In this episode, hosts Merv Jersak and Tim Jerome discuss practical strategies such as assessing work culture through observations in common areas, utilizing tools like SharePoint for better integration, and the importance of retrospectives in agile projects. They also touch on the significance of understanding the 'why' behind tasks, journaling cultural observations, and fostering a culture of celebrating team and individual successes. The episode emphasizes the importance of empathy and positive cultural influence in project management.

Main Take-Aways

Tips, tools, and techniques that project leaders can utilize to assess and influence project culture:

1)     observe individuals’ behavior in common areas; observe what is tacked to employee bulletin boards

2)     use relevant online applications to enhance team member experience while working on the project

3)     understand and benefit from the impact and influence of negative cultures

4)     employ team building exercises

5)     employ daily team stand-up meetings

6)     capture observations of project culture in your own note-taking process

7)     give the “why”, not just the “what” and “how”

8)     demonstrate desired behaviors; act professionally

9)     celebrate successes!

Show Notes

Today’s Project Managers Coffee Chat: Tips, Tools, and Techniques in Assessing and Influencing Project Culture

00:59 Tim kicks off the podcast with his first tip: assess the project/organizational culture quickly by observing interaction of staff in common areas; check out what is pinned to the employee bulletin boards.

02:26 Merv introduces a couple of tools to enhance project culture by recounting experiences with these tools on project sites: a SharePoint site with recommendations for traveling consultants of what to see and do in the local area; an online sounding board application to guide the retrospective for each Agile sprint.

05:03 Tim counsels individuals on how to handle the cultures of toxic work environments, on how to benefit by understanding the impact and influence of negative cultures.

06:43 Merv stresses the importance of team building and communication, and shares how he has participated in excellent team building days to initiate new projects.

08:17 Merv goes on to stress the importance of inserting daily stand-ups into the project culture to set the tone for the work day.

09:37 Tim shares how he has introduced journaling into his daily routine to capture his observations of individuals’ behavior and apparent culture.

12:06 Merv underscores the need for project managers to provide the “why” when allocating tasks and providing instruction – not just the “what” and “how”. He also shares how he has required his technical team to take field trips to their customers’ work sites to better understand their daily activities, prior to embarking on requirements analysis and design.

17:37 Tim adds that you can influence project culture through your professional demeaner and by demonstrating desired behaviors.

19:19 Merv ends on a high note by recommending highly the need to celebrating successes – project-related and personal in nature – to build a positive, collaborative working culture.