The first ninety days are both challenging and confusing if you are a first-time manager or even if you are a manager moving into a new project. People tend to be hyperactive, excited, and ready to jump into action to prove themselves.
A small note that in our context, a manager is a person who has the responsibility of managing a project (PMI definition- a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result), be it a project manager or a scrum master or servant leader, etc.
I am sure the below thoughts came to your mind multiple times.
“Hey, I am a new manager. I should immediately start taking action and prove my value to the boss and the project team.”
“I want the project team members to listen to me and give me the requested inputs.”
I must warn you that sometimes this anxiousness backfires and does more harm than good. Remember that these first ninety days are the most important days for you to set the foundation and expectations right.
Oh, why 90 days? I am also searching but have yet to find an explanation for its origin, and I will update if I see one. Some references I can think of are the probation period of 90 days or three months in most companies, a popular book named "The First 90 Days" by Michael D. Watkins, and interestingly I also found one 21/90 rule that states - it takes 21 days to make a habit and 90 days to make it a permanent lifestyle change.
What should I do in the first ninety days for effective onboarding? This is the next important question to ask yourself. Here are some tips; I hope they help.
Be aware of the working environment or culture of the team. Be a good listener.
Before you embark on any project-related work, talk to people, and understand the team structure, roles, current working methods, challenges, issues, what is important to them, and where they are looking for help.
Be a good listener and avoid giving any solutions immediately or advice on how to do things. Making notes is crucial at this stage as even a casual, minor point could prove critical in your overall analysis.
Method Tip#1: Create a project workbook as a one-stop document for any project-related information. For example, you can create an Excel file with notes, project-related details, or links to essential documents in the project repository.
Gather information and study about the project. Ask the right questions.
You should request all project-related relevant information, like contractual agreements, statements of work, other agreed documents, customer requirements, expectations, etc. Sometimes, you might be required to support or create these documents from scratch.
In all such scenarios, you must get a good hold of customer requirements and expectations, business objectives, understanding of the technical domain, how things work at the system level, how the different modules or components will integrate into the system, related technology, and tools. The details are essential so that you can ask the right questions.
Method Tip#2: Create a folder structure for managing and controlling all your project management-related collaterals. You can create shortcuts for existing documents controlled or managed in another repository or location. This way, you will have all relevant information in one place for faster referencing.
Be clear on the project objectives, roles, and responsibilities
Gathering and studying is good, but you must ensure it is correct and aligned with the business objectives. Don't hesitate to have discussions to verify your understanding, as this is the base for your future performance and effectiveness.
Have some formal discussions with your boss or manager and relevant teams or stakeholders, if required, to clarify project objectives. Another important aspect is to discuss and clarify the roles and responsibilities of the different stakeholders, including you. This will set the expectations' tone and help get easy commitments.
Method Tip#3: Create a stakeholder responsibility matrix. Multiple formats and versions are available; search and use that best suit your needs.
Method Tip#4: A project kick-off meeting is suitable for getting all relevant stakeholders aligned with the project objectives. If the project has already started, and you joined in between, it is ok to have an intermediate sync-up meeting to get the alignment and introduce yourself.
Be organized and streamline your work. Drive the project towards value creation.
You, as the manager, should be driving rather than being driven by the actions of different teams. You have an overall project perspective, while the other groups may be limited to their domain. Your role becomes critical in driving the efforts toward creating business value and ensuring customer expectations are met.
You can effectively do this by organizing and structuring your work, using your time efficiently, and taking initiatives that help in value creation. Automating your mundane, repetitive tasks is a suitable method. You can check out my other blog, "Automation in Project Management" for more details.
You can utilize your time on more meaningful tasks like helping teams by removing their impediments, guiding them, and getting them trained on required skill sets, which will help establish your credibility as a good leader.
Create an environment of respect and trust. Collaboration will happen automatically.
People don't want to fail or delay any work or make mistakes. Most of the time, our immediate reaction when something goes wrong is to find the person or team to blame. We need a mindset change, whether using the traditional or agile-related methodology. As managers, you are in a position to make this happen.
Create an environment where people or teams can discuss their issues, challenges, and help needed without being judged and work together to find a solution. The first step in finding a solution is to find the actual root cause of the problem, then identify the gaps and create an action plan for improvement.
Communication is an essential aspect of managing expectations and alignment. Choose the communication methods and frequency wisely—the clarity on who, when, where, and how in your communication plans will help in streamlining.
Method Tip#5: Conduct daily /weekly meetings with a focussed agenda and use the time effectively to track the project's progress.
Method Tip#6: Create a communication plan and share with all stakeholders.
Method Tip#7: Risk/Issues/ Opportunities management is critical in the success of any size or type of project. Use a good template for tracking and monitoring them every week.
Be open and Agile. Devise creative ideas for management.
Yeh Agile! Seeing the word Agile, people start thinking of Scrum, Kanban, or other methodologies. Here I am talking of Agile, the mindset, philosophy, or the way of thinking to learn and adapt.
We get so conditioned and accustomed to doing things in a particular way that we try to avoid anything new. Be open to new ideas and ways of working, adapting to your environment, and being creative with the available resources.
Now that you have got a good hold of things and gained the trust of the stakeholders, this is the time you can start initiating or suggesting improvements and changes.
I always say, Management is a creative domain. It is both a science and an art, requiring technical, analytical, and interpersonal leadership skills.
When you enjoy your journey, you motivate others, and people will love working with you.