As a learning professional, I would like to see myself making a greater connect between learning and business needs, and between training and on the job productivity.
In my new role, I would like to build a better learning product that will really prepare fresh graduate for the IT industry and enable them to get a job. This will include not just technical skills, but communication skills and life skills.
I would also like to succeed in my collaborative learning environment experiment and in moving towards a culture of learning.
Michele asked if I was willing to share some tips for keeping my team engaged or things I am learning from starting up a team blog. She thought these would be helpful for people to get a feel of what things are like in the trenches. I have been sharing some of the progress in my own blog, but I felt this will be a good opportunity to consolidate learning from my experience.
To start with, let me share that it isn’t easy. A week or so back when I was exchanging emails with Michele, I was feeling good about the team blog. However last week there was not a single post on the blog and suddenly I wasn’t feeling as good. When I started the blog, I had mentally prepared myself for the 1% rule of Internet content creation. However one week of inactivity did sadden me. So if you are planning to start a team blog, my first tip would be that you stay motivated and not let a period of inactivity disappoint you.
When starting a team blog, identify the objectives and goals of the blog.
- What problem you are trying to solve and for whom?
- Who will be the content creators and who will be readers?
- What content is important for them?
The audience is the most important part of your team blog. A team blog is not your personal rant so it is critical that you identify what will draw an audience to read and to contribute.
At the outset, identify specific people who will contribute to the team blog with their posts. I initially identified the people who I felt could contribute. A few more were suggested by this group. When anyone accepted the invitation to be a contributing author to the blog, I sent them a welcome mail with a list of topics that they could write on. And I had a few posts when I launched the blog. This gives the authors a framework to start contributing.
Many of the authors had never blogged before so providing a framework was very useful. I also spoke personally to a many authors encouraging them to start blogging about their experiences. I told them that they could start by commenting on the posts if they were more comfortable than writing their own post.
I spent a fair amount of time initially adding widgets and features that the audience could relate to. Our blog roll included blogs from the team and other people from the industry that the audience recognized. These still get the most outgoing hits on the blog. I also added features that will keep the main page of the site updated without much intervention from me.
- A widget to display an RSS feed about industry news provided a window to what was happening in other companies.
- In my Google Reader, I shared the posts that I felt would be relevant to the team, and then provided an RSS feed as Recommended Articles on the blog. This keeps the content on the blog updated without actually changing the blog itself.
- I added a Recent Comments widget to display recent comments in various posts on the main page. This also helps keep site updated with new content on the main page without any my intervention.
- I added Ratings widget by Outbrain and encouraged the readers to rate the posts. I always feel readers are more likely to rate posts than comment on them. The ratings widget also allows you to display the most popular post on the blog.
I found that labels help in categorizing the content on the blog. While the authors can add labels when they post, I manage the labels to ensure that the number of labels remain usable.
I blatantly find opportunities to promote the team blog. I send out personal email updates about new posts and features on eCube. I have added a link to the eCube blog on the employee portal within the firewall. This has added more traffic to the blog.
I also had/have a few features that didn’t quite attract the collaboration I was expecting. The Flickr group to add common pictures seemed like a cool thing but didn’t find many takers. I have also added a free chat/guest book widget from
Shoutmix but I haven’t had comments from anyone other than me and one more team member. It didn’t quite have the impact that I was hoping it would, though I still think it is a cool widget. I have also started an
eCube group on Facebook. In spite of a link on the blog, I don’t yet have any members from the team that eCube was aimed at. I don’t know yet how I will actually use it. Perhaps if there are enough members, I could use it to send them updates about events.
Future plans for the eCube team blog? Well, I am looking at rotating responsibility for managing the team blog, perhaps holding virtual and physical events around the eCube banner, more widgets, more polls, more ponder questions. However as I get sucked into a new job role, it seems like a distant dream. Which is why finding someone from the team to run the blog and related events would be good. And going back to constantly motivating myself...
Art Petty writes an interesting post about
project managers not being liked by anyone. I quite agree with him. I believe that project manager's lack of popularity is their occupational hazard. Project managers have a tough job on their hands. They have the responsibility without always having full authority, whether it is the SME, or other members of the virtual team who report to their functional mangers. At the end of the day if the project fails, overruns or is delayed, it is the project manager who has to take the flak first. That is the nature of the role and the earlier project mangers realize it, lesser the heartburn they might go through.
So what how can a project manager succeed in this situation? Here are some things I have seen successful project managers do.
Respect the expert. I have seen successful project managers recognizing the expertise the experts bring to the table and giving them due credit. This also includes recognizing the gaps in their own knowledge and skills.
Lead. Don't boss around. Project managers are in charge of the project but they aren't necessarily the "boss". Successful project managers lead the project and the team without attempting to display their authority or their position.
Communicate. Share the goal of the project with everyone and keep them informed. Keep everyone informed of not just the respective assigned tasks but the progress of the overall project. Share and celebrate successes as a team. Share the concerns and risks and seek support. I have seen many managers sharing only the assigned tasks with the respective team members completely under utilizing the team's potential and not getting the required buy in and support for them when it is needed the most.
Listen. Listen to what team members are suggesting, listen to their concerns, listen to what makes them enjoy what they are doing and what turns them off. And then do something about it.
Empathize. Specially required when you have many team members who might be junior to the project manager in experience, position and designation.
Learn. Most successful project managers know the project/product they are managing. This does not mean they can do all the tasks in the project, or are experts in all skills. However they do appreciate what it takes to do the tasks and can contribute by sharing their insights and ideas. Assuming that as a project manager your only responsibility is to create a project plan / schedule and then following up with team to tick off completed tasks or updating the plan is a sure way to undermine your chances of success. Successful project managers attempt to learn about the project tasks and contribute to the end product.
A recent situation in workplace made me think about the importance of building a performance bank account on lines of emotional bank account. Or perhaps performance bank account is a subset of emotional bank account.
When you join a new organization, the organization’s evaluation of your skills is based on the few interactions had during the interview. In spite of the psychological tests, aptitude tests, and two or three rounds of interview that one goes through, it is at best a judgement to hire you based on limited interactions. Some organizations also do a reference check depending on the level you are joining the organization. It is then up to you to start building your performance bank account with the organization. You build your base by learning quickly and demonstrating execution excellence. You build your deposits by exceeding expectations, going beyond the call of duty, volunteering for challenging tasks.
Building a performance bank account helps you in getting new opportunities within the organization. It also helps when you are assigned to a new role or assigned a new manager. But more importantly, if you take longer to understand the task, or are faltering initially, the past performance bank account provides the cushion of tolerance and the much required support. You can’t bank on your performance at your previous organization. It is important to build a performance bank account at every organization you work with. And of course, like EBA, when you withdraw from your performance bank account, make sure you deposit back in it by improving your performance.
