Maximizing Project Success through Human Performance

197 Pages·2013·4.935 MB·English

by  Tirado, Bernardo

Maximizing
Project Success
Through
Human Performance

Maximizing
Project Success
Through
Human Performance
BERNARDO TIRADO, PMP
8230 Leesburg Pike, Suite 800
Tysons Corner, VA 22182
(703) 7909595
Fax: [phone]
www.managementconcepts.com
Copyright © 2013 by Management Concepts, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information
storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except for brief
quotations in review articles.
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013943170
ISBN 978-1-56726-420-3
About the Author
B
ernardo Tirado, PMP, is an author and speaker and chief executive
officer of The Project Box, LLC, a human performance consulting
company specializing in project management, sales, and social media
(www.theprojectbox.us).
Bernardo has been a senior executive for several top Fortune 500 companies,
where he leveraged his expertise in building global shared services, transforming
organizations through process improvement, and developing new business
capabilities to drive profit through process.
In addition to being an industrial psychologist, Bernardo is certified as a Six
Sigma black belt, a Project Management Professional, a body language expert,
and a train-the-trainer in analytical interviewing.
Bernardo was an adjunct professor of industrial psychology at Metropolitan
College of New York and is an author or coauthor of several books, including
Leadership: Helping Others To Succeed and the Gower’s Handbook of People in
Project Management. You can also find Bernardo’s latest thoughts on his column
at PsychologyToday.com, Digital Leaders, where he writes about technology and
leadership (www.psychologytoday.com/blog/digital-leaders).

Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xi
Chapter 1 Introduction to Business Psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
PART 1 Individual: Your Behaviors That May Hurt or
Help Your Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chapter 2 Understanding Sense of Self . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Psychometric Evaluation: How You Make Decisions ................... 9
360 Degree Feedback: How Others Perceive You ..................... 10
Chapter 3 Creating a Consistent Brand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
First Impressions ............................................. 17
Building “Brand You” .......................................... 18
Chapter 4 Building Advocates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Applying the Advocacy Model ................................... 26
Building a Strategy for Unknowns ................................ 31
Building a Strategy for Averters .................................. 38
Building a Strategy for Detesters ................................. 40
Building a Strategy for Corresponders ............................. 43
Creating an Advocacy Action Plan ................................ 44
viii • MaxiMizing Project SucceSS through huMan PerforMance
Chapter 5 Profiling People at Work—Unconscious Behavior
at the Individual Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Kinesics .................................................... 51
Acoustic Phonetics ........................................... 55
Cues For Stress ........................................... .... 55
PART 2 Team: Unconscious and Conscious Behaviors That Can
Compromise Project Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Chapter 6 Understanding Power Dynamics—Unconscious
Behavior at the Group Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
The Power Seat ............................................... 64
Group Dynamics ............................................. 73
Applying Group Dynamics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Chapter 7 Project Management Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Differences Between Leadership and Management ..................... 82
The Top Ten Leadership Styles ................................... 84
Chapter 8 Building a High-Performance Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Types of Teams ........ ....................................... 94
Ideal Team Size ........ ....................................... 97
Characteristics of High-Performance Teams ......................... 99
Chapter 9 Using SWOT Analysis to Reorganize Your
Existing Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Analyzing the Team .......................................... 107
Creating Subteams ........................................... 115
PART 3 Organization: Behaviors That Can Jeopardize
Your Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Contents • ix
Chapter 10 Navigating Organizational Politics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
The Power/Interest Grid ....................................... 127
Identifying Informal Influencers ................................. 131
Chapter 11 Determining Organizational Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
The Desired Change .......................................... 142
The Current State in Relation to the Desired Change ................. 145
Determine Impact on End Users ................................ 154
PART 4 Project: Bringing It All Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Chapter 12 Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Background ................................................ 161
The Project ................................................ 162
Conclusion ................................................ 169
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171