Don’t Tell Them…Show Them!

This is one of the key pieces of advice that I have shared with many of the individuals that have participated in one of my Project Management Foundations courses.

I know that most of you have been asked about your ability to lead a project. Am I right? And I’m sure that most of you responded saying that “Yes, I can lead a project!” Good for you! This is a great opportunity for you to learn and share the skills that are valuable to the organization.

Let’s take your answer one step further. Can you envision answering the question and then adding “…let me show you how I will lead this project…"? Can you imagine providing an overview document, or image, that provides the executive with additional information on how you will be leading the project? A good example would be to use a process map to illustrate what steps you will be taking to lead the project team and ultimately, deliver on that project.

By providing your executive with the supporting information on your project management system, you will be raising their level of confidence in your abilities to lead the project. Why?

• Because you have taken the time to develop a system to lead projects within the organization.

• You’ve identified your strengths and aligned those skills with the needs of the project process.

• You have documented the system in a way that is meaningful to your colleagues, the team members and, yes, the executive.

• Most importantly, you have the confidence to share that system with the executive as a way of demonstrating your ability to get the job done.

Congratulations. Nice work!

I would encourage you to continue to expand upon your Project Toolkit, in support of your project management system, and have other resources available at your fingertips if/when the executive asks you what steps you will take to initiate the project. Your answer could be “If you have a few moments, I would like to walk you through the system I have created to help streamline our project activities, and elevate our level of success…”

At this point you can share the templates for the Project Charter, the stakeholder management plan, and the issues log. Or any other the other templates that you have created based on the needs of your organization.

We have all heard the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” and for good reason. Showing your executive an overview document with an image of the project process would certainly help them to understand your system as well as illustrating your commitment to the effort. Also be prepared to discuss some of the identified action steps and the templates that will be used to effectively manage the project. These actions will illustrate your willingness to accept this responsibility and provide meaningful leadership to the project team.

Can you envision this? What a powerful image.

Go for it. You can do this.