allPM Today October 2009, Issue 113, Frank P. Saladis, Editor

October 2009, Issue 113, Frank P. Saladis, Editor

President and Chief Executive Officer
of IIL
E. LaVerne Johnson

Senior Executive
Director of IIL
Dr. Harold Kerzner

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In this Issue:

*allPM's Letter from the Editor, Frank P. Saladis, PMP

*allPM September Poll Results and New Poll Question

*Theme of the Month: The People Side Of Project Management

Cutting Edge Advances in Using a Timeless Tool, the Power of Acknowledgment, for Immediate and Breakthrough Results on Project Teams
By Judith W. Umlas, Senior Vice President, IIL, Inc.

*A Comparison: The Project Manager to a Team Sport Coach
By Jacqueline Dennis, PMP

*Seven Traits a Project Manager Must Possess
By Charanya Girish, PMP

*The Individual is at the Heart of Team and Organizational Performance
By George Pitagorsky, PMP

*Positive Leadership in Project Management - Leading Others to Higher Levels of Competency and Effectiveness
By Frank P. Saladis, PMP

*PMI-SP®: Here is How We Cracked It
Part 3 – What You Need to Study
By Cindy Lewis, PMP and Prakash Vaidhyanathan, PMP

*How to Apply Probability, Statistics and Simulations to Projects
By Jorge García de la Puente González, PMP,PMI-RMP

*Risk Doctor: Focused Risk Communication
By Dr. David Hillson, PMP, FAPM

*Three Steps to Adequate Project Authority
By Harry Rever, PMP – Director of Six Sigma, IIL

Past Issues- Archives

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From the Editor's Desk— Frank P. Saladis, PMP

People are an organization’s greatest asset. This is a statement that has been proclaimed by many a manager and leader. It is especially true in the project environment. Energizing people to achieve high levels of performance and overcome barriers to change, motivating people to accept challenges and providing them with encouragement and a feeling of self worth, and utilizing the talents of the team to meet objectives are some of the major job responsibilities of a project manager and, in many cases, the most challenging.

Read more >>

September Poll Results

Which PMI® certification allows you to stay the most competitive?

a) CAPM® Certified Associate in Project Management - 3.60%
b) PMI-PMP® Project Management Professional - 80.18%
c) PMI-PgMP® Program Management Professional - 12.61%
d) PMI-RMP® Risk Management Professional - 3.60%
e) PMI-SP® Scheduling Professional - 0.00%

The October poll question is:

What is the most important success driver for your projects?

a) Supplying organization's mgmt. objectives are met
b) Client requirements are fully satisfied
c) Triple constraint project objectives are achieved
d) Client and supplying org. feel sense of value

If you have not already done so, please stop by allPM.com and add your opinion today.
The sixth annual International Project Management Day™ - November 5, 2009 - is just around the corner. This year, the theme of IIL's live IPM Day webcast is "Achieving Sustainability in a Shifting Global Economy." How does"sustainability" intersect with your work as a project manager? We'd love to hear from you. Share your voice in allPM's Sustainability forum.
Test your PM knowledge. allPM will be posting sample PMP test questions and answers daily. Don’t miss out - visit allPM today.

Theme of the Month: The People Side Of Project Management

Cutting Edge Advances in Using a Timeless Tool, the Power of Acknowledgment, for Immediate and Breakthrough Results on Project Teams
By Judith W. Umlas, Senior Vice President, IIL, Inc.

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

It is good to be back for a “visit” to all my old – and probably many new – allPM.com colleagues. I do miss you and our engaging dialogues! To catch you up, International Institute for Learning (IIL) has me focusing primarily on taking the simple yet profound message of the book The Power of Acknowledgment around the world, in many different forums. For example, I delivered the keynote address to an audience of 800 project managers at the IPMA conference in Helsinki, Finland in June. I had been told that acknowledgment does not exist in their culture, but the presentation then had people standing up to acknowledge their bosses, who just happened to be in the audience. Then there was the New York Police Department, many PMI Chapters, and hundreds of corporations that have taken this training.

A Comparison: The Project Manager to a Team Sport Coach
By Jacqueline Dennis, PMP

When conjuring up a mental picture of a project manager (PM), what comes to your mind? After reading this article, you may picture a team sport coach (coach). It may or may not surprise you that the responsibilities of a PM and those of a coach have many similarities – particularly on the human side of the disciplines, where “soft skills,” rather than technical or “hard skills” are put into practice.

Seven Traits a Project Manager Must Possess
By Charanya Girish, PMP

Who is responsible for dealing with the soft skill dilemmas? The demanding nature of a project propels the project manager to a leadership position the very day he is placed in that role. He becomes the fulcrum of the project, the one person who is looked to by all stakeholders. It takes a colossal amount of effort, and an equal amount of varying skills to complete a project successfully.

The Individual is at the Heart of Team and Organizational Performance
By George Pitagorsky, PMP

This article was originally published for the Breakthrough Newsletter.

At the heart of any organization is the individual. Individuals assemble into teams and departments which take on a "personality" of their own and assemble into larger and larger organizational units. Individuals influence and are influenced by their teams and organizations.

Positive Leadership in Project Management - Leading Others to Higher Levels of Competency and Effectiveness
By Frank P. Saladis, PMP

Leadership is a topic that continues to be explored, reviewed, analyzed, and scrutinized by authors and thought groups in every industry and discipline in the private, non-profit, and government environments. John C. Maxwell has an interesting view of leadership. In his book, “Your Roadmap for Success, 2002, Maxwell Motivation, Inc.” he provides two perspectives about leadership:

PMI-SP®: Here is How We Cracked It
Part 3 – What You Need to Study
By Cindy Lewis, PMP and Prakash Vaidhyanathan, PMP

This is the final article in the series outlining my experience studying and sitting for the PMI Scheduling Prep exam, click here to read Part 1 & Part 2 of this Journey.

Finally it was time to study. The first thing I did was an Internet search for prep guides and came up empty.

How to Apply Probability, Statistics and Simulations to Projects
By Jorge García de la Puente González, PMP,PMI-RMP

The main objective of this article is that the reader might be able to apply probabilistic, statistical and simulation techniques throughout a project to maximize its success. This can be done if we are able to mix Project Management best practices with the most suited probabilistic tools for the project in order to achieve optimal performance. Also, if many projects are performed making decisions based on this criteria we can assure that most of them will finish successfully.

Risk Doctor: Focused Risk Communication
By Dr. David Hillson, PMP, FAPM

Einstein is reported to have said “The major problem in communication is the illusion that it has occurred”. Communication is a two-way process, involving both send and receive. I may think I am sending a clear message to you as I write this note, but unless you receive it and understand what I meant, I have failed to communicate with you. There are particular problems when it comes to communicating about risk, since everyone views risk differently.

Three Steps to Adequate Project Authority
By Harry Rever, PMP – Director of Six Sigma, IIL

It’s a universal problem, really. Project managers seldom have the authority they need or desire to manage projects the way they’d like to. Sure, they may have some authority but is it firmly stated? Is it unequivocal? Is it accepted by the various project stakeholders? Do other departments accept this authority? More than likely a project manager’s authority is routinely questioned, challenged, or simply ignored.

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