 "Humour can have a positive effect on project management: Prof Marco Sampietro")
In this interview, Prof Marco Sampietro of SDA Bocconi, Italy, shares the funny side of the effect of humour on project management (PM) along with the latest trends in PM.
Dwight D Eisenhower, the 34th president of US, once said, “A sense of humour is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” But what is the effect of humour on people working on a project - hard-pressed for time and cost, and working in a pressure-cooker like situation? It can act as a great stress-buster, says Prof. Marco Sampietro, Professor of Project Management of SDA Bocconi, Italy, who has been conducting research on the impact of humour on project management.
Humour plays a very important role in an individual’s personal life, but surprisingly there are very few studies on the role of humour in organisations. This prompted Prof. Sampietro to work on a thesis titled ‘Humour in international project teams’ for his doctoral project at the University of Bremen, Germany. He believes that successful project managers can put to use humour, for improving the climate at the workplace and reducing stress.
In this conversation with Rakesh Rao, Prof. Marco Sampietro, who is also a co-author of the book ‘Empowering project teams: Using project followership to improve performance, shares the funny side of the effect of humour on project management (PM) and the latest trends in PM.
What are your current research and teaching interests?
While through research and teaching I cover each and every aspect of project management, at present, I am focusing my research interest on two streams of PM. First is project followership, a concept that I have developed. There are more than 1000 books related to PM mostly written for project managers. Although team members play crucial roles in projects, there has not been enough written about them. I have noticed that most take their teams for granted and it is assumed that the team knows everything about PM. I have written a book on PM for the team, which talks about what individual team members should know about project management and how he/she should behave in a project environment.
The second stream that I am focusing on is the situational project management, which is similar to situational leadership. There are different approaches to PM, but there is no clear cut explanation on where to use these and in which situations. Situational PM attempts to guide us on the kind of approach to be adopted for PM in a particular situation.
Do you think a different approach is needed for handling IT and engineering projects?
Often people believe that IT projects are homogenous, which is not the case. Each project has its typical characteristics. In a project environment, even if we alter one variable, the entire approach may change.
With regard to soft skills, the requirements could be the same for both IT and engineering projects, because the driver is not the industry, but the project characteristic. In general, the more a project is focused on a single topic (i.e. technology), the more technical competencies are important. When projects leverage different competencies and technologies, the ability to integrate people with different backgrounds, different vocabularies, and different mind sets becomes critical.
What are the latest trends in project management?
Earlier, PM was only associated with planning and execution of the project tasks. But now, PM is not just about focusing on task execution, but also on coordination. In order to complete the task on time, there has be to a proper coordination between the team members as each activity is linked to one another. If there is any loose link, the entire project can go for a toss.
To build strong linkages, there has to be a proper channel of communication between the co-workers. It can be said that effective communication within the team can improve the PM activity and success rate can go up. Effective co-ordination becomes much more important especially for projects involving people located at multiple locations in different countries.
You have written and studied a lot of ‘Effect of humour on project management’. Do you thing humour at workplace leads to increase in productivity and also better project management?
Based on my and other research works, I can say that humour can have positive effect on project management. The objective is not to make project humorous, but to enhance the working environment by using humour. Project managers have to work under tremendous time & resource constraints, and humour can be used positively to relieve stress and tension while working on a project. It can help to develop better team climate. Humour can be one of the key assets of the project manager which he can use for effective implementation of the project.
What distinguishes the project manager (the leader) from the followers?
Followership and leadership are two sides of the same coin because without good followers a leader is ineffective and the reverse is also true. One of the qualities that differentiates the leader and the follower is that leaders are highly ambitious while there are followers that are simply happy with their status
It can be noticed that all the project managers start as project followers. Even if you have a leadership quality, you cannot be a project manager for the first project. One has to start the journey as a project follower and depending upon the performance, he/she can be promoted to become a leader.
What are the benefits of managing projects efficiently? Do you think organisations are in a position to fully utilise the benefits of project management?
It depends on the number of projects undertaken by the organisation and also the cost of the project. The criticality of PM is related to the intent of PM in a company. For engineering and construction companies which undertake projects regularly, PM has to be their core competency, while for others it is a nice to have PM as an ingredient.
Some of the benefits of PM are cost reduction and ability to be more innovative than the competitors as the organisation can undertake more projects with the same resources.
How has the profile (or the role) of a project manager changed in the recent times?
The profile of the project manager has kept pace with the changing trend in PM. Earlier, project managers were asked to stay on time and within the budget. Team dynamics existed, but were not important. Now a days, project managers are responsible for their team. Today, project managers have to have organisational competencies and, even, psychological competencies.
What qualities should project managers have in order to handle situational emergencies?
All projects have project plans, which have to be followed strictly. However, experience shows that chances of following the project plans is zero since there are many unexpected and unplanned situations which require prompt action. This requires project managers to be flexible in their approach to PM and they should be ready to take steps when required keeping in mind the ultimate impact of their actions on the final outcome of the project.
Are there opportunities in project management for emerging markets?
PM requires specific skills which need to be harnessed for reaping the benefits. Many organisations from emerging markets are working on international projects that not just benefit the company, but also their country economically. There are huge opportunities for emerging markets as they develop their PM skills.
What can India offer to engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies?
India is strong in technical education, which is fundamental for any project management activity. As a consequence, India offers a large pool of technically competent workforce for EPC companies.
Manufacturing activity has moved to emerging countries. How has it affected the engineering and construction (E&C) companies approach to project management?
Setting up projects in emerging markets lead to developing new competencies in PM. E&C companies have to be able to manage multi-culture teams. In fact, customers may be from USA or Europe, E&C companies and their workforce can be local but with international partnerships for some specific tasks. In this scenario E&C companies have to balance local PM approaches with international PM approaches.
What are the key elements, organisations have to keep in mind while investing in project management to maximise their return on investments (RoI)?
The commitment of the top management of an organisation, which intends to improve the project development efficiency, is the key for successful project management. Managing a project in a correct way is about changing the way people work. Since project management has a huge organisational impact, it cannot happen alone. So, involvement of the top management is important to truly bring about the changes in the organisation which would reap the benefits of project management.
What are the common risks involved in project management? How can organisations mitigate such risks?
If PM is implemented in an over simplified way projects can be still out of control. On the other extreme, adopting too complex project management practices can also be disastrous since the resulting processes will be too difficult, bureaucratic, and time consuming. These contrasting scenarios often occur because organisations fail to understand the true meaning of PM.
The correct approach is to appoint the right personnel able to design effective project management processes and tools. In addition, organizations need to continuously support the application of project management practices.
Dwight D Eisenhower, the 34th president of US, once said, “A sense of humour is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” But what is the effect of humour on people working on a project - hard-pressed for time and cost, and working in a pressure-cooker like situation? It can act as a great stress-buster, says Prof. Marco Sampietro, Professor of Project Management of SDA Bocconi, Italy, who has been conducting research on the impact of humour on project management.
Humour plays a very important role in an individual’s personal life, but surprisingly there are very few studies on the role of humour in organisations. This prompted Prof. Sampietro to work on a thesis titled ‘Humour in international project teams’ for his doctoral project at the University of Bremen, Germany. He believes that successful project managers can put to use humour, for improving the climate at the workplace and reducing stress.
In this conversation with Rakesh Rao, Prof. Marco Sampietro, who is also a co-author of the book ‘Empowering project teams: Using project followership to improve performance, shares the funny side of the effect of humour on project management (PM) and the latest trends in PM.
What are your current research and teaching interests?
While through research and teaching I cover each and every aspect of project management, at present, I am focusing my research interest on two streams of PM. First is project followership, a concept that I have developed. There are more than 1000 books related to PM mostly written for project managers. Although team members play crucial roles in projects, there has not been enough written about them. I have noticed that most take their teams for granted and it is assumed that the team knows everything about PM. I have written a book on PM for the team, which talks about what individual team members should know about project management and how he/she should behave in a project environment.
The second stream that I am focusing on is the situational project management, which is similar to situational leadership. There are different approaches to PM, but there is no clear cut explanation on where to use these and in which situations. Situational PM attempts to guide us on the kind of approach to be adopted for PM in a particular situation.
Do you think a different approach is needed for handling IT and engineering projects?
Often people believe that IT projects are homogenous, which is not the case. Each project has its typical characteristics. In a project environment, even if we alter one variable, the entire approach may change.
With regard to soft skills, the requirements could be the same for both IT and engineering projects, because the driver is not the industry, but the project characteristic. In general, the more a project is focused on a single topic (i.e. technology), the more technical competencies are important. When projects leverage different competencies and technologies, the ability to integrate people with different backgrounds, different vocabularies, and different mind sets becomes critical.
What are the latest trends in project management?
Earlier, PM was only associated with planning and execution of the project tasks. But now, PM is not just about focusing on task execution, but also on coordination. In order to complete the task on time, there has be to a proper coordination between the team members as each activity is linked to one another. If there is any loose link, the entire project can go for a toss.
To build strong linkages, there has to be a proper channel of communication between the co-workers. It can be said that effective communication within the team can improve the PM activity and success rate can go up. Effective co-ordination becomes much more important especially for projects involving people located at multiple locations in different countries.
You have written and studied a lot of ‘Effect of humour on project management’. Do you thing humour at workplace leads to increase in productivity and also better project management?
Based on my and other research works, I can say that humour can have positive effect on project management. The objective is not to make project humorous, but to enhance the working environment by using humour. Project managers have to work under tremendous time & resource constraints, and humour can be used positively to relieve stress and tension while working on a project. It can help to develop better team climate. Humour can be one of the key assets of the project manager which he can use for effective implementation of the project.
What distinguishes the project manager (the leader) from the followers?
Followership and leadership are two sides of the same coin because without good followers a leader is ineffective and the reverse is also true. One of the qualities that differentiates the leader and the follower is that leaders are highly ambitious while there are followers that are simply happy with their status
It can be noticed that all the project managers start as project followers. Even if you have a leadership quality, you cannot be a project manager for the first project. One has to start the journey as a project follower and depending upon the performance, he/she can be promoted to become a leader.
What are the benefits of managing projects efficiently? Do you think organisations are in a position to fully utilise the benefits of project management?
It depends on the number of projects undertaken by the organisation and also the cost of the project. The criticality of PM is related to the intent of PM in a company. For engineering and construction companies which undertake projects regularly, PM has to be their core competency, while for others it is a nice to have PM as an ingredient.
Some of the benefits of PM are cost reduction and ability to be more innovative than the competitors as the organisation can undertake more projects with the same resources.
How has the profile (or the role) of a project manager changed in the recent times?
The profile of the project manager has kept pace with the changing trend in PM. Earlier, project managers were asked to stay on time and within the budget. Team dynamics existed, but were not important. Now a days, project managers are responsible for their team. Today, project managers have to have organisational competencies and, even, psychological competencies.
What qualities should project managers have in order to handle situational emergencies?
All projects have project plans, which have to be followed strictly. However, experience shows that chances of following the project plans is zero since there are many unexpected and unplanned situations which require prompt action. This requires project managers to be flexible in their approach to PM and they should be ready to take steps when required keeping in mind the ultimate impact of their actions on the final outcome of the project.
Are there opportunities in project management for emerging markets?
PM requires specific skills which need to be harnessed for reaping the benefits. Many organisations from emerging markets are working on international projects that not just benefit the company, but also their country economically. There are huge opportunities for emerging markets as they develop their PM skills.
What can India offer to engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies?
India is strong in technical education, which is fundamental for any project management activity. As a consequence, India offers a large pool of technically competent workforce for EPC companies.
Manufacturing activity has moved to emerging countries. How has it affected the engineering and construction (E&C) companies approach to project management?
Setting up projects in emerging markets lead to developing new competencies in PM. E&C companies have to be able to manage multi-culture teams. In fact, customers may be from USA or Europe, E&C companies and their workforce can be local but with international partnerships for some specific tasks. In this scenario E&C companies have to balance local PM approaches with international PM approaches.
What are the key elements, organisations have to keep in mind while investing in project management to maximise their return on investments (RoI)?
The commitment of the top management of an organisation, which intends to improve the project development efficiency, is the key for successful project management. Managing a project in a correct way is about changing the way people work. Since project management has a huge organisational impact, it cannot happen alone. So, involvement of the top management is important to truly bring about the changes in the organisation which would reap the benefits of project management.
What are the common risks involved in project management? How can organisations mitigate such risks?
If PM is implemented in an over simplified way projects can be still out of control. On the other extreme, adopting too complex project management practices can also be disastrous since the resulting processes will be too difficult, bureaucratic, and time consuming. These contrasting scenarios often occur because organisations fail to understand the true meaning of PM.
The correct approach is to appoint the right personnel able to design effective project management processes and tools. In addition, organizations need to continuously support the application of project management practices.