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Singles Matter Too

Ina is a single older woman, who felt she didn’t belong in her church, as if she didn’t matter even to God. One day after a spiritual gift assessment, people with gifts of compassion and kindness noticed her. Caring people surrounded her with God’s love, helping her to experience community. Now her gifts are being used, her feedback is listened to, and people make time to listen and fellowship with her. Praise God she is now a vital member of her church community, and people look forward to seeing her every weekend at the exit, where she hands out sweets to children. Ina matters to God even though she is single. Every one of us needs to know that.

Today, single or married, we matter so much to God that he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to give of himself so that we can show his love to others. He came to give us gifts of service, kindness, and leadership so that we may be built up and reach unity in the faith, growing and maturing in Christ. As the apostle Paul puts it, all who believe in Jesus make up the body of Christ here on earth, and he is our head. In His strength, the body grows and builds itself up in love. You matter to God and you matter to the people around you. Your gifts, abilities, and presence make a difference to your community, and they make a difference to God!

From [Christ] the whole body . . . builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:16).

Let’s Pray

Yahweh, thank you for loving me and growing me to be a part of your body. Father, thank you for putting people around me who show that I matter. Amen.

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Which of These 5 Types of Project Managers Are You?

The outcome of a project largely depends on the behaviour of the manager as their actions will directly influence the behaviour of the team. Even with all the efforts, employees may put forth to salvage a once positive work environment, at the core of every toxic working environment is the bad manager. There are different types of managers, and each one has their own characteristics that determine how employees will react, the working environment and overall production.  Five common types include:

1. Laissez-Faire

‘Laissez-Faire’, is French for leaving things to take their own course without interference. These types of managers tend to leave subordinates to get on with the work on their own and have little to no communication with them. They fail to provide regular feedback when supervising. Though this form of management may seem irresponsible, it requires a lot of trust. Highly experienced and capable employees need very little interference, as they are trusted to do the task to the best of their abilities. However, when it comes to employees with limited experience, this form of management means there will be low production value as these employees feel they do not have to do any work due to the lack of authority they have over them. It can also make these employees a lot harder to control and since work is not being done, resources, money and time are wasted, which in turn increases the costs of the project.

2. Autocratic

This form of management is most suitable for places such as the Army as it gives the manager complete power. These types of managers make all the decisions with very little or no input from the subordinates, and since they have total authority over them, employees find it hard to challenge the manager. This can create an atmosphere of fear and because of this quality of work and production may increase, however, retention rates might increase along with it, as employees may feel threatened and begin to resent their job. Nonetheless, this form of management might be suitable for employees who need close supervision as they need to be told what to do and when, but creative employees will find it hard to work in an autocratic environment.

3. Participative

This type of manager values every member of the team and listens to whatever input employees may have. However, the manager ultimately makes the final decision. This form of management will increase morale as employees make contributions towards the decision-making process and they feel that their opinions matter. With this management style, the employees easily accept changes in the company as they played a role in the process. As morale increases, production will increase along with it, making this a very effective management style.

4. Transactional

This management style is used to give out either rewards or punishments to employees depending on their performance. The manager along with the employees set goals together and agree on rewards or punishments depending on whether or not they reach their goal. The employees then follow direction and instructions set by the managers in order to achieve the goal. The manager has the power to analyze the results of the project and either give out rewards and praise the employees or train the employees depending on the outcome.

5. Transformational

This type of management is used to increase the morale of the employees and is normally used in situations where employees feel discouraged. There are high levels of communication between the manager and the subordinates to reach their goals. These leaders motivate the employees and enhance efficiency and production using communication. These types of managers delegate smaller tasks to smaller teams and focus on the big picture to achieve their overall goals.

Conclusion

There are many different types of managers, and some are used specifically to adapt to certain situations. Some management styles are more effective than others however it depends on the type of employees they are supervising, the task at hand, and the goals that are set.

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29 of the Best Ministry Interview Questions

 

Need help figuring out what to ask candidates during the interview?

You  can bet that  most candidates are well-versed in how to answer standard interview questions like, “What’s your greatest  strength? Weakness?” or “Why should I hire you?” or even “Where do you see yourself in five years?”

Because questions like these are so often used to gauge a candidates potential to perform well in a particular sector, answers are usually very scripted, insincere, and most cases tailored to what you’re looking for in a candidate. And, unfortunately, that doesn’t tell you a whole lot.

The best candidates are like axles: If you want to route out the good candidates from the mediocre ones, you’ll need to  spark a more authentic and revealing discussion.

How?  the answer is simple, ask better questions!

  1. “Why are you here?”
  2. “What’s your definition of hard work?”
  3. “Tell me a little bit about your career path, how did you move into this field?”
  4. “How do you take advantage of your strengths? How do you compensate for your weaknesses?”
  5. “What’s the one accomplishment you’re most proud of? Why?”
  6. “Describe one of your most challenging jobs? Why was it challenging and how did you pull the job through it?”
  7. “Tell me about the kinds of performance metrics you use to see if the job is on track?”
  8. “Tell me about a time when you encountered a serious conflict and how you dealt with it.”
  9. “How do you handle a situation where the client does not want to surface and address Risk?”
  10. “How do you make decisions?”
  11. “How do you deal with client employees with low motivation or low skills?”
  12. “What is motivating your job search?”
  13. “What qualities in your co-workers bother you most? Do you appreciate most?”
  14. “If I were to ask your current boss what your greatest strength is, what would he or she tell me?”
  15. “What types of  jobs don’t  you want to work on?”
  16. “Tell me about a work incident in which you were totally honest, despite a potential risk or downside?”
  17. “What will make you love coming to work here every day?
  18. “If you were limited to just one person to get advice and help from, which person would you choose? Why?”
  19. “What’s your greatest fear about this opportunity?”
  20. “Tell me about a time you screwed up?”
  21. “Was there a time you thought the program was going “too fast?” What happened?”
  22. “Describe a time when you were asked to do something you weren’t trained to do. How did you handle it?”
  23. “What would you do if management made a decision you didn’t agree with?”
  24. “What changes have you made in working with others to be more effective at work?”
  25. “If you had only one word to describe yourself, what would it be?”
  26. “What is there about this opportunity that most excites you?”
  27. “Describe the boss who would get the very best work from you?”
  28. “What can you tell me about this job that isn’t in the description?”
  29. “Is there any question I haven’t asked you that I should?”

What do you think are the most revealing interview questions to ask job candidates? Share in the comments!

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66% of IT Projects Fail

Is Britain a nation of slient Christians?

Only one in three software projects will turn out to be successful. According to Standish Group’s 2015 Chaos report, 66% of technology projects (based on the analysis of 50,000 projects worldwide) end in partial or total failure. More surprisingly, these statistics have been the same for the last five years, the report shows. Furthermore, 17% of large IT projects go so badly that they can threaten the very existence of  a company.

On Average, Large It Projects Run 45% over Budget and 7% over Time, While Delivering 56% Less Value than Predicted

Despite such failures, huge sums continue to be invested in IT projects and written off. For example the cost of project failure across the European Union was ┚¬142 billion in 2004.

It Projects Always Come with an Element of Risk, but There Are Huge Gains to Be Had If We Can Just Avoid Some of the Factors That Contribute Frequently to Project Failure

What makes a IT project successful, though?

According to the Standish Group, a successful project is on time, on budget and has satisfactory results (value, user and sponsor satisfaction, and meets target requirements). Other measures of success are widely known and accepted as true such as getting requirements right, providing effective leadership, and having full support and engagement from sponsors and users. Without these, it’s unlikely that any project would succeed.

But there’s more to success than what is widely known and, apparently, rarely followed. To reduce the risk of failure for your tech project, here are  six key actions to take on the road to success.

1. Executive Vision and Involvement

Without a Executive Senior Sponsor Its Easy for Projects to Fail with the Organizational Resistance That Accompanies Large Change

Executive involvement is a primary variable in predicting the success of an IT project.   Having a leadership team aligned across an organization articulating the purpose, value, and rationale for a project goes a long way towards getting stakeholders and end-users pulling the proverbial rope in the same direction.

2. Have a clear view of scope and timetable

Oftentimes, a tech project flops because its developers fail to plan and rush forward with  an idea. However, some project  managers plan so meticulously that they end up falling behind and lose momentum. The best approach is somewhere in between.

Interviewing team members, documenting requirements, prioritizing what is “mission critical” versus “nice to have,” getting agreement across stakeholders can feel like a never-ending cycle.   As a result, requirement gathering has fallen out of fashion with many organizations  in the past few years.

However, the ideal starting point for a successful technology project is to have a set of fundamental requirements with sufficient detail to develop against.

Requirement Gathering Is Labour-intensive and Challenging but Remains the Roadmap and Measuring Stick for Software Projects

This approach allows you to maintain sight of the business benefits as well as engaging stakeholders and responding to their feedback.  In combination with a  clear business case, a  well-defined set of requirements also simplifies design and testing, two areas where projects tend to go  sideways.

Ensure that requirements for the project are clearly defined and agreed upon among stakeholders and that you have a way to track, measure, and manage changes in requirements as appropriate during the project.

3. Define how you will deliver

When it comes to delivering a major project, one size does not always fit all. All products are customizable to some degree, so what might have worked  in one company may not work in another company.

That being said, why reinvent the wheel if it’s already proven successful?  Sometimes it  can be more beneficial to  use an existing  off the shelf solution. Whichever direction you take,  choose the delivery mode that works best for your company.

4. Risk Identification and Management

Every project has risk and  there are many  factors out of your control. People leave the organization, for better or worse, leadership changes,   budgets get cut, however, many risks  to projects can be mitigated or even eliminated with some forethought and on-going management.    For example, do you have the resources you need to deliver the project (resource risk).   Are project goals clearly understood and requirements clearly defined (scope risk).   Do you have a realistic project plan and timeline (time risk).

Mitigating Risk Is a Combination of Science and Art, and Always a Balancing Process

5. Test your product again and again

A technology project is something that should overall support your business. It should not be something that dictates and forces you to  change your operations. If this is happening, you should shift gears and focus on tweaking the technology, rather than lowering expectations and adopting less ideal requirements.

Adequate testing is a must for any tech project. While some features may be fine with automated testing, the best approach is to have a dedicated testing team. Testing activities should mirror those with the development team throughout the project’s lifetime. With thorough testing, a project should deliver with less design flaws or missing requirements.

6. Prioritize simplicity and performance

Developers often leave the external look and feel of a product to the wayside thinking these things are not necessities for the consumer to enjoy. However, user experience is absolutely critical to the success of the project.

Developers must consider things like storage, network requirements, processing speeds and overall performance in order to satisfy the customer. If users are going to have to wait for an extended period to allow information to load, there must be a good reason for the wait, otherwise they won’t return for future products.

Simplification and Improved Efficiency Is What Adds Value

Ultimately, using the product should be a smooth and intuitive experience. Additionally, tools and alternative routes must be placed logically without being intrusive. The process can be complicated, but the finished product should emit simplicity. After all, that’s what makes companies like Apple so successful. Simplification and improved efficiency is what adds value.

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A Day in the Life of a Project Manager

Managing Daily Routines: A Day in the Life of a IT Project Manager

We all know that project managers are responsible for managing projects through to completion while remaining on time and within budget, but how exactly do they do it? What does a typical day look like for a project manager?

Here’s a sample of what a typical day might look like for a project manager.

The Early Bird Gets the Worm, Success Comes to Those Who Prepare Well and Put in Effort

8.30  am: Starting the day
After settling in for the day’s activities, it’s time to plan out the day. Start up the computer, email clients, draft team schedules, organize time sheets and  create the to-do list.

To-do lists help managers and their teams stay on track. If a manager notices that one team member has yet to deliver an assignment, they can address this issue first thing in the morning; otherwise, delays can build up and affect the project. Likewise, lists help managers see the next course of action for projects.

9:15 am: Time to get moving

Efficiency is a must and there is no time to be wasted in project management. After a quick review of project plans and to-do lists, the manager must be prepared to get his team moving right away.

Round up team members, review the project’s current position and emphasize the next course of action. In order to get the team moving on assignments, strong project managers set deadlines throughout the day.

Morning team meetings are also necessary to make sure each member understands the project and their assignments. It’s also a time to answer any questions for clarity or to get feedback or concerns from individuals.

While daily group meetings can be important, they are not always necessary and can be counter-productive. If the team is on the same page and everyone is ready to tackle the tasks of the day, spend a short period re-grouping so that the team can get on and complete their assignments. There’s no need to spend hours planning and reviewing.

10 am: Meetings, meetings, meetings
More than one project manager will be  more than likely  in the office  and they will all need to work together for the benefit of the programme. This is why meetings with other managers and higher ups are necessary in a project manager’s day.

Meetings allow each project manager to go through the status of their respective projects and to track the weekly schedule and other deadlines. It is also a time to address any business-critical tasks that might come up.

It’s worth considering that only 7% of communication is spoken. The other 93% is made up of tone (38%) and body language (55%). So although facts and figures are easily communicated via email, letter or phone, an actual discussion or negotiation is best handled where you can see the other person and therefore are able to see for yourself what their tone and body have to say on the matter.

10:30 am: Tackling the small stuff
Meetings will be on and off throughout the day for project managers, which is why it’s important to tackle the small tasks in between appointments. Small tasks include wrapping project reports, booking future meetings, answering correspondences with other colleagues, reviewing items and team reports among other things.

It’s also important to schedule post-mortem meetings with the project team  to review the success of  projects  in order  to apply any  lessons learnt to future projects.

11 am: Project kick-off meeting
When one project ends, another begins, which means it’s time for yet another project kick-off meeting. Kick-off meetings can take on various forms, depending on the type of business. However, they all share the same basic needs.

Every individual involved with the new project should be in attendance and have the latest version of project specifications in written form. As project manager, it might be wise to send this to team members several days before the kick-off meeting to ensure everyone has time to review.

During a kick-off meeting, it’s important to review the overall goals for the project, both commercial and technical details, break down functional requirements, and spend time for discussion and questions. By allowing team members to communicate questions and share ideas, it opens the lines of communication and may bring up potential concerns that might have been missed in the initial planning stages.

Conclude kick-off meetings with a definition of the next steps and be sure individuals are aware of deadlines and their assignments.

11:30 am: Reviewing project specs, budgets and scheduling submissions
Other important tasks to tackle in between meetings include reviewing specifications and budgets and schedules for future projects. If a project begins that day, now would be a good time to  apply the  finishing touches to the project documentation before presentation and approval.

When it comes to establishing project estimates and budgets, a project manager must bring all of his experience into play in order to create a realistic budget that includes wiggle room for factors such as project complexity, team experience and skill levels, stakeholders involvement, time needed, third-party services needed, and contingency allowances among many other things.

It’s Not Easy to Squeeze in a Lunch Break, but It’s Often Necessary for the Project Managers Health and Sanity

12 pm: Lunch
In the midst of the seeming chaos that is project management, be sure to fuel up for the rest of the day’s work. Lunch is also a great span of time to check in with team members to make sure they are still on target for later-day deadlines.

2 pm: Launching the next project
After digesting lunch, it’s time to launch the next project. Get the whole team ready to go live and present the project to the client and begin testing aspects of the project in a live environment. It’s a time to spot problems and address them and review schedules and deadlines and other project needs.

3 pm: Time for everything else
The final two hours in the office are spent addressing everything else on the project manager’s plate. A project manager must be good at multi-tasking and whatever duties couldn’t be accomplished throughout the day are reserved for the final hours. Most of the time, lower priority tasks are reserved for afternoon hours. These tasks could include project update meetings with various departments, logging finances, reviewing monthly project schedules, approving time sheets, writing weekly reports, sorting purchase orders and communicating with suppliers. There are so many other small to-do list items that project managers are responsible for, but are often overlooked.

Spending Time at the End of the Day as Well as the Beginning to Review and Plan Will Only Help You Succeed as a Project Manager

5 pm: Review the day, plan for tomorrow
Before heading home, review the day’s list and what’s been accomplished. Anything that has been added or was left unfinished should be scheduled for the next day or sometime throughout the week. Reflect on your team’s work and clear the email inbox. Use a filing system that makes sense for you and be ruthless about deleting stuff. The beauty of an empty inbox is a thing to behold. It is calming, peaceful and wonderful.

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Top 10 Project Management Myths Debunked

Since the dawn of time, mankind has used myths to make sense of the uncertainty that surrounds us.  In the early 1990s  a lot of  people believed that project management was the best kept secret in business.  However,  because project management was not  seen as a  prevailing profession at that time, it suffered from a lack of awareness  which was  in a sense, a double edged sword. Those who were knowledgeable in the practice of project management became extreamly valuable to organisations and pioneers for  the profession.

These early adopters were able to convince organisations that project management practitioners were needed.  Myths around project management began to form in the business community  and as the role of the  project manager was unclear, questions were raised as to what project management was  and what it could offer organisations.

The definition of the word myth is a “widely held, but false belief or idea.” Here, we’re going to examine 10 of the most pervasive PM myths that have emerged.

Myth #1 – Contingency pool is  redundant  

This is one of the most ‘mythical’ myths that has plagued the industry  for a long time. Coupled  with the tendency to presume that ‘real work’ is tantamount to implementation or building something concrete and you have the perfect recipe for project disaster.  The thought pattern behind this approach typically originates from budget constraints and/or having unrealistic expectations. As we all know, or should know, the unexpected happens quite regularly. An effective contingency plan is important as it aims to protect that which has value (e.g., data), prevent or minimise disruption (e.g., product lifecycle), and provide post-event feedback for analysis (e.g., how did we fare? did we allocate funds correctly?).

Myth #2 – Project Management software is too expensive

If your idea of project management software involves purchasing servers, and purchasing a software application from a major vendor for a small practice with 10  practitioners  then, yes, it  is too expensive. If, however, you have gone cloud and elected to use a powerful web-based project management solution (such as Smartsheet), then you are likely to save thousands of pounds while reaping the benefits of a pay-as-you-go price structure. The present, and future, lie in cloud solutions that provide equal, or superior, functionality at a fraction of the cost.

Myth #3 – Project Management methodologies will slow us down

Project  managers  have  a reputation of using  process-intensive  methodologies  that favour ideology over pragmatism. In some instances this may, indeed, be the case when  there is a mismatch between a specific project management approach and the organisation’s acutall needs (e.g., a process-driven method, such as PRINCE2, may not be appropriate for a slightly chaotic environment that favours an adaptive approach, such as Scrum). So, in sum, put down the paint roller (“Project Management isn’t for us!”) and take out your fine-bristled brush (“The Critical-Chain method may not be our cup of tea, but Agile on the other hand”¦”).

Myth #4 – Facts and figures are more important than feelings and perceptions

While facts are very important, projects are often derailed and sabotaged because of false perceptions.  The PM must pay attention to both fact and fiction to navigate through turbulent  organisational change.

Myth #5 – Project managers need to be detail oriented and not strategic in nature

While it is of the utmost importance for the project manager to understand how to read the details of the project, they must also understand how the project supports organisational objectives.  Having a strategic perspective adds great value to the skill-set of the project manager.

Myth #6  Rely on the experts in everything that you do

It is true, we do need to rely on the experts but our trust can not be a blind faith.  The job of the project managers in this area is twofold.  First we must extract information and second we must verify that the information is accurate.  A good example of this is asking a planner  to provide an estimate on the effort required to perform a task.  In some instances team members forget to include tasks which ultimately results in a faulty estimate.

Myth #7  All the battles have to be fought and won so that we can succeed

Project managers sometimes make the assumption that they need to stand firm to get the job done, however, coming to compromise  on a particular issue is often a better course of action  in order to  win the war.

Myth #8 Project Managers  can wear multiple hats  

Wearing different hats can be extremely confusing.  This is especially true if the project manager is asked to be a business analyst or technical expert on top of serving in their PM role.  They end up doing  both roles with mediocrity.  When we “wear two hats” we essentially tell ourselves that both hats fit on one head at the same time. However, what happens if the demands of two roles conflict  and what assurances do we have that we’re managing the inherent conflict of multiple roles  and the  risks the  roles introduce? Sadly, multiple roles become more common as we move up the management hierarchy in an organisation, and that’s exactly where potential conflicts of interest can do the most harm.

Myth #9  Once the risk register is created, it’s full speed ahead

Risk management provides a forward-looking radar. We can use it to scan the uncertain future to reveal things that could affect us, giving us sufficient time to prepare in advance. We can develop contingency plans even for so-called uncontrollable risks, and be ready to deal with likely threats or significant opportunities.  Too often, it’s not until a catastrophic event occurs and significantly impacts project progress that ongoing risk reviews are conducted.

Myth #10 Project managers can not be effective in their role unless they have specific technical expertise in the given field that the project falls  within

You don’t need to be an engineer to manage a construction project or a IT  technician to manage a software development project.  All you need is a  fundamental  understanding with strong PM skills to manage  the team.  Experience in the field helps but does not guarantee success.

Project management is challenging enough without the myths. The profession has come a long way since the 1990s and some of these myths are fading. However, we still see remnants of them in one form or another.  Great projects cut through false assumptions and confusion, allowing their teams to make smart decisions based on reality.

These are just 10 project management myths, what are yours?  

 

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