, but upon closer inspection, they are not mutually exclusive; rather, they coexist or complement each other.

How can the quantum principles of Superposition and Complementarity be considered in Project Management?

Superposition is a principle that highlights the "observer effect," which states that the act of observing or intervening can impact the outcome. This means that even the best-laid plans can be altered by interference, leading to blurred actions. To manage this situation, it would be relevant to gather information from unobservable sources and intervene with minimal disturbance to the ongoing process. Knowing when and how to intervene is crucial, considering the observer effect. When it comes to intervention, the timing will depend on the situation, and the observer effect should be considered. The intervention should focus on controlling the unavoidable damage caused by the intervention and evaluating the results without disrupting the ongoing process.

On the other hand, the application of Complementarity involves accepting that there can be multiple incompatible solutions. Instead of enforcing a single planned solution, it's advisable to promote and allow for multiple possible solutions.

Extending the principles of quantum mechanics, which aim to understand the behavior of subatomic particles, to the human scale of everyday life may seem inadequate and perhaps even far-fetched, but the actual implications are still unknown. Therefore, considering these concepts with due caution will allow us to broaden our perspective on how to address deviations in projects.

Spanish version available at:

https://ingconcurrente.blogspot.com/2017/11/aplicacion-de-principios-de-la-mecanica.html