1. Don Cole Challenges for Project Leadership Project Management for ARA Engineers and Scientists

2. Copyright 2009. All rights reserved. Applied Research Associates, Inc. 2 Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) If you are going through hell, keep going.”

3. Copyright 2009. All rights reserved. Applied Research Associates, Inc. 3 Typical Leadership Challenges  Obtaining and maintaining commitment “Matrixed” staff ▪Obtaining, motivating, monitoring and rewarding the team Division/Company policies and priorities ▪Constantly evolving  Managing customer expectations/satisfactions Expecting a “Mercedes” for a “Yugo” price Unwritten expectations  Leading by example Making “walking the walk” a priority What characteristics of a leader in your experience: - Resulted in the most admiration? - Made you most uncomfortable? - Taught you the most?

4. Copyright 2009. All rights reserved. Applied Research Associates, Inc. 4 Obtaining and Maintaining Commitment  Be clear about requirements  Negotiate where possible to obtain a win-win situation Expect to lead future projects and develop a positive relationship with that in mind  Obtain a clear commitment to agreed “contract”  Communicate regularly with team staff and affected managers Status Praise Concerns  Be proactive Recognize changes in priorities that can effect commitments Develop alternative solutions

5. Copyright 2009. All rights reserved. Applied Research Associates, Inc. 5 Managing Customer Expectation  UNDERSTAND what your customer expects Not always explicit in SOW How does this effort support the customer’s client? Work to meet expectations within budget ▪Help customer understand if cost constraints prevent meeting expectations ▪Develop alternatives (how can I do this?) Be proactive: ▪Adapt to changing requirements, situation ▪Look for added value option  Communicate frequently to assure satisfaction

6. Copyright 2009. All rights reserved. Applied Research Associates, Inc. 6 Leading by Example  Show commitment and enthusiasm for project  Expect timeliness, quality  Provide your input on schedule and of high quality  Praise success openly Celebrate achievements Assure credit goes to those making the major contributions  Be honest about concerns Mentor through difficulties Importance of patients, experience, management reserve “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” Albert Einstein