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What Makes a Successful Program Manager? Dr. Owen C. Gadeken

Program Leadership. What Makes a Successful Program Manager? Dr. Owen C. Gadeken. PROGRAM MANAGEMENT CAREER. Balance of Expertise. Leadership. Managerial. Technical. Time. CAREER DEVELOPMENT Most Learning Takes Place On the Job. Challenging Assignments (48%) Start-up Fix it

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What Makes a Successful Program Manager? Dr. Owen C. Gadeken

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  1. Program Leadership What Makes a Successful Program Manager? Dr. Owen C. Gadeken

  2. PROGRAM MANAGEMENT CAREER Balance of Expertise Leadership Managerial Technical Time

  3. CAREER DEVELOPMENTMost Learning Takes Place On the Job • Challenging Assignments (48%) • Start-up • Fix it • Project/Task Force • Line to Staff • Significant Others (18%) • Mentors/Role Models • Values Playing Out • Hardships (17%) • Business Failures/Mistakes • Missed Job Opportunities • Subordinate Performance Problems • Career Change • Other Events (17%) • Training • Early Work Experience • Purely Personal Center for Creative Leadership Study of 191 Executives (616 Events and 1547 Lessons)

  4. LEARNING THROUGH STORIES • Much of program management is based on tacit (not easily expressed or codified) knowledge • Stories are a powerful way of capturing and sharing tacit knowledge • Stories stimulate curiosity • Stories are memorable • Stories reinforce our corporate culture • Collecting success stories from the best program managers gives us role models to emulate

  5. “PAIR & SHARE” EXERCISE • Recall some significant events or situations from your program management experience • Pick one of these situations and make a few notes about it (see next chart) • Conduct a brief “pair & share” exercise where student pairs share their “stories” • Convene the class and ask for volunteers to share a few of their stories • Discuss the lessons learn from this exercise

  6. A GOOD STORY • Starts with a problem, conflict or challenge • Describes a unique experience • Describes concrete actions by people • Shares their emotional reactions as well • Is as short and simple as possible • Makes a point! It arrives at some basic truth • Challenges or reinforces our mental models (of how things work)

  7. YearCompleted ConductedBy TargetPopulation ProgramSize Program ManagersInterviewed Surveyed 199019911991199419992003+ DSMCDSMCAFITNPGSNPGSDAU US DoDUK MoDUS DoDUS ArmyUS ArmyUS DoD/Ind Major/SmallMajorMajorMajorMajor/SmallMajor/Small 5215 -- 7 -- 8 82 128111 53 25 39----356 Defense Program Manager Research Studies DSMC = Defense Systems Management College NPGS = Naval Post Graduate School DAU = Defense Acquisition University AFIT = Air Force Institute of Technology

  8. PM Development PersonalKey CharacteristicsBehaviors Skills Knowledge Top PMs Program Managers Program Management Professionals

  9. Keys to Program Leadership • Choose your Role • Own your program • Set clear & compelling Goals and act on them • Think Ahead & Reflect Back on your program • Develop and Empower your staff • Thrive on Relationships and Influence • Be Open and Honest with others

  10. PM Thinking Skills “Figuring out what is going on in a complex world is the heart of leadership. Otherwise leaders are defeated by events they do not understand.” ADM Carlisle Trost Former CNO “We were heading to a point where, although it was years away from happening, things would start to diverge. But action needed to be taken right then and there so that...we would have enough canisters to go around and support the missile base. That was the driving factor in what I was doing.” Navy Program Manager

  11. Assessing and DevelopingProgram Manager Competencies • 1. Personal Reflection (On-The-Job Feedback) • - Personal reflection on what worked and what didn’t • - Correlated with candid feedback from others involved • 2. 360 Degree Feedback Instruments • - Composite of self, supervisor, peer, and subordinate ratings • - Norm data provided for benchmark • 3. Training and Development - Experiential Exercises • - Case studies • - Computer simulations • - Behavioral (role-playing) simulations • - Experiential (outdoor) exercises

  12. Managers Leaders Managers versus Leaders Establish Think Build Provide Work Clear Objectives Critically & Systematically Internal Teams (IPTs/PMO) Decisions & Implementation Within the System to Get Results Compelling Vision Creatively & Unconventionally External Teams (Stakeholders) Coaching & Empowerment On the System to Improve It Successful PMs must be both Managers and Leaders!

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