Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Staying Calm important for a Project Manager

We all face certain situations repeatedly in our lives which throw our life out of gear and for a IT Project Manager these kinds of things are routine, say reoccurring in every 3 months or so. The situation could be project running late, or client becomes insolvent or you are to busy or over loaded with other projects that you cannot oversee the things properly and now client is yelling and result of this management has also become indifferent. All the world around you seems to be against you. But this is where a project manager needs to be cautious.
The sudden setbacks can kick your brain out of sort. and could fill it with negative feelings. The first and foremost thing to get back on track is to seize control of your thoughts and feelings to ensure that your are back to your best.
The natural tendency is to react or overreact in a negative way when things go wrong. One will become angry, upset, disappointed, etc..,and all these things will certainly block or shut down major part of your brain especially thinking part of the brain which does analysis and help solve problems and make decisions.

How to Deal with this;
The question that now arises is - HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS?
The answer lies in staying calm in a crisis.
One should take a deep breath to calm your mind and then think carefully about next words and actions.
Imagine that this is a test to see what you are truly made of. Imagine everyone is watching you and observing how you respond. So be a role model and  show them the correct way to deal with the situation.
Think of the following quote by Samuel Johnson.
Things don't go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all that you were intended to be.


Always tell yourself - You expected things differently then they have came out to be. This is normal things can go wrong but they can be rectified.


As a project manager- My obligation is not only to remain calm in these kind of situations but also to motivate the team to work effectively to resolve the problem
If a Project Manager shows the panic then to keep motivation alive in the team is impossible.
When I am in a situation then I sit back first and look at the things and analyze what went wrong.
I myself is not afraid of admitting if I am guilty and I am willing to do anything to resolve it.
Then I list out things that i need to take care on priority and sit with my team and start working on the priorities.
I sit back with my team and work with them even it takes hours by keeping my self in the things I lead them by example and also ensure that things are going as I wanted them
Instead of reacting I ask question to people and listen to their answers and accordingly make out solution.
The most Important thing is to look something postive in the problem- Like I could be in better position in future if I can challenge my self to resolve things from this point.
This way I ve always been able to motivate my self through out and hope this small article will hold something for others to be useful in tackling the day to day situations effectively.

The article is not about advocating what I am doing but of helping others if they are in same situation.

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