John is the visionary and articulate chief executive at one of my clients. Unfortunately, he gives vague directions to his teams, believing that he is empowering them with freedom. When the results don’t satisfy him, he swoops in to micro-manage. His people feel whipsawed, while John is frustrated at their slow progress toward realizing the […]

Often leaders ask me how to improve accountability within their project-based organization. However, that leader may actually be contributing to the accountability problem without realizing it, often because he communicates his expectations poorly or not at all. I believe that accountability starts with clear communication. You can’t hold someone accountable unless they first understand what […]

… especially on projects that must create and apply complex knowledge. Good leaders facilitate more than they bark orders. They share power and information. They build an environment where teamwork, trust and prudent risk-taking are the norm.   But when it is necessary, a good leader also drives accountability, makes hard and unpopular decisions, and pushes […]

I’ve seen high performance teams do amazing things. Don’t misunderstand me. Process and tools are important, too, when they enable good people to work together to use their skills “at the top of their certification.” People and process are inextricably intertwined and absolutely necessary in any project environment.

Striving for perfection is often the enemy of being good enough. Especially when upgrading organizational capabilities, a theoretically elegant and correct solution often fails. The change required to implement it is too large and intimidating, so buy-in suffers and adoption falters. A less perfect but simpler solution actually works better.