Revision as of 15:01, 15 February 2018

Changes happen in projects. They may be initiated by project team members, stakeholder requests, complaints or a wide range of other factors, however, it is the Project Managers responsibility to manage the change and implement corrective actions ^[1]. Corrective actions as e.g. re-scheduling, re-planning, and re-budgeting are well explained in the standards, another corrective action, far less covered by standards, is ensuring that a team member, the entire team, as well as stakeholders, are on track after adjusting the project. Skills, knowledge, and experience often need to be developed or enhanced to comply with new, increased demands, but also a team members mindset and attitude might need to be adjusted and aligned with the new situation. Coaching is one of the interpersonal skills that a Project Manager is recommended to possess according to standards ^[2]. However, where PMBOK see coaching as a means of developing the project team to a higher level of competency and performance, merely by focusing on development or enhancement of specific skills, experience, and knowledge, other literature sees coaching as a process 'unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance' which includes working with a person's mindset and attitude.^[3] Looking into change management theory and the role of the Change Agent interpersonal skills similar to the Project Managers is found convenient. Further, four collaborative modes of intervening is presented aiming to support the Change Agent facilitating a change.^[4] A limitation or a bias any Project Manager should be aware of in regards of coaching is anchored in the origin of coaching. Coaching as a concept was invented in sports and was uncritically applied to an organizational context in the 1990s (DK) 1970s (US) without taking the shift of context into consideration. From having the coachees individual performance as the highest objective in a sports context, suddenly a company's competitive advantage or a project's progression was the highest objective, which changes the fundamental prerequisites for a coaching process totally. Confidentiality between coach and coachee no longer exists, as well as the coach and the coachee no longer are in a power-free correlation.^[5] A recommendation for Project Managers in regards to coaching, and especially in a situation managing change, is to apply a coaching attitude in day-to-day management aiming to facilitate the change, rather than applying coaching in form of coaching sessions. If the latter is needed, a second recommendation will be to ensure a clear framing of the project's progress being the highest objective for the coaching session.

The big idea

Explaining how a project manager can benefit from applying a coaching approach and how four collaborative intervening modes can be supportive in 'moving mindsets' from A to B - when being clear on the project progression as highest objective.

Interpersonal skills

What is and how do interpersonal skills for a PM, Change Agent, and a person who is coaching overlap?

Coaching

Different interpretations of coaching as an interpersonal skill.

• A means of developing the project team to a higher level of competency and performance merely by focusing on development or enhancement of specific skills, experience, and knowledge or
• A process/method unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance

The first is how the standards sees it, the latter is the definition of coaching as it was seen in the 1970s when coaching was applied in organizations taken directly from a sports context.

[Figure Showing the overlap between Interpersonal skills of a Project Manager and the skills relevant for a change agent]

• Leadership
• Teambuilding
• Motivation
• Communication
• Influence
• Decision making
• Political and cultural awareness
• Negotiation
• Trust building
• Conflict management
• Coaching

Change management skills are quite similar [The Theory and practice of Change Management, Heyes, 2014 4th edition]

• Communicate
• Offer leadership
• Work with teams
• Confront
• Negotiate
• Motivate
• Manage relationships with others
• Intervene to facilitate change (prescriptively or collaboratively)

Application

How does a Project Manager apply the interpersonal skill, coaching?

When NOT to apply coaching

• In situations where a change causes a dangerous situation and an immediate corrective action can be a question of life and death.
• In countries with high power distance a coaching approach can be non-applicable since the coaching attitude implies and certain employee autonomy [Hoefstede's].

Limitations of coaching

In regards to the standards view on coaching

In regards to personal-centered or problem-centered focus

Cultural or situational

Recommendations

See Project Manager as Change Agent

=== 5 intervening modes for facilitating change

Apply an everyday coaching approach more than coaching as a process

...but do not only focus on skills, experience and knowledge, also include the facilitation of changing mindset and attitude by using especially 3 collaborative intervening modes. The fourth (supportive) is applicable when used with great awareness of framing the coaching correctly (problem-centered versus person-centered, making the project's progression the highest objective).

Conclusion

Project Manager can apply a coaching approach in the day-to-day dialog with team members, teams, and stakeholders to help them to a new level of understanding that can clarify their thinking about a problem. The Project Manager can beneficially use one or more of three problem-centered, collaborative intervening modes , typically uses by change agents, in his/her dialog with team members and stakeholders.

References

1. ↑ [PRINCE2] Great Britain. Office of Government Commerce. (2009). Managing successful projects with PRINCE2. TSO.
2. ↑ [PMBOK] Committee, P. M. I. S. (2004). A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute. Inc.
3. ↑ [Coaching] Whitmore, J. (2009). Coaching for performance: GROWing human potential and purpose: the principles and practice of coaching and leadership. Nicholas Brealey.
4. ↑ [Change] Hayes, J. (2014). The theory and practice of change management, 521. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13398-014-0173-7.2
5. ↑ [Coaching] Molly-Søholm, T., & Jacob Storch. (2013). Ledelsesbaseret coaching. Ledelsesbaseret Coaching. L & R Business. Retrieved from https://findit.dtu.dk/en/catalog/2192969265