Captain Heidi "ChuckEm" Heming continued to let down to FL 270 in her heavily damaged fighter. Her intent was to rendezvous with the tanker and get back to the carrier. Her mind was accelerating to deal with the priorities that her fighter, Nighthawk 201, seemed to be dictating....she was all about right now. Heidi's concerns kept mounting as each new warning light come on in the cockpit.
The shot up fighter was still manageable but concern about making it back to the carrier overrode caution about placing the tanker in jeopardy with the lack of control. Major Patty "Stomper" Wayne heard Heidi's Mayday and joined on her wing. She noticed Heidi's shattered windscreen and then pressed her com button.
"Heidi are you alright?"
Heidi's damaged radio was as irregular as her slurred speech. Patty offered encouragement as she passed under Nighthawk 201 to check for damage. Her first observation was that Heidi's aircraft was a mess with multiple leaks and significant battle damage to the aft control surfaces of the fighter. What she couldn't believe was the round that came right through the cockpit, grazing Heidi's face and taking out the part of the radio consul.
Patty rode Heidi's wing in their direct course to the carrier. She relayed progress reports while encouraging Heidi to cover the checklists and prepare for ejection or ditching. Even though Nighthawk 210 went "bingo'' fuel Heidi's calculations indicated the possibly of a rendezvous with the tanker that had been launched from the ship.
Coming off target Heidi took the force of ground fire. She was truly becoming "one" with her machine as she struggled to maintain control. The systems checks demanded complete attention. Even though she enjoyed the stimulation and the rush of combat, the reality of the situation did not permit staying in touch with her emotions. While blocking out fear, loneliness, and an ugly facial wound Heidi compartmentalized her natural feelings to get in tune with the technology that would save her life or take it. She could not understand why the front of her flight suit was damp and did not realize she was loosing blood.
As Patty watched Heidi's crippled fighter slowly descend toward the cloud deck at fifteen thousand feet she made the call for the rescue chopper.
Five years later Heidi, VP of operations, found herself in the company's conference room waiting for her president's message on the viability of their organization to with stand a new set of market challenges. It was an important meeting for Heidi because she led this project management team in the exploration of an alternative corporate business development strategy.
As Heidi listened she was thinking about ways her project management team could have responded more professionally to the task and she began to second guess her leadership and interpersonal abilities brought from the military. In the military she and her shipmates depended on one another for mutual survival.
The military decision tree had more life and death consequences than in her current profession. Military aviation with its compartmentalized multitasking and the corporate project management juggling act required different management approaches. She knew the mechanics of project management but her leadership style would have to change and she knew it.
She pondered her concerns and questions as the meeting continued. How do I make the subtle changes required from my Gung Ho buttoned down past into this corporate world? Corporate life just is not all black and white. She started to check off concerns in her head;
Her corporate team is driven by different principles and experience.
They are hesitant in taking responsibility for tasks and taking risks even when given wider latitude with clear task delineated paths.
They simply do not exhibit the collective and individual will and intensity Heidi expected.
Her Marine Corp style did not seem to sell and at times to be an impediment even when she was thoroughly versed in project tactics and was intellectually superior.
Her status and influence in the military just did not equate to her position as a project manager with the corporation.
She simply did not trust of her non Marine project management group.
Dropping some military jargon and street fighter attitude might be the first step to help her project management leadership skills take hold.
But above all Heidi realized the team gave her something to work with. The scope of work was fully defined, interpersonal relationships were solid, with clear objectives delineated. This team really wanted to achieve the stated project deliverables. Heidi would adapt and overcome just like in the Marine Corp. She would get the project/mission accomplished for she was a person who could make things happen.
She was a leader then and she would succeed as a leader now by changing her methods and approach to meet the new situation. She hoped that her style changes would affect her teams' behavior positively for she realized her leadership and project management tool box was full enough to handle the corporate environment.
As Nighthawk 201 staggered away from the tanker Heidi struggled to remain in control of the ill performing jet. Longitudinal and lateral stability were decaying and she prepared for the ejection that might come if she could not hold the aircraft's flight envelope together. Her team continued to provide support in her project to survive in a badly damaged fighter and to get back aboard the ship. Heidi managing the electrical, flight systems, fuel, and loss of engine power while lapsing in and out of consciousness.
Major Wayne received the go ahead to come aboard and gave words of encouragement to Heidi as she tracked parallel and above Heidi's approach.
Heidi entered the groove and called, "201, Nighthawk ball 1.3."
Both corporate and military leadership project management situations often require different approaches to achieve success. It is the recognition of these differences that often provides direction to achieve greater leadership success in the project management environment.
This case is based on the principles of human interaction (collaboration) management and based on small tasks executed as the situation demands and more adaptive than completely preplanned. Even though it presents a situation (tactical military KPI outcomes) that might not be thought of like more traditional PM situations, the case contains all the required elements that go toward satisfying basic project management deliverables.
More importantly, it provides an inside look into the varying cultures and adaptation that individual must confront to make sure their human factors breed success.
What part do you think human factors play in your project management?
Are you having problems with your project management human factors? Do you need impartial and experienced outside project management support? Ask for a free consultation from David White.
http://www.whiteassociatesms.com
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