Colin Powell’s Rules for Project Management
My name is Coach Tony, and I am a believer in the power of project management.
In my twenty years as a professional project manager, I have witnessed project success drive business results. I have also proven that project management can change lives and help achieve personal transformation.
Now, I use project management principles as a coach to help clients achieve their life, health and professional goals.
In my PM Believer blog series, I share practical project management tips and techniques that you can use to help you achieve your own personal goals and live your best life.
Are you ready to become a PM Believer too? Learn more at OperationMelt.com/PMBeliever/
Loss of a Hero
On October 18, 2021, America lost a hero, statesman, and great leader with retired general Colin Powell’s passing. Through his lengthy leadership career, Colin Powell developed a list of thirteen rules of life and leadership that have been widely shared, especially since his passing.
Many of these thirteen rules (found here on the State Department’s website) are also essential tools for effective project management. After all, project managers are leaders, right?
Here is my recap of how Colin Powell’s leadership rules can help us all be better project managers.
Rule #11: Have a Vision. Be Demanding.
Leaders need to have a clear vision for what their team needs to accomplish and what the finish line looks like. Once this clear picture exists, they can tell the story, build the plan and relentlessly hold their team to high standards while driving them toward the finish line. Sound familiar?
At its core, this rule is what project management is all about. Project managers need to start with a vision, which needs to be clearly expressed as a SMART goal (see Get SMART). Once the goal is clear, the project manager can develop a solid plan to get from where they are today to that goal (see The Right Plan, Your Plan).
Once the goal is clear, and a plan has been defined and baselined, the project manager holds themselves and their teams accountable for following it. This means tracking progress every day and, when the project starts deviating from the plan, taking action to get things back on track.
Taking your eyes off the goal, even briefly, can lead to failure, so being appropriately demanding about the project is an absolute must.
Rule #8: Check Small Things.
While great leaders understand the bigger picture, they also must pay attention to the details. Small problems add up to big problems and can lead to a “death by a thousand paper cuts.” Details matter!
There is an often-shared anecdote about the eruption of Mount St. Helen’s in 1980. There were small signs of an impending disaster, starting with a puff of smoke from the mountain that was ignored. Because these small things weren’t checked, the surrounding town wasn’t prepared for the eruption. As a result, nearly sixty people lost their lives, and there was massive destruction in the disaster.
While not the same as ignoring signs of a volcanic eruption, checking the small things is very important for project managers. As I said above, tracking progress every day (see Are We There Yet?) and taking corrective actions are core to project management.
Most projects don’t fail suddenly; it happens through a series of deviations from the plan. Allowing a deliverable to go a few days past its deadline. Accepting the addition of just one more scope item into the already aggressive project. The list of ways that control of your project can slip from your hands goes on and on.
By staying disciplined and focused on the small things, a project manager can proactively identify the micro deviations that start the unraveling of a good project.
A good start to defending against this is by diligently identifying and planning for project risks at the beginning (see Risky Business). By planning ahead for how your project might die (see How Will It Die?), you can avoid those potential goal-killers.
Rule #3: Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.
Rule three is a little longer in its title and a little harder to understand at first. This rule could be rephrased as “don’t fall in love with your point of view because you might be wrong.”
We have all had experiences with violating this rule from time to time. You form a point of view or position about some issue — pretty typical for a project manager. Then you defend your position, arguing with those who disagree with you. But because you have become so entrenched in your position, you can’t admit that you are wrong when the facts don’t support you. You just keep arguing, switching from facts to faith as your basis.
You get so committed to your opinion that you believe you are wrong, not just your opinion, and it clouds your ability to be objective.
Project managers often fall into the trap of violating this rule regarding project methodologies, project plans and even status colors. But this violates one of the most critical aspects of project management: set a baseline, monitor for new information and adjust as needed (see Science Project Management).
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Suppose we treat our plans and any other item we believe we are right about as hypotheses instead of acts of faith. Doing this can save us a lot of heartburn.
Rule #9: Share Credit.
The basis for rule three is very similar to that of rule nine and is described in the following quote by C.S. Lewis.
Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.
C.S. Lewis
As project managers, we are often the face of our projects, but we do the least amount of the actual work of the project. This means we will frequently receive a pat on the back, kudos and credit that isn’t really ours. Just accepting this praise without clarifying that it was a team effort is stealing recognition and credit from those who deserve it (see Attitude of Gratitude).
Any time somebody gives you praise, take a minute to ensure that others are getting their well-earned recognition. You don’t need to be dishonest and downplay your contributions (e.g., thinking less of yourself); just look for opportunities to recognize others too (e.g., thinking of yourself less).
Rule #10: Remain Calm. Be Kind.
Leading with humility is much easier when things are going well and you are generously redistributing praise. But humility is way more important when things are going wrong. And there will definitely be times when things are going wrong.
As project managers, we are the leaders of our projects. As leaders, we set the tone for how the team will behave. That is why it is so vital for us to be role models worth following.
When something goes wrong in your project (at work or a personal goal), you will be tempted to immediately go “below the line.” This means reacting poorly, blaming others, getting angry and flying off the handle. We all know leaders like that, right?
The truth is, when you reach poorly to problems, you tend to amplify the problem. The more you are ranting and raving, the less time you spend solving the real problem. Plus, if you immediately launch a blame-storming session to discover whose fault it is, your team will not want to help you. Or worse, they will hide future issues from you.
The better approach when issues arise is to take a deep breath and stay calm. Work with the team to understand the problem, its impact and your options to resolve it. Be appreciative of the team for honesty and candor, and model the problem-solving behavior you expect from others.
Rule #4: It Can Be Done
Henry Ford said, “whether you think you can, or you think you can’t — you’re right.” This applies to our projects as well.
Projects initially succeed or fail in the project manager’s brain. If the project manager believes that the goal is reachable, others will too. On the other hand, if a project manager doesn’t believe in the project’s ability to succeed, other people will see that. That cynicism will be infectious, and the project will likely fail.
Begin every project with a SMART goal (see Get SMART), then you will have facts to tell you that the goal is attainable (as defined by the A). Then be all-in on your confidence in the team’s ability to get there (even if you ARE the team).
Knowing that it can be done will help you stay focused on assisting the team in figuring out how to do it.
Rule #12: Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers
When you begin with the confidence that the goal can be reached, that arms you with the ammunition you need to fight against the haters and critics. This fight will need to happen every day because there are tons of critics, starting with your own brain.
When you trust the critics inside your head (fear, imposter syndrome, negative self-talk) or those around you, your confidence in your ability to succeed will be shaken. Once that confidence is shaken, you begin to slip backward and start doubting that It Can Be Done. That doubt may be enough to ensure that it isn’t successful.
Listening to input and other perspectives is essential when building the plan to reach your goal. But, project managers need to develop a finely-tuned filter. Is this input coming from somebody trying to help you reach your goal? Or is this input coming from somebody who is just being negative and trying to hold you back? This negative voice could actually just be your own fears too!
Rule #13: Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier
We all know perpetually negative people; they are the human embodiment of the character Eeyore from Winnie The Pooh. These people bring our spirits and our team down and are headwinds holding us back from our goals.
What about the people on the opposite end of the spectrum? The people who are always optimistic, supportive and genuinely passionate about helping others achieve their goals.
Positive teams accomplish more. We are naturally drawn to optimistic, positive people. They encourage us to have confidence in ourselves and push ourselves to be better. They help build positive energy, increasing productivity and producing better results.
As a project manager, having perpetual optimism and being a voice of positivity will help lighten the situation. This doesn’t mean that you ignore risks, just that you approach them from a perspective of “how might we prevent this,” always believing that there is a path forward.
Project managers can create a project culture focused on reaching the finish line instead of looking for a reason to give up.
Are you ready to be a PM Believer?
There you have it … the project management lessons that we can learn from Colin Powell’s Thirteen Rules of Leadership.
The first few concentrated on the steps you need to take to set your project up for success.
The next several rule focused on something more personal. How do you ensure that you are a leader who people want to follow? Finally, the rules addressed the most impactful aspect of project management, one entirely in our control. Our attitude.
This article, while much longer than my norm, is an example of my PM Believer blog series. Want to learn more? Visit me at OperationMelt.com.
