Temperament and
Project Management
Adapted from
Mary Dossett and Julia Mallory, Results
by Design: Survival Skills for Project
Managers (Telos Publications, 2004)
*Used with permission
NOTE: THIS PRODUCT STILL USES THE NAMES:
[ARTISAN, GUARDIAN, RATIONAL, IDEALIST].
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR E-MAIL LIST (ON THE LEFT)
FOR UPDATES AND NOTIFICATIONS ON THE LATEST
DEVELOPMENTS RELATED TO THE 4 TEMPERAMENTS.
 (from
the Introduction)
Imagine you are going to shoot a rocket
to the moon. You don’t simply point
a rocket in the general direction of the
moon and blast off, hoping for the best.
Yet that is exactly how many projects
are launched, with great surprise and
amazement—and finger-pointing—when
the target is missed.
There
are, however, great similarities between
a project and a rocket launch. That is
not to say that it takes a rocket scientist
to manage a project—it does not.
However, a project destined for success
has all of the attributes of a successful
rocket mission:
- A clearly
defined objective and a trajectory that
defines the path from here to there
- An understanding
of the things that can go wrong along
the way, with plans to deal with them
- A plan for
timely, relevant information to be passed
within and between flight systems and
flight control during flight
- Predefined
parameters that identify expected levels
of system performance during flight
- Regular
monitoring of the progress of the flight,
focused on key in-flight data
- The ability
to compare actual performance against
intended performance and to make midcourse
flight corrections
There
is one big difference between a rocket
launched to the moon and a project, though.
A rocket is comprised of complex electronic
systems—programmed and predictable
in their behavior. These systems are prewired
to work individually and together for
optimal performance. By design, when an
element in a system, or an entire system,
runs below its expected level of performance,
another compensates for it. If the compensation
mechanisms fail, mission control can send
override instructions, and the rocket
will comply. It then continues on its
path, almost effortlessly destined for
its target.
Projects,
however, are comprised of teams of people.
Complex? Yes. They are undoubtedly programmed
in their performance but hardly predictable
in their behavior—if you lack an
understanding of temperament (Keirsey,
1978, Berens, 1998). Project teams may
seem designed to work at levels far removed
from optimal performance, and no amount
of orders from mission control—the
project manager—may seem to make
a difference. Many PMs fall victim to
a disastrous leadership style: “There
go my people. I must find out where they
are going so that I can lead them.”
Project teams can seem hopelessly destined
to fail, simply because they are made
up of people with minds and wills—temperaments—of
their own.
Yet
it is exactly this diversity—a rich
diversity of temperaments—that is
the greatest asset of a project team.
The project management process requires
a breadth of capabilities and perspectives
that simply do not exist in a single temperament.
Imagine
a project team whose members not only
follow the rigors of a robust project
management process, but have also unlocked
the mystery of how to maximize their work
with each other throughout this process.
Imagine a project team that works together
seamlessly, “hard-wired” to
work at optimal levels of performance,
anticipating and compensating for each
other’s strengths and challenges
every step of the way just like the complex
systems of a rocket.
Fantasy?
Not at all. Impossible? Absolutely not—as
long as team members are willing to invest
the time and the effort required to develop
the necessary level of understanding of
themselves and others, to develop the
required plans, and to hold themselves
(and each other) accountable to follow
the project management process.
In
Results
by Design, the authorsl identify
the steps of an elegantly simple yet effective
and robust project management process
and associated PM best practices. As they
describe each step, they identify how
each temperament relates to it and, at
the same time, to other temperaments.
They identify strategies to leverage synergies
between the team members and how to avoid
pitfalls.
Communication Management
and Temperament (an
aspect of the PM Methodology)
How each temperament
communicates is unique. Consider the following
aspects of communication for each temperament:
|
The
Idealist
- Use abstractions:
people and needs
- Are thematic
- Use exaggeration and generalization,
analogies and metaphors
- May appear warm, gushing
- Use self-deprecating jokes
- Want to understand importance
to others
- Use “global” language
words like “always,” “never,”
“forever”
- Communicate to learn more about
people
|
The
Guardian
- Use concrete
data
- Are linear and sequential
- Use traditional language, are
respectful
- Use formal body language
- Use sarcastic, dry humor
- Want to understand relevant
experience
- Develop relationships through
communication
|
|
The
Rational
- Use abstractions:
theories and concepts
- Are strategic
- Use precise language, exact wording
to describe the nuance of an idea
- May seem distant and preoccupied
- Use cerebral humor, double entendres,
puns
- Strive to understand underlying
principles, and expect competence
in others
- See communication as a forum for
intellectual query
|
The
Artisan
- Use concrete data and similes
- Are tactical and to the point:
net it out
- Use colloquial and concise language
- Use casual body language
- Use physical humor to make an
impact
- Are clued in to other people’s
motives
- Communicate to get the job done
|
|
