HOW TO USE THIS WORKBOOK

I recommend that you go through all six steps of the workbook and that you complete the review process in the last step several times, until you have reached your goals and become a highly valued and truly successful project management leader.

The first time you go through the book, you will have a certain view of what your capabilities are, what you want to achieve, and what you want to change. However, after having taken action and worked on your development plans, you may have a different view, and new goals will become more important to you. For this reason it is important to keep reviewing where you are and where you want to go.

Use a different colored pen every time you carry out a review so that you can easily identify what you wrote, and how you scored yourself, at each point in time.

The workbook requires you to reflect, make notes, and take action—and it may take you between three and five months to complete all the steps. Devote time, be patient, and progress through the steps at a steady pace. You will soon start to feel the benefits of the assessments and exercises.

Always remember that the full benefits and the real results come from taking action and continually working with your development plans. Take full responsibility for your current situation and for where you want to go. Relate the examples, exercises, and questions back to your project and to your management and leadership style. Then commit to taking action. Only by applying what you learn will you move forward and become a more confident and competent project manager.

If you are a line manager and would like to use the workbook as a tool for coaching and managing the performance of your project management team, first go through it on your own. Once you understand the true value of all of the steps, you can start to apply them to others. The workbook can easily be used as a complementary tool to existing HR appraisal systems that help employees determine their year-end goals, objectives, and development plans.

Always explain a process you would like to use to the people you manage and get their buy-in before using it. Keep in mind that the focus should be on the aspirations and potential of individual project managers rather than on what the organization would like to achieve. Fully tuning in to the values and goals of individual employees unlocks their true potential. When working with your project management team, use your intuition, listen, be honest, and have integrity.