by Mark Davison
February 8. 2011 14:53
There's nothing wrong with being a “Monday morning quarterback” to take a few lessons in teamwork from the Super Bowl played Sunday evening in Texas. Here are some of the lessons PMs might take to heart.
1. On offense the quarterback is in control. It's his job to call the play, get the ball, then hand off, pass or run the ball to make the play. For those watching Sunday's game, it was clear that both quarterbacks - Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers were in command of their offenses when they were on the field. You might think of them as the project managers for each of their teams, each one driving each play (task and activity) toward the goal (milestone).
2. The quarterback needs to be a good communicator. The other players need to hear his plays and be ready to block, run or receive a pass. Similarly, the PM needs to be a good communicator. He needs to be clear about expectations and needs, what the plan is, how to execute it, and assure it gets well executed by selecting the right personnel to perform certain tasks. Plays are designed to take advantage of player strengths. Coaches work hard to design plays to put the right player in the right place at the right time to make the play successful. In Sunday's game we saw this as Aaron Rodgers tossed a 29-yard pass to Jordy Nelson in the first quarter. Nelson was able to leverage his skills in running and catching by pulling slightly ahead of Pittsburgh's cornerback to make a leaping catch for a touchdown. This is a good example of knowing player strengths/weaknesses (on both offense and defense), and how to leverage them into the play. So it is with PMs. As a PM you need to know how to take advantage of the skills, experience and expertise of each “player” on the project team. Your workplan should place each team member in the right role to be successful, and to enable the team to reach its goals.
3. The idea is to score points. Points on the scoreboard measure the success of the football team in the game. For a project, a PM needs to identify the success criteria to measure, then measure them diligently throughout the project. With the right measurements to guide behavior, the project will reach its successful outcome when the measurements are fulfilled.
4. The team “clicks.” When things are going well on the field, the fans can see their football team is “clicking” - that is, passes are completed, runs gain yardage, field goals are made, touchdowns result, etc. Green Bay got “clicking” early, leaping out front for an early lead. The Green Bay fans were thrilled. But in the second quarter, things began to click for Pittsburgh when Ben Roethlisberger combined with receiver Hines Ward on three passes that led to a touchdown, making the score 21-10 at halftime. It's the same with a project team. When the team is really working on all cylinders, team members get along, issue are minimized, milestones are reached on time, deliverables meet expectations for completion, budget goals are achieved, etc.
5. Coaches get feedback during the game. Whether the team is doing well, or not, coaches get tons of feedback. Fans cheer or boo. Observations from the coaching box are fed into game plans. Decisions are made to change players or plays. Defenses are modified. Plans are adjusted to achieve success. As a PM feedback also comes in from lots of sources all the time. Status meetings are conducted. Deliverables are scrutinized. Management provides oversight. Project team members respond to issues and problems. Governance committees provide reviews. Colleagues and mentors offer advice. The PM has plenty of opportunities to revise the project strategy, scope, plan, etc., to address changes in midstream.
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