[00:00:00.250] - Narrator
In this episode of great practices. I'm talking with Tim Sweet, founder and principal of teamwork excellence. Tim is a leadership advisor with over 25 years of experience in operations management, process improvement, business process reengineering, and risk reduction. Listen into this episode as Tim talks about the importance of alignment, walks us through his six point framework for team effectiveness us, and shares insights into how to keep your team on the same page. Plus, you'll find out why you don't want to be just a baton tosser when it comes to project work and learn a new word for risk. Spoiler alert. The word is fear, which is exactly how we should feel unless we have a good plan in place, which Tim can help us to do.
[00:00:47.410] - Narrator
It's hard to say when something is a best practice, but it's much easier to know when something is a great practice. And that's what this podcast is all about. Interviews with CMO and project management leaders who, through years of trial and error, have discovered their own great practices and are now sharing their insights with you. Now sit back and enjoy the conversation as Chris Kopp uncovers another great practice.
[00:01:14.490] - Chris
Just a quick show note before we get started.
[00:01:16.860] - Tim
Tim is going to be making reference.
[00:01:19.190] - Chris
To a six point framework that is extremely helpful. It's the TWE six point framework for team effectiveness. What I recommend is if you're in a position to go ahead and download that before you start and you can follow along at home, you can find this framework at TW. E Team Sixpoint, and then you spell out sixpoint. S-I-X-P-O-I-N-T. So that's TW e Team Sixpoint. And you can download this and follow along while he talks about this during our conversation.
[00:02:00.070] - Chris
Well, we'd like to welcome you to this episode of Great Practices. And the purpose of A PMO is to deliver value to the business. It's the execution and implementation arm of a company that helps operationalize executive strategy. Now, there's two ways to delivering this value. You can take the scenic route, which takes a long time to get. Where you're going may be off the beaten path a bit, and the ride may be a little bit bumpy, or you can take the express route, which is a nicely paved interstate highway that gets you from point A to point B as quickly and smoothly as possible. Now, if you're on a road trip and you want to see the sights and sounds that the scenic route has to offer, go for it. But that's not the way it works in business. Business leaders want to get from point.
[00:02:48.710] - Chris
A to point B as quickly as.
[00:02:50.710] - Chris
Possible, and this means making sure that processes and procedures are well thought out and optimized. And that's what we're going to be talking today with our guest, Tim Sweet. Now Tim is the founder and principal of teamwork Excellence. He's a leadership advisor, focuses on building teams, increasing trust, and accelerating leadership careers. So Tim, we are very excited on having you on great practices today and looking forward to this conversation.
[00:03:19.310] - Tim
Chris, it's an absolute joy to be here and I want to thank you for the introduction and for the invitation. And I'm excited to see what we can get into.
[00:03:27.810] - Chris
Absolutely. So let's talk a little bit more about who you are and what you do. Let's start there.
[00:03:35.190] - Tim
Sure. Well, I've been in leadership in one form or another for a little over 25 years now. And my background is actually in operational management and operations management. And I've always specialized in process improvement, business process reengineering, risk reduction, these types of things. And as you say, when you're running one of those projects, the business is very concerned about initiating the project, going through that ideation phase, getting into execution and seeing it done and seeing the bottom line results begin to show up. And what I found early on in my career was that that line was straighter. If we could have the leader and the team on board, I could design great, very elegant processes. But if I didn't have the people behind me, it took a long time. Sometimes it wouldn't happen at all. So my focus has been for the last decade or so, primarily on getting that alignment between leader and team.
[00:04:54.430] - Chris
So you were saying many of those words that are just very music to our ears as PMO leaders as far as alignment and getting people just kind of marching down that same path right in order to get these results done. Now, this next question, we ask this of every guest, and maybe sometimes it's obvious, sometimes it's not, but everybody has a little bit of a different perspective. What is your definition of a PMO?
[00:05:21.350] - Tim
Well, for me, and having been called one, I guess in the past, it really is the tactical hub through which change and effort flows. If there is an interface between body and mind as a metaphor, that's the PMO in my mind. It's how do we turn intent into action and make sure that it's happening in a way that's well coordinated, so the brain just doesn't tell the legs to walk, but they've got to walk left, right, left, right at the same speed and the rest of it. And so the PMO to me is very much that interchange, that helps us realize ideas.
[00:06:10.380] - Chris
I love it. What would you say? Turn intent into action. Right. That is very well said. As far as really what that PMO does, PMOs, we're always looking to make things better, faster, smoother. What are some of those steps that you would go through to conduct a process improvement or transformation initiative within an organization? What would that look like? Just kind of based on your 25 plus years of experience, how would you do that?
[00:06:41.250] - Tim
Well, it's a great question. I think the very first priority that I have is understanding what value is each stakeholder and contributor to the project, seeing within the effort of the whole. It's important that we understand do they attach importance to it in the same way that we do. And usually this needs to take place at some sort of a collaborative meeting where we get people together and we actually just take a little bit of time and talk about it. What is at stake here? If we all behave in a way that no one expects, if it's out of control and people are behaving erratically, what is the cost going to be? And the inverse of that is the same. If we all behave in a way that we see as professional and collaborative what is on the table. And that's where we get this notion of better, faster, smoother. If we are seeing to the needs of the project and at the same time seeing to the needs of all of the individuals that are involved, we can have a very, very smooth ride because they're in it for a reason that's much larger than some project mandate.
[00:08:00.960] - Tim
It now becomes something that's important to their career, something that's important to their team, something that's important to their future. So alignment, I think, is number one.
[00:08:10.500] - Chris
For me and just kind of going back to the road trip example. You want to figure out where you're going before everybody piles into the car versus piling into the car and then somebody saying, I thought we were going here, I thought we were going there and then what does that end up looking like? So I mean, that is a really good point, is make sure you know where you're going before you take off. Right?
[00:08:36.330] - Tim
Well, to the listener, I would say it is a real good point. It's surprising how many teams begin to storm a problem before they actually form a norm. But I would add one caution and that is just because we talked about it didn't mean we talked about it. And one of the biggest errors that we can make is to assume that we discussed something. So we sat in a room and we put it up on the board and we did the kickoff and we got everybody aligned. All right, but did we talk about the things that we needed to talk about? Did we tease out those areas that were really going to present potential conflict and delay and tension in the future and did we get past those things? I spend a lot of time working on megaprojects and often we'll have competitors in the same room that are working towards the same goal. Well, if we don't have them aligned so that they see the benefit in helping each other out and in that collaborative contract type model, we can spin a lot of wheels. Right.
[00:09:53.070] - Chris
And I think that's the point too is not only did you have the conversations, but did you document it? Because, man, I'll tell you what, we've all seen it where it will flip from this meeting to this meeting, to this meeting, to this meeting, and 180 degrees, how do we even get there? Did we document what that looks like?
[00:10:14.690] - Tim
So, great point for my clients. What that can actually look like is we have a project charter, and then we have a separate team charter. And in that team charter, we actually have a code of conduct and basically rules of engagement so that people know how they're going to handle conflict. Yes, but also what are the general behaviors that we're going to agree on. And when we do that, we can start from a position of unearned trust. And that means that we don't have to wonder if a person is on our team or not. They've already declared that they are and go from there.
[00:10:52.850] - Chris
Now, you've got a tool that you had showed me something along the lines of a six point framework. Something along those lines. Right. Want to kind of talk through how that could help with what you're talking about when it relates to alignment, because that's effectively that's like the most important thing that you're saying. We got to get right before we get going. So how could this tool help with that?
[00:11:16.010] - Tim
Sure. This is a simplification, and it's a more simplified deployment of something we have that's called the three P, which is a much more comprehensive program that we use especially for not just projects, but for ongoing operations. But in this case, what the six point framework is meant to do is that if we have multiple teams that are coming together to contribute to something, or if we want to do, say, one level up, one of these frameworks for the entire team. We can use an A Four Logic in a simplified format to really get everybody on the same page. And what the six point framework does is it seeks to answer those questions of who we are, what do we do, what do we care about who's going to be doing what, when, how are we going to agree to behave, and why are we the right team for the job? Right. And this is fundamental to a lot of the programs that I do, whether I'm setting organizational or cultural strategy, whether I'm helping a team figure out what they're doing or in this case, whether I'm helping a project get on the ground and hoeing the row for the project team so that they can come in and have an easier time of things where they don't have to handle some of the soft interpersonal issues.
[00:12:45.020] - Tim
And we've got everybody aligned before they begin work. The six point framework, I really break it up into six key areas. As it says, the first one really defines, well, why are we here? So in support of something which would usually be a larger value or strategic statement we're going to be accomplishing something. So this is framing. In order to uphold these things, we're going to go and we're going to do something. Then we say who's it going to impact? And we'll complete it by when. Now, that's all very standard sort of statements that you'd find in most charters, but the next thing that comes up is a little bit special. And that is we target a sound bite for the end user or for say, a project partner. When we're finished, our customer or our partners are going to be able to say with truth something. And then our team is going to gather around and say, what do we want them to be able to say with truth? And we create that sound bite. Now all of a sudden we've humanized the effort and said, how are we going to actually show up in the mind of the people that are going to digest the value that we're creating in this product and this project?
[00:14:14.690] - Tim
And the reason that's important is because we're talking about internal brand. Often projects are sold using a lot of fancy language. They write it into the charter and it all sounds great on paper and that's the brand that they want to uphold. And if we look at most change management practices, it's about selling that brand or that idea. But all of that goes out the window the minute that somebody has to digest or interface with our product pardon me, interface with our project team or digest the value of the completed outcome. And if they experience something else, well, guess what? All of the words go out the window and the experience becomes prime.
[00:15:05.260] - Chris
Is that what you're saying? You're saying saying this with truth? Is that what you're talking about? It's believable to them, right? I mean, it's just not the mission statement or whatever you see on the walls when you walk into a company, but it's actually this is real, right?
[00:15:19.830] - Tim
That's right. And so, for instance, if we can get a little personal here, let's say that for your podcast that your goal is going to be, I want to have an informative podcast where my guests feel welcomed and they feel well prepared. And the rest of it, you can put all that down on a sheet of paper and oh, by the way, you did a great job.
[00:15:43.890] - Chris
I was going to say I was right going to ask that.
[00:15:47.870] - Tim
But what ends up mattering is how does your guest feel? So I feel very well supported and I feel like Chris had my best interests in mind and I felt like he validated me to his audience and made me feel like a million bucks or whatever that is. That's your brand. If I say those things genuinely and from the heart, right? I don't have to be manipulated to say it that way. That's what I mean by with truth is that it's logical to me it's authentic to me and that I'm feeling a measure of empathy from you. I know why I'm here and I know why I'm engaged.
[00:16:35.700] - Chris
So if you can pull that over into the project space, think about how powerful that is.
[00:16:41.410] - Tim
Totally. And at all stages of the project lifecycle. That's right. So if we're talking about we're in the middle of discovery or we're in the middle of the chartering process, even just when we get down to it, we're going to have this meeting so that we can come together as a group of providers and really all understand the charter. All right, well, that's kind of the brand of the meeting and the intent of the PM.
[00:17:05.100] - Chris
Right.
[00:17:05.950] - Tim
Well, isn't it better to think in terms that he or she wants to hear people leaving? They want to hear people leaving the room going, wow, that was not a waste of time. That was the best hour I've spent on this project. I feel set up now. It sounds a little cute, right? But we want that to ring true in the person so that they go back to their desk and the next time we call, they know we're there for them and they're going to give us all sorts of time.
[00:17:44.050] - Chris
It is coming down to marketing. The PMO is what it is because marketing is delivery on a promise. You promise you're going to do this thing. And it was actually delivered we can.
[00:17:55.690] - Tim
Think of as like reputational management, almost.
[00:17:58.180] - Chris
Right? Yeah, that's right. That's a good way of looking at it. All right, so what's next on this six point framework then? So we've kind of got the basis of it. We're speaking in truth now. What's next?
[00:18:10.110] - Tim
Yeah. So that's where we sort of we've set our intent in our brand. Then the next thing is we can start to get a little chunky. We can say very basic, but we're going to say what is today will become something tomorrow. And this is really what is the disruption or the transformation that we want to take place? Something that exists today, perhaps there's no CRM. And tomorrow or at the end of the project, we are going to have a CRM that's been adopted by the sales team and they're going to be using it appropriately and they're going to be trained up. Right. It's whatever that statement of transformation is, it's important to recognize where are we today and where will we be when we're done? So if we think of this in terms of a map that we lay out in front of us, we know our position on that map and we know the destination we're heading towards. Now, we haven't dealt with how we're going to orient around that and go around mountains and rivers, et cetera, but we know the beginning and the end, and everybody understands that. And remember, we can lay this out for the project.
[00:19:22.130] - Tim
But if you step one level down. You can also have contributors lay this out and it might look a little differently. I'm going to start not understanding what a CRM is. And by the end of contributing to this project, my team is going to have experience having deployed a CRM system or something.
[00:19:40.860] - Chris
No, I mean it's your destination is where you're going. Again, you got the right people in the car and now you've chosen where you're going. So what's next?
[00:19:49.390] - Chris
So that was the what is to.
[00:19:50.910] - Chris
Be what's the next step?
[00:19:52.830] - Tim
Yeah. And then we can talk about specific actions that we're going to take together. So we're going to say one of the actions is to go out and socialize the aims of the charter of the project. And then we're going to say this is what we're going to do. And then I want you to tell me why it's going to make sense. Why it makes sense. And this is like a micro business case. So we're going to go out and we're going to take time to circle the vice presidents and tell them about the project. It makes sense because if we have their support, we can have an easier time getting into the room with our stakeholders. If we don't have their support, we know we've got some room to do. So it's going to help us avoid conflict further on and secure funding or something along those lines. Right. So let's really get down to what are the key actions that we're going to be working on and what we're going to be expending our effort and why does it make sense? Now, this doesn't replace the project plan. This is more about saying, does everybody understand some of the primary things we're going to be doing together?
[00:21:04.000] - Tim
And do we all understand why it makes sense? And this is why this is more of an alignment exercise to the why rather than the what is going to be done.
[00:21:13.430] - Chris
And I love that question why this makes sense. Because even what that will do is validate as you're putting this plan together. Does this actually make sense? Sometimes you just arbitrarily think you've got to do something.
[00:21:24.970] - Tim
Yes, absolutely.
[00:21:26.700] - Chris
Just challenge yourself as you're putting together about why it makes sense. And then that's also really showing respect for your team of just don't do it because I said to do it. But this is why the reason that.
[00:21:39.170] - Tim
We'Re doing it, too often we end up in this kind of baton, pass the baton or throw it over the wall siloed type behavior. And it's important for us to align the intent of the project up and down the value chain, up and down the cascade of leaders all the way down to the front line. If a person who's a contributor, perhaps not a leader, but just a technical expert or somebody that's going and doing part of the work, if they're given a spec that says, okay, you've got to go out and perform this task. They can go and they can do that, but they'll be doing it mechanistically. They'll be doing it from a purely transactional perspective of saying, okay, I'm told to go do A and B. I go in, I do A and B. I remember working with a house building organization and we had issues because we would have drywallers coming in. Their job was to drywall efficiently and the rest of it and they would drywall over a wall and then we would realize, or the site super would realize that that wall needed to be a wet wall or needed electrics.
[00:22:53.550] - Tim
So we had to take down the drywall, maybe the paint, wire the wall and then hang it back up and go again at extra time and cost and the rest of it. That's a very simplistic example. But if the drywaller had been aware of what stage of work we were in, they were well coordinated. They understood that they would be hired back if the project didn't go over budget and was on time. They can see the reason why it's important to keep your head on a swivel and understand the overall aim was to deliver a comfortable, safe, two spec house on time for the customer. They were part of the larger value chain, part of the larger delivery. If everybody can think that way, suddenly again things become very easy and they become very collaborative. Right?
[00:23:52.650] - Chris
So now we've got what we're going to do, why it makes sense. Where do we go next?
[00:23:58.670] - Tim
The next one is very, very simple and that is just laying out what some of the big milestones are. Now again, it doesn't replace the Gantt chart, but it just sort of replaces the hey, what are some of the big events that are going to be happening? Do we all know they're coming? It may be things that actually exist as just they look like they hold the same priority on a Gantt chart but they are important things to have happen. This is more useful for the sub teams, frankly, because it can be used to say highlight where there's an event or a meeting or something that's happening that may be out of the purview of that team. And it may be decided that we need to drop one of our team members into, into a review session or something just to make sure that we are ahead of the game and that we can see something coming. So it's really I use that as a tool to keep people syncopated and saying we're expecting these good things to be happening. We're taking a moment to realize them, we're anticipating when they're going to happen. We're making sure we're prepared for when we're going to contribute next.
[00:25:12.020] - Tim
It really just helps with this kind of rhythm and pace that we can install in a team. You want to have this sense of moving forward together and again, being timed together so that we don't have one trying to push forward and the other one is having problems going back. What are the frequency of meetings? What's the cadence, what's the tone and the urgency within the team? And does everybody feel that? Right?
[00:25:44.920] - Chris
And I would anticipate or I would expect this, this would be like the bigger rocks that are cross functional as well, right? I mean, that's what you're kind of saying. This is like this major piece has to come from this group over here. This major piece has to come from this group over here. And that's really what's going to be reflected in here is these bigger items, right?
[00:26:03.940] - Tim
100%. And just maybe I'll stop on that moment because when we talk about deploying the six point framework, it's something to see when you're in the war room of an initiative and you put these up on the wall. And I would often create them not just for our contributing teams, but for our customer teams. And so we would actually go out and talk to the teams who were going to be enjoying or were going to be impacted by the change that we were making. And we would be able to hold in our mind what was most important to them. They might put things up on that milestone portion that had nothing to do with our product, our project, but they were important to them and frankly, it was going to impact their availability when we needed to talk to them or how tapped their team was going to be. So isn't it something, if you were the PM and even the various collaborators within a project, to just be aware of what you were doing to your customer when you went and you needed to ask them for something, you'd taken the time to figure out these elements for the customer.
[00:27:30.670] - Tim
Who do they think they are? Who do they think they are? How are they trying to provide value and what is important for their customers to say and what's the big changes that they're trying to bring into the world and what are their reasons for doing that? And suddenly, if we can understand that, we can anticipate and really get ahead of a whole bunch of issues that will follow. And once you see it, you can't unsee it, right? So once we've completed the picture for ourself, we're just so much more knowledgeable. And having run big initiatives myself, I would never do it any other way now because it would be like this. We go out and we create whatever the project charter says we need to deliver. Okay, so we've now delivered that thing and then we have to face the fact that we didn't fully understand our customer. They were looking for something else or maybe we were impacted. They didn't feel part of the project from the beginning. It was happening to them, not with them or for them. I would much rather enroll them early, early on. So I think that's something that I didn't specify early enough in this conversation, but when we're doing this pre socialization and alignment piece, it's not just the contributors to the product, to the project.
[00:28:57.040] - Tim
It really also is the customers, the ultimate users.
[00:29:03.000] - Chris
We want to get the one that's expecting the value to be delivered.
[00:29:06.200] - Tim
Right, yeah. Not just in the design. Projects are really good at doing that in the design phase, but we have to also realize what's their life like as we're going through the transformational phase, through the project delivery phase. Right.
[00:29:21.010] - Chris
And then I noticed you've got, of course, the obligatory main risks and mitigations. Yeah, that's got to have that.
[00:29:29.510] - Tim
It is obligatory, but we use the word risks. But what I would actually like to title this is Fear, because this isn't just about project risks, okay? We go over time and we're going to get slapped or whatever. I like using this for what are we afraid of? We're afraid of we're going to be seen as slowing the process down because we need to be thorough. Right. What's the mitigation? Well, we need people to understand why we're being thorough and see us as a cost avoidance center rather than just a cost center. Right. So I really like using this section for getting into the emotional risks rather than simply the tactical risks.
[00:30:24.690] - Chris
I love that term of main fears and mitigations because, man, that is what it is you always hear. What is it that keeps you up at night? What is it that's in your pit of your stomach?
[00:30:36.730] - Chris
That's the fear.
[00:30:38.330] - Chris
It's not just like, oh, there's a potential of this happening. Well, if this happens, man, this is impactful across the board. Right.
[00:30:45.650] - Tim
And it could easily say fear. Maybe I'll change it by the time we're posting this for this. But the reason why I don't use fear is the same reason why I don't use love a lot until I get in with teams. It's not a joke.
[00:31:04.150] - Chris
No, I mean, it's like it is the extremes of emotions.
[00:31:07.180] - Tim
It is. And when you have a team that's worked together and they're working really well together, I'll ask them to explain how they feel about their teammates and I'd be like, oh, man, it's just a person that I really care about. And I really want them to be successful at work and at home, and I really want them just to really find a lot of joy and fulfillment in life. What does that sound like? And they're hesitant to say the word love, but they actually love their team. So, I mean, it's really interesting because we have trouble talking about love in a team, but it was Vince Lombardi, perhaps the most winningest coach in NFL history, that said, you don't have to like all the players on your team, but you need to love them because love is where you find loyalty. And you find respect and you find empathy. It really is seeing it in the sense of that communal love where we're going to care about somebody. When our project cares for our clients, for our customers, that we're benefiting, things go much smoother. When our customers and our supporters and the business care for our project, then it is at a whole different level.
[00:32:24.480] - Tim
And it goes really smooth because they want it. We're not pushing rope. Fear is the same thing. Fear is in in our society. Fear is a dirty word, and people feel very, very exposed when we use it. But that's what we're talking about. We're talking about people's personal fears. Because if we're going to go there and ask them, why is this project personally important to you? Then we better be prepared to say, what are you risking being part of this project if it goes well or if it goes poorly? And if we can understand that, then guess what? We're not just talking about our teams being successful, but we're talking as leaders on these teams, having this conversation, framing this six point framework for our contributing body within the larger project. We can then have that conversation. How can I make you more successful? What can I do to make this the best project you've ever been on to date?
[00:33:19.890] - Chris
And that brings us really to our final block on here.
[00:33:22.830] - Chris
Right.
[00:33:23.260] - Chris
What is that final block on this framework?
[00:33:26.230] - Tim
Yeah. So the final block is, why will we succeed? Why are we the right team for this job? And this is a chance for the team and the leader to come together and really say, this is why we believe in ourselves. This is why we've got some anti fragility on this team, why we're not just able to go out and act competently, but we have a fundamental belief that we are the team to be deployed in this area. And that confidence goes a long way. And when other teams can see that, they can believe in us too. Because we've now gone through these six points and we've explained to them, why are we important to the overall effort? And if they understand that about us and we understand that about them, guess what? You don't just have a group of disassociated workflows. You've got a network and a team and a community that's trying to come together and accomplish something that's really profound.
[00:34:26.140] - Chris
Anti fragility.
[00:34:27.970] - Chris
I love it.
[00:34:28.700] - Chris
Antifragility.
[00:34:31.670] - Tim
I learned that phrase and I know it's not his, although I can't bring it right up. Well, actually, maybe I can use this as a chance to just tell you a little something that came from a conversation I had with Richard Young. And Richard Young is a PhD researcher and coach that has been on the own the podium Olympic teams for Canada, the UK and New Zealand. He still coaches world class organizations. So Richard and I have done a lot of work together. And if you'll allow me, I'll say that on May 31, our full season, first eight episodes of our first full season are dropping on my own podcast, Sweet on Leadership. So it'll be a conversation episode eight with Richard Young and you'll hear him explain antifragility and why it is far better than simple resilience.
[00:35:23.120] - Chris
I love it. So let's talk about that. Let's talk about where they can get the six point framework for team effectiveness. We'll talk about that first. So if you could tell us where that is and then tell us where they could hear more about you.
[00:35:35.050] - Chris
Because you've got your podcast, you said.
[00:35:37.710] - Tim
That'S coming up on yeah, it's brand new. Okay.
[00:35:40.090] - Chris
So let's talk about, first of all.
[00:35:41.690] - Chris
If somebody's interested, because you've covered a lot of great points as you went through this conversation. But it's one page. It's all on one page. That's what I love about this. So where could they download this?
[00:35:52.290] - Tim
Sure. So one of the tools that I'm happy to provide leaders is this framework. Go to my site, TWE Team sixpoint, and that's all lowercase sixpoint, and you'll be able to download this right away with very little hassle.
[00:36:13.970] - Chris
Okay. And we'll include that in the show notes and then talk about your podcast that will be dropping. Sure.
[00:36:20.650] - Tim
So I have a podcast and a newsletter of the same name and that's sweet on leadership because I am really sweet on great leaders and great examples of leadership. It is a podcast for leaders where they can go in and gain skills, confidence, insights. I'm interviewing some real awesome leadership personalities that you may never have heard of and just really pleased to bring it to you. And we're having a lot of fun putting it together.
[00:36:52.440] - Chris
So it's going to be suite on leadership, right?
[00:36:54.710] - Tim
Sweet on leadership.
[00:36:55.600] - Chris
Search for that anywhere and they'll be.
[00:36:56.890] - Tim
Able to well, yeah, find it on. Primarily it's going to be on Apple podcast and on Spotify.
[00:37:07.130] - Chris
Perfect. Well, Tim, we really appreciate you being on today and talking through this framework and talking what it is that it's all about. Alignment. That's what I'm getting out of this conversation is if you can get things from the beginning set up correctly and properly, the rest of the journey is going to be so much easier. That's ultimately what I'm getting out of this conversation right here. This tool will really help people do that. So thank you very much for being on today and we are anxious to be listening to your podcast.
[00:37:36.600] - Tim
Well, Chris, it was an absolute pleasure. I really love what you're doing here and I hope we can do it again.
[00:37:43.140] - Chris
Thanks, Tim.
[00:37:44.200] - Tim
Thank you so much.
[00:37:49.910] - Chris
Well, that was another great conversation on.
[00:37:52.010] - Chris
Great practices, and we really appreciate Tim being on with us today and sharing his insights and experience with us as it relates to really building effective teams, optimizing processes, and just really being able to deliver project value to our organizations. So what were some of these great practices? What were some of these points that Tim brought out? Well, there was many of them, and I'm just going to start out right with his definition of a PMO. I love this, that it turns intent into action. The PMO sits between ideas and action. So that's an important role to play and it's a lot of responsibility, certainly. But if we apply a lot of these principles that Tim talked about on today's show, certainly something that we can fulfill. Loved the six point framework for team effectiveness. And again, if you haven't downloaded this yet, you can go to TW E Team Sixpoint Sixpoint, and you can download this. It is a one pager, which anything is one page you got to love. And what it does is it just really walks through just an overview of exactly what this project is going to accomplish and making sure that everybody's on the same page.
[00:39:11.890] - Chris
So it asks questions or it has you fill out sections such as this project is in support of and we are going to do this. Who is it going to impact? It's going to be complete by this point in time. But then I like it because it breaks down just into just plain old English. When finished, customers will be able to say and then you line up exactly what they're going to be able to say. And he said something along the lines of that they can speak it with truth. So it's something like, oh yeah, we actually believe that this is going to happen, and it's something that we're going to be able to benefit from. Then he moves through that process of the what is what's the current state to the will be state? What's the future state of this? What are the actions that are going to be taken together and then challenge yourself, say, do these actions make sense? Why do they make sense? And really think through that process as you're putting this one pager together? Of course we've got milestones, but these are the big milestones. These are the large ones that you're going to put in there.
[00:40:20.740] - Chris
The cross functional team milestones, the one that you're going to put up on the wall, and you're going to get agreement and alignment from everybody on to make sure that, oh yeah, we can actually accomplish this thing that we're setting out to do together. Or, oh, guess what? We've got a conflict or we've got a gap, or there's something that is just not aligning again, that word alignment that we really need to make sure that we can get in sync on. And then what about the main risks, fears and mitigations? I love that it's like that is the fear. That's what really risk is. It's that thing that keeps you up at night. We are actually afraid of this. And that's another thing that's on this six point framework is the terminology we're afraid of this event or this thing happening and what we're going to do in order to prevent that. And then finally, in plain old English, again, why we will succeed when we're through, ultimately saying why this team is the right team for it, what's the end state of this going to be and why this is going to be successful all on one page.
[00:41:29.340] - Chris
That's the beauty of this. It's not a whole thick bound book or 50 page PowerPoint, but it's all on one page and something that everybody can reflect on and continue to go back to for alignment. So we certainly do appreciate him being on today. So you can follow Tim on LinkedIn. You can listen to his podcast suite on Leadership. Look for that. He's also got a newsletter with the same name. And be sure to visit the Teamwork Excellence website, which is [email protected]. So again, we appreciate Tim being on Today and sharing some of these great practices with us. Do you have a great practice you'd like to share? Go to thepmoleader.com click on Explore Great Practices podcast and fill out the form at the bottom of the screen. Someone will get in touch with you shortly. Also, be sure not to miss an episode by subscribing to Great Practices on your favorite podcast platform. And if you like what you hear, we've had some absolutely great guests on. Be sure to share this with your manager, colleagues, and any others that you think would be able to benefit. So thanks again for listening to this episode and keep putting Great Practices into practice.
[00:42:53.810] - Tim
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