Alpha Project Managers: What the Top 2% Know That Everyone Else Does Not

Premise: Project management has become the indispensable skill for the white-collar world. What separates the top project managers from everyone else is likely much less than most people think.1. Communication• “Of all the attributes that separate the Alpha group from their peers, communication presents the most striking difference.”• These top four traits are: 1. The Alphas talk to stakeholders very early in the project to understand their audience’s requests and tailor communication to meet their needs. 2. The Alphas set a predictable communication schedule, and adhere to it stringently. 3. The Alphas communicate their message in a clear and concise manner using a consistent format, tuned for relevancy to each stakeholder. 4. The Alphas create an open channel, regularly dialoguing with stakeholders about the communication itself.• Share relevant news, good or bad• Probe by asking questions, listen, and seek feedback to understand how your communication is being perceived by others• Keep relationships with others in good shape over the long term• Use focus and prioritization to respond to fewer emails and to spend less time in meetings; respond in batches or meet 1:1 or in small (<=3) groups• Write down the top two or three critical success factors at the start of the project and post them conspicuously• Address and resolve conflict as early as possible• Demonstrate excellence in written correspondence, interviewing, and general discussions2. Process• Have a process in place and ensure the team is trained on how it should work• View projects more like living organizations than linear processes• Rely on informal networks to complete formal project work3. Leadership• Put a lot of time into selection your team• Have the authority to make critical decision (lead, don’t just manage); Tom Peters: “Nobody gives you power; you just take it.”• Ensure every assignment has accountability and authority built-in• Project managers should be tasked with providing feedback on the performance reviews of their working team members; additionally, project managers should have budget to reward team members publicly (even via rewards as small as $100)• Develop people• Create sense of team around a common purpose• Apply different leadership styles to different projects, or even to the different phases of a given project• Worry about being trusted and respected, not about being popular• Demonstrate humility and self-awareness• Serve as a mentor and a mentee4. Setting and managing expectations• Take the time to deeply understand stakeholder needs in advance• Begin managing expectations from the first mention of an assignment• Arbitrate to balance competing stakeholder objectives• Gain alignment before plowing ahead• Measure customer satisfaction5. Defining & meeting the scope, quality, time, and budget baselines• Spend at least 20% of time on planning• Align projects to the organization’s strategic goals; ensure people know the organization’s strategic goals (which is very often not the case)• Establish and maintain strategic priorities tied to critical success factors (CSFs) that should remain static throughout the project• Prevent the customer from increasing scope (when things are on schedule)• Have a deliberate prioritization system; Ex: “Every Friday I prioritize work for the following week”• Report regular only time, budget, and other KPIs• “I always keep hardcopy of four things on my desk: the critical success factors for the project, the schedule, some financial reports, and the issue log”6. identifying and managing issues, change, & risk• Consider every possible ramification of planned actions• Raise and address issues tied to critical success factors – those that pose a threat to scope, schedule, or budget – immediately; otherwise, let some time pass before logging an issue to see if it will resolve naturally• Rank issues by urgency• Drive issues quickly to completion• Spend as much time working to prevent issues from arising in the first place as you do managing those that do• Never complain down to your team; when raising issues to your boss, bring recommended solutions7. Attitude, environment, & professional development• Look forward to work: “loving my job is a decision I have to make every day”• Believe you can have a major personal impact on the project’s success• Treat project management like career• Seek out training and education that directly applies to your work (project management and domain expertise)• PMs who work in an environment where their profession is valued are more likely to be successful• Know how your boss is measured in her annual review• Work to convince senior managers of the value of project managementNotably, the existence of a Project Management Office (PMO) to standardize project management across the organization via specific steps, templates, policies, procedures, and practices

The subtitle for this work would probably be more aptly worded "What the Top 2% DO that Everyone Else Does Not". However, at the same time, the content of this book should not be expected to provide concrete actionable items to address the individuals targeted in the dedication, worded by the author thusly: "To any project manager who has ever lain awake at night and wondered if there were not a better way". The conciseness that Andy Crowe provides here is commendable, but the less than 200 pages of content provided in the compact format of this book does not leave room for much more beyond a presentation of the project manager study he conducted. Unlike the comments of some other readers, however, this reviewer thinks that even though this study was not exactly scientific, there is much to be gained here even if such knowledge is solely limited to the fact that the author actually conducted formal research to determine what helps positively differentiate the top portion of project managers. What makes this study of particular interest is that information on effective project management is obtained not just from project managers, but from customers, team members, and senior management as well, providing a type of 360-degree peer review, because as the author explains, project managers frequently do not have accurate images of themselves as professionals. A total of 860 project managers were included in this study that provided 4,398 such stakeholders. This book discusses 8 major areas where top performers stand apart: attitude and belief, focus and prioritization, communication, approach, relationships and conflict, alignment, issue management, and leadership. In the opinion of this reviewer, the conclusions of this study that highlight real and perceived differences between Alpha project managers and the other 98% of the project manager pool can serve as yet another aid along the path of personal continuous improvement. Within the closing pages of this book, the author remarks that "it is almost universally true that small things can make a big difference. The gap between the Alphas and the other 98% of the population may be quite large on some levels; however, most of this is caused by very subtle behaviors and differences. Both groups show up for work, plan their projects, manage their teams, deliver the results, and gain the customer's acceptance. In most regards, what they have in common is much greater than what separates them". Also, "when an entire population possesses highly similar characteristics, any advantage, however small, can have very significant implications. Small differences in behavior and practices can account for large outcomes, both actual and perceived".

There were so many valuable take-aways from this book, I found myself highlighting several passages for further review and implementation into my own work. The underlying material is based on survey results and interviews with respected, top-performing PM’s. Definitely a “good read”.

Recommend to all pms and aspiring pms. It was an easy read with surprising nuggets of wisdom. Will apply some of these concepts in my work as a program director

Very good book for anyone working as a project manager and who wants to improve his or her basic skills. The book deals with the everyday aspects of project management practice. An ideal complement to the usually more technical books offered in the field of project management.

Many of those who take the PMP or even have wealth experience in project management wonder about best approach in this field; or if they're doing it the right way...This book is providing the best practices of project management in structured analytical method...

Don't waste your money.