Coaching - Project Manager as Change Agent

Abstract

Changes happen in projects. Changes may arise from 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 . Corrective actions as e.g. re-scheduling, re-planning, and re-budgeting is one thing, another, far less covered by standards, is the action that ensures that the individual team member, the entire team, as well as stakeholders, are on track/get back on track after adjusting the project. Not only regarding skills, knowledge, and experience to comply with e.g. new, increased demands, but also regarding mindset and attitude. Coaching is one of the interpersonal skills that a Project Manager is recommended to possess according to PMI standards-PMBOK. However, coaching is seen 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. Coaching on mindset and attitude isn't covered at all. Looking into change management theory and the role of the Change Agent we find recommendations for similar skills as for the Project Manager and four collaborative modes of intervening are suggested. A limitation or a bias regarding coaching is its origin from sports and an individualistic approach where the coachees performance is the highest context. Bringing coaching into organizations, where its no longer the coachee but the company's competitive advantage there is the highest context, does give confusion regarding confidentiality and power-free space for coach and coachee, if not explicitly addressed. Frame setting is one of the recommendations given in order to tackle this issue.

Content

As the Project Manager is assigned to lead a team that is responsible for achieving the project objectives, he must, according to PMBOK, possess three specific competencies in addition to area-specific skills and general management proficiencies required for the project to full fill his role [true?]. Besides knowledge, which refers to knowledge of project management and performance, which refers to what the project managers are able to do or accomplish while applying his project management skills and knowledge, certain personal competencies are of great importance. Keeping the fact in mind, that a project manager accomplish work through the project team and other stakeholders [PMBOK 1.7.2] personal competencies seems worth paying some attention to while assigning Project Managers to projects. PMBOK provides a list of eleven important interpersonal skills including coaching. Before looking into how standards approach changes in projects and hereby addressing the need of a Project Manager being a Change Agent, we will dig into a Project Managers interpersonal skills, to get a clear picture of how the standards relate to coaching.

Coaching

Having a team member or an entire team who is affected by a change to such a degree that team performance is decreasing, the Project Manager must use his interpersonal skills to get in control of the situation [* or how does the standard phrase it (getting back on track – normalize a situation?]. In such a situation, given the fact that the Project Manager has coaching skills [*been trained in techniques, has methods, tool – and general coaching skills which are mentioned in Theory paragraph] coaching is highly recommendable.

However, in regard of the PMBOK standard, coaching is defined ‘as a means of developing the project team to a higher level of competency and performance’ and merely seen usable addressing situations where the lack of skills, knowledge or experience within a team member is affecting the team performance/ project progress. In a situation of change where a team member in stage A suddenly realises that he doesn’t have the right skills to perform on stage B, given a set of new, increased requirements, one task for the Project Manager to handle is is to Regarding X managing the movement of X from a current situation A to a future situation B takes a lot more than having the right skills to perform in situation B. It takes an acceptance of moving from A to B and a motivation to actually start moving.

Keeping Project Manager as a change agent in view, the personal competencies are of special interest. Personal competencies as effectiveness encompasses attitudes, core personality characteristics, and leadership which provides the ability to guide the project team while achieving project objectives and balancing the project constraints [PMBOK 1.]

XX

With reference to PMBOK ‘Coaching is a means of developing the project team to a higher level of competency and performance’. And further ‘Coaching is about helping people recognize their potential through empowerment [link]’.

PMBOK seems primary to focus on coaching in regards to skills. Development or enhancement of existing skills or build new ones if performance is lacking due to existing skill set. Coaching in regards of changing mindset isn’t explicitly mentioned. PMBOK talks about turning a ‘can’t do’-situation into a ‘can do’-situation – not about changing a ‘can’t do’-mindset into a ‘can do’-mindset.

PMBOK focuses on coaching the individual, not team coaching. Team-building is mentioned, but there is a big difference between team coaching and team-building even though team cohesiveness and performance may be positively affected by both [TEMO book: balance divergence-cohesiveness for high performance, Factors important for cohesiveness]. PMBOK in some way mentions the benefit from team coaching and/or team-building: ‘as a team develop their skills, abilities, and confidence, their willingness to take a challenging or demanding task in increased’ but if skills can be seen as 1+1+1, ability and confidence is highly influenced by common understanding and team spirit [TEMO book].

PMBOK mentions that formal or informal training may be developed to increase technical skills or assist team-building efforts and facilitate consistent interpersonal interactions. It is a little unclear whether the training regards the PM or the team members – or both.

PMBOK distinguish between coaching and counseling – where coaching is towards a ‘can’t do’ attitude and counseling is towards a ’won’t do’ attitude. Is there a correlation between won’t do and can’t do and can different intervening approaches be used in coaching in ‘won't’ do situations? [Modes of intervening – prescriptive (advising) versus Collaborative (Theorizing approach, supportive approach, challenging approach, information-gathering approach).

History

Short description of how coaching got known and highly popular in relation to performance in sport, how it later got into business introduced by consultancies and how it as the latest got implemented in organisations as a managerial discipline. John Whitmore, who was inspired by Timothy Gallwey, was the first to use coaching in a business context.

“Coaching is the process of empowering others” - Whitmore 1997

“Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them” - Whitmore 2002

In the 1980’ies coaching was broadly known and coaching schools were established based on different theoretical foundations introducing each their collection of coaching models, methods, and tools. [Coaching i Organisationer].

Conditions for successful coaching

Agreement – Space - Confidential, power free and personal space for interaction between coach and coachee Coaching skills -

Important coaching skills are….

Managing change

From standards perspective

In PMBOK change is shortly mentioned in relation to X /or mentioned in correlation with X, and is seen as [*defining change/ or list what change is] whereas in PRINCE2 change has got its own chapter, clarifying that the Project Manager has to implement corrective actions, with no further explanation given. With standards providing this (narrow) perspective on which actions a Project Manager has to take in order to manage the project through a changes, it is worth highlighting that re-motivating a team member or a whole team is a task that the Project Managers should be ready to handle as well - besides of course re-scheduling and re-budgeting as mentioned in the standard (?). (changing the mindset of a team member, a stakeholder or a whole team)

Theory

Resistance to change – why?

Project Manager as Change Agent

[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)

Applying coaching

Using four different ways of intervening – depending on the situation, the individual or the team.

• Theorizing approach
• Supportive approach
• Challenging approach
• Information-gathering approach

Limitations

Coaching as a method has its origin from sports [* reference] aiming to help individual and teams to perform their best [* reference]. Coaching was introduced to organizations in year not taking the conflict between the fundamental conditions for succeeding with coaching at all (personal, confidential and power free space for coach and coachee) and the new overlying context an organizational performance into account. This is a point to pay attention to while using coaching in organizations e.g. as a Project Manager.

Additional use of coaching

A ‘coaching approach’ is useful in dialogs with stakeholders in order to gain the needed acceptance, resources, trust so the project can move smoothly forward.

References

Note to self: How to write a reference: ref>Fry, Ronald. "Richard Beckhard: The Formulator of Organization Change", 'Palgrave Handbook of Organizational Change Thinkers, 2017. Retrieved on 02 October 2017.</ref>