You may be wondering whatever happened to the new manager brought in to replace me several years ago.  That is, the one that demoted me and hired my replacement then a year later fired my replacement.  He unceremoniously resigned last month.  He announced his intention to move on in an email with no indication of what would be next.  I recall sending the initial $30M cost savings proposal to him, and he ignored it for two weeks until I resent it and cc'd his manager.  His manager replied right away with a request for a meeting to review the proposal.

As I look back, it's evident that there are times we owe so much of our success to the obstacles we overcome that we should be nothing but thankful for them.  Beyond numerous department awards and several promotions over the past three years, there's much more to be thankful for in the exhilaration that came from the experience and lessons learned.

Last month, our CIO announced his departure to take the CIO position at AIG.  Despite creating and leading a program that saved $42M ($12M more than we originally committed), I never received any recognition from him.  I don't believe it's appropriate to say in the departure of the CIO or my old manager, "let the door hit you where the Good Lord split you" but that certainly does cross my mind.  Seriously, our accomplishments are more about building friendships and close relationships as we overcome the interesting challenges along the way to succeeding as a team.  Individual accolades are a flea bite in comparison - although I'll certainly take them.

What kind of PM are you?

It all started when I received at call from another program manager, informing me that reorganization had occurred and he was now my new manager.  He asked me to meet him at a local Starbuck's, so I did.  After a bit of small talk he informed me that a req was going to be opened for my position and I would be reporting to that person once hired.  When I asked what My responsibility would be, he said, "I'm not sure . . . maybe you'll be assigned a few projects to work."

I had been a fairly passive PM up to this point in time, but after that conversation my thinking shifted.  As projects in the portfolio were handed down to me, I had worked diligently with project teams to create and execute project plans.  But now, my future was in question, and I felt an urgency to proactively look for projects to lead rather than wait and hope for projects to come my way.

My search for a meaningful project did not take long.  Not long after the Starbuck's meeting an engineer explained to me the challenges we were facing retiring my organization's legacy network.  For my part, I could see the connection to our CIO's key strategies to reduce cost.   Several SMEs recognized the huge potential as well and joined the development of the action plan.   A few successful buy-in meetings later and the action plan submitted to our VP was approved.

What happened to me helped me realize that organizational improvement projects are all around us.  And if they're not already in the project portfolio, maybe they should be.  What's necessary are proactive PMs leading creation of compelling action plans and presenting them to senior managers for consideration.  Which type of PM are you?  Which type of PM would you like to be?

Make Time to Make Rewarding Work

At a recent All Hands held by the VP of my department I heard for the first time - at any organization I've been a part of - a senior manager encourage us in the rank and file to submit action plans that we believe would improve the organization.  He shared some general figures from his annual budget, explaining a significant portion had been placed in a category referred to as consulting work.  There was freedom to redirect those funds toward other efforts he saw fit.  I'd like to believe he shared these thoughts after reading my PM Network article (click here see pg 24) or hearing my presentation on the demand for leaders at all levels, but something tells me I'd be fooling myself (that something might be the very irreverent voice of my wife).  He recognizes what more and more senior managers recognize:  technology moves so fast and in so many different directions that in order to beat competition project proposals to improve the organization must come from all levels.

 Many of us individual contributors in cross functional organizations fail to realize the tremendous opportunity we have to join executive leaders in contributing project ideas to complete the project portfolio.  If the cost-benefit compares with that of other options on the table, then worst case is you're going to get senior management visibility in a positive light for bringing the proposal to their attention.  Best case is you find yourself leading a project of the most personally rewarding kind - one which owes its existence to you, one which your organization will recognize came to be because of your leadership.  You'll be able to look back on this great accomplishment with pride.  And what's more, as you move through each project phase you'll find yourself excited about getting up and going to work everyday.

 Despite all the up side potential, few choose to pursue the opportunity when it's right there in front of them.  An awareness that there's a senior manager welcoming such ought to make a difference.  Over the past month I've discussed leader from the bottom opportunities with four colleagues, but only one has decided to take on the challenge.  Most people say they are simply too busy.  Indeed, extra time and energy is necessary in the early stages to assemble the team, prepare the action plan, and obtain buy-in.  But once this heavy lifting is behind you, leading the project will likely become your day job as it did in my case.  Some of the greatest workplace moments could be at stake.

 Approach someone you know who's gone though a lead from the bottom experience for help getting started or feel free to contact me.  Remember, behind every good idea there could be an exciting, rewarding, and memorable experience that awaits.  Make the time to make your work rewarding.

Calling Leaders at the Bottom, Please Step Forward

This time of year many of us compile our year end accomplishments for an annual performance review.  Last year, as I looked over my assessment, it occurred to me that this had been no ordinary year.  I didn't think much more about it until weeks later in a conversation with a colleague at the coffee machine.  Discussing the $30M cost savings program I led got me thinking about sharing some lessons learned from my experience with other project managers.  I decided to read a few books on the subject of leading organizational change but they all seemed to target executive management.  That’s when a new passion kicked in.  I realized that in my experience there were valuable project leadership insights for other individual contributors that the authors of the books I read seemed to overlook.  I decided to make others aware by writing about my experiences successfully leading project teams.  Although it took several months, all managers in my department approved a draft article that went to the PM Network magazine editor for review.

When the article was published (click here see pg 24), I had decided to leave the experience behind until longtime project management consultant, Greg Githens, contacted me to say, "your article in the August [2011] issue of PM Network was one of the best I have seen in the last few years."  He later would become a major force behind the article's nomination for PMI's David I. Cleland Project Management Literature Award.

It was an unlikely outcome.  About two years prior, organizational restructuring put a new manager in place, who promptly informed to start packing.  I wasn't actually being sent out the door by this new manager only on the job for one month.  I was being replaced.  Despite letters of support from several key stakeholders, he couldn't be convinced to reconsider.  I had no choice but to accept the fact that I needed to look elsewhere.  Around this time the idea came to me.  As described in the article, I pulled together a team to explore network cost savings - something several knew was needed but no one could successfully execute.  My hope was to impress senior management enough to reconsider replacing me.  They never reconsidered, and I'm so grateful they didn't.  We first raised eyebrows when my weekly meeting notes revealed multi-million dollar cost savings from a relatively small scope of work.  The financial appeal was only exceeded by the caliber of the project team and credibility of the details in the plan, carefully crafted to address concerns anticipated by senior managers in different departments.  Executive approval brought visibility and kicked activities into high gear.  As we consistently exceeded commitments, credibility grew even more.  We met each week to plan and analyze.  We did so with progressively increasing vigor until a year and a half later when the results gave us all plenty to be proud of.  From our experience there were many valuable lessons learned, and the time had come for the world to know.

Countless success stories of leaders at the bottom abound unbeknownst to us.  Are you holding back a success story that others can learn from?  Take time out to put your leadership from the bottom story in writing.  Have friends review and comment.  Allow me, colleagues or friends to support you in publication. 

Converting C-level Vision into Action

This time of year many of us compile our year-to-date accomplishments for a mid-year performance review.  Last year, as I looked over my assessment, it occurred to me that this had been no ordinary year.  I didn't think much more about it until weeks later in a conversation with a colleague at the coffee machine.  As I discussed the $30M cost savings program I led, he encouraged me to think about ways to share my lessons learned to benefit other project managers.  I decided to read a few books on the subject of leading organizational change and strategy execution but they all targeted executive managers.  So I took my kind colleague's advice and began writing and speaking to my peers about my experience converting our CIO's vision into action.  I realized that in my experience there were valuable project leadership insights for other individual contributors that the authors of the books I read seemed to overlook.  I decided to make others aware by writing about my recent and past experiences successfully leading project teams.  Although it took several months, all managers in my department approved a draft article that went to the PM Network magazine editor for review.

When the article was published (click here see pg 24), I had decided to leave the experience behind until longtime project management consultant, Greg Githens, contacted me to say, "your article in the August [2011] issue of PM Network was one of the best I have seen in the last few years."  He later would become a major force behind the article's nomination for PMI's David I. Cleland Project Management Literature Award.

It was an unlikely outcome.  About two years prior, organizational restructuring put a new manager in place, who promptly informed me to start packing.  I wasn't actually being sent out the door by this new manager only on the job for one month.  I was being replaced.  Despite letters of support from several key stakeholders, he couldn't be convinced to reconsider.  I had no choice but to accept the fact that I needed to look elsewhere.  Around this time the idea came to me.  As described in the article, I pulled together a team to explore network cost savings - something several knew was needed but no one person could successfully execute.  My hope was to impress senior management enough to reconsider replacing me.  They never reconsidered, and I'm so grateful they didn't.  We first raised eyebrows when my weekly meeting notes revealed multi-million dollar cost savings from a relatively small scope of work.  The financial appeal was only exceeded by the caliber of the project team and credibility of the details in the plan, carefully crafted to address concerns anticipated by senior managers in different departments.  Executive approval brought visibility and kicked activities into high gear.  As we consistently exceeded commitments, credibility grew even more.  We met each week to plan and analyze.  We did so with progressively increasing vigor until a year and a half later when the results gave us all plenty to be proud of.  From our experience there were many valuable lessons learned, and the time had come for the world to know.

Countless success stories of leaders at the bottom abound unbeknownst to us.  Are you holding back a success story that others can learn from?  Take time out to put your leadership from the bottom story in writing.  Have friends review and comment.  Allow me, colleagues or friends to support you in publication.

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