Management Skills for Project Leaders: What to Do When You Do Not Know What to Do

ISBN-13: 9783764364236 / Angielski / Miękka / 2001 / 202 str.

Marie-Claude Foster

Opis

This text is the result of many workshops and courses for project leaders working in a variety of settings on low and midddle-income countries. It brings together some of the thoughts of leading management writers.

Spis treści

1 Dealing with uncertainty and complexity.- The issue.- Complexity in the work situation.- Complexity as normal.- Work organisations as complex systems.- The limitations of traditional linear models.- The future is always uncertain.- Implications of an uncertain future for project leaders.- Long-term plans are problematic.- Self-organisation in work organisations: from ossification to disintegration and the edge of chaos.- Organisations which do not thrive and are not effective operate in a stage of ossification or disintegration.- The edge of chaos – both order and disorder.- We co-create the future although we are not in control: the importance of “taking part” 13 Emergent strategies: the importance of conversations and relationships.- Other useful strategies in the light of an uncertain future: short-term planning and continuous monitoring.- Implications and useful strategies.- Paradox is a characteristic of the chaotic edge.- Implications for project leaders.- Surviving and thriving at the chaotic edge.- References and suggested reading.- 2 Managing complexity – unhelpful and effective strategies.- The issue.- Protective but uncreative mechanisms.- Secrecy.- Busy-ness.- Paralysis.- Control through the search for set procedures, rules and regulations.- Belief in a conspiracy plot.- Belief in a parent figure.- Fantasy of omnipotence and of perfection: the “playing God” game.- Becoming aware of our unhelpful strategies.- Dealing with unhelpful strategies: the importance of giving people protective skills.- Positive strategies.- The skills for living and working with complexity and uncertainty.- Admitting to not-knowing.- Knowing what to do when we do not know what to do.- The importance of action when we do not know what to do.- Different modes of thinking: left brain hemisphere vs right brain hemisphere.- Usefulness of the right brain hemisphere.- The importance of “slack” quiet times.- Intuition.- Developing intuition.- The creative process.- Organisational factors facilitating the use of intuition and creativity.- Keeping the child in us alive: having fun at work.- Images and metaphors.- References and suggested reading.- 3 Decision-making in the face of complexity and an unknown future.- The issue.- Appropriateness of the manner of decision-making.- Agreed objectives and known means: logical rational models.- Certainty about means and conflict about outcomes:politicking.- Agreed objectives and unclear means: intuition and trialand error.- Conflict about objectives and unclear means: keepingclose to the user, politicking, intuition and trial and error.- Teleological decision-making.- The Gestalt cycle of energy use.- Impediments to the smooth completion of the cycle.- Decision-making in the light of paradox.- The dialectical approach.- Synectics.- Creating opposition.- The use of oxymorons.- Polarity management.- Creative methods for generating ideas.- Brainstorming.- Analogy.- Patterns in chaos: order in the midst of disorder.- Identifying the primary task.- Being aware of our interconnectedness.- Project design.- Realistic objectives – no utopia.- Decision-making in complexity: the continuous development of aspirations.- Using left and right brain hemispheres.- References and suggested reading.- 4 Valuable perspectives to help us deal with complexity.- The issue.- The construction of reality.- Valuable perspectives and outlook.- The “both¡­ and¡­” view of the world.- Multiple perspectives.- The normality of “mistakes”.- The importance of shifting outside our habitual perspectives.- Revelling in change as an important skill.- Embracing paradox.- Acceptance and confrontation: combining the “feminine”and the “masculine” principles.- Recognition of constant flux in life and in projects.- “Riding the waves”.- “How to fall down and get up again”.- Working with energy.- Learning preceded by unlearning.- Taking part in the action: being involved.- Adaptability and flexibility: the importance of listening.- Interconnectedness – “agape” in the workplace.- Working with groups.- Skills for dealing with the void.- References and suggested reading.- 5 Empowerment and self-development.- The issue.- A chaotic model of development.- Starting with oneself.- Doing and being.- The search for meaning.- Being, doing and complexity.- Dealing with our fears.- The importance of self-esteem.- Positive thinking.- Affirmations.- Living life fully.- Taking responsibility and knowing when we are not responsible.- The secret of empowerment: the perception of choice.- Reframing: a powerful method for empowerment.- The dangers of passivity.- How to deal with helplessness.- About winners and losers.- Self-fulfilling prophecy.- Pro-activity.- Authority.- The work instinct.- On the importance of aspirations.- Self-empowerment and being.- References and suggested reading.- 6 Facilitating the development of staff.- The issue.- Life positions.- Belief in the potential of workers.- “Agape” – love in the workplace.- The essence of managing individuals effectively andhumanely: unconditional love, empathy and authenticity.- Recognition in the workplace.- Conditional and unconditional strokes.- Self-fulfilling prophecies revisited.- Change through modelling.- Healing the injury of previous learning.- On being a mentor.- The outcome of learning: celebration of differences.- Leadership styles.- The servant leader.- The ethics of influencing others: indoctrination or education?.- The meaning of support.- Dealing with anxiety in the workplace.- Clarifying the nature of the working alliance.- Elements which damage staff development.- Supporting groups in the workplace.- Unconscious processes in the group.- Valuing people.- On the importance of our own attitude.- The empowerment myth.- References and suggested reading.- 7 The unlearning and learning organisation.- The issue.- The importance of culture.- Power, culture and organisations.- Culture, power and change.- Managers as culture workers.- The organisation at the edge of chaos.- A tension between stability and instability.- In the effective organisation subversion is encouraged.- Self-organising groups.- The “both¡­ and¡­” of power.- The creative organisation.- Celebration of dissent.- About risk-taking and “mistakes”.- Being involved.- Suspending judgment.- The importance of slack time and time-out.- Organisational culture for promoting creativity.- Organisation analysis.- The environment.- The social setting.- Technical support.- Use of time.- The nature of the work.- The organisational culture.- A celebration of conflict: the importance of freedom ofexpression.- Eustress and distress in work organisations.- On the importance of continuous change.- References and suggested reading.- 8 The change process.- The issue.- Organisation development.- The change process.- Complexity revisited: the future is always uncertain.- Change occurs in far-from-equilibrium conditions.- About fractals: the part contains the whole.- Small interventions lead to important results: thebutterfly effect.- Valuable organisational change: continuous learning.- Organisational change to be avoided: moving towardsstability.- Mental flexibility.- Change “management”: discovery.- About endings and beginnings.- Endings: grieving and bereavement.- Helping people deal with loss: an important role fordealing with change.- Emotions at work: allowing emotions to surface.- A note on survivors’ guilt.- First-and second-level change.- Unhelpful change.- Common occurrences with second level change.- Letting go.- The void revisited.- The role of the “community” in change.- References and suggested reading.- 9 Change agent skills.- The issue.- What it means to be a change agent.- Fear as a hindrance to change.- The importance of relationship.- “Disturbing the field”.- On risk-taking.- Inviting others to the edge of chaos.- Helping people through the void.- Finding out the stories.- Changing the stories: how to be a culture worker.- Encouraging people to discover their own stories.- The beginning of a change process needs careful nurturing.- Helping people through the “getting worse before it getsbetter” phase.- No utopian promise.- Changing what can be realistically changed – no utopia.- On the importance of being realistic.- Enantiodromia or the flip-over phenomenon.- When the solution is the problem.- “More of the same” does not work.- The paradox of change.- Doing while “not doing”: working as a “rainmaker”.- Not “why” questions, but “what” and “how”.- The rationality of “irrational” behaviour.- “Both¡­ and¡­” revisited.- Reframing revisited.- Working with so-called “resistance”.- On the importance of questions.- Introducing confusion to bring about change.- Importance of unplanned and trivial incidents.- Self-care of the change agent.- The magician and the scientist.- References and suggested reading.