As I sit and write this, I have my crutches propped up on my desk; never too far from my reach. The confused February weather results in a dreary Friday morning, but to be honest, I don't manage to get out of the house much at the moment, so I watch the clouds roll in, and then roll back out again from my window as a passive observer watching a moving picture.
Its been nearly seven weeks since I had my ACL and meniscus repaired on my knee after nearly two decades of issues with it, and it has forced me to have some "down time". I've been a first-hand participant of the time-warping sensation of time going both fast and slow when your routine and normal changes...
The days feel endless when you have a mountain (and I mean a mountain) of physio to do, and yet the days fly by and roll into weeks. When I sit and think about how far I've come in the six and a half weeks post-op, it feels like that time period where I had just left the hospital unable to walk, stand, or do pretty much anything on my own without assistance from my long suffering husband (I mean, loving and devoted) is half a lifetime ago.
Remembering what it's like to do the things I love; hiking, Pilates, walking for hours round towns and cities, travelling with the kids - this feels right now like another persons life.
That said, there is hope. Bit by bit I'm relaying my brick foundations, not focusing on rebuilding the wall itself, but just focusing on that perfect placement of the next brick. There are so many similarities with my rehab journey and my observations on projects, I felt compelled to begin to write about them as a way to document this period of my life, but also to share some common areas of struggle we all share, even in the projects we work on. I begin with three areas of reflection, but I hope to build this into a series over the forthcoming months.
Optimism Bias
I have gained a new insight into this term "optimism bias" that we all love to use within Projects;
"Be careful about optimism bias, team! We want realistic estimates on this project, so lets acknowledge its existence, implement robust risk management practices, use historical data where possible and lets develop our estimates in a culture of conservative openness and realism"
I approached my ACL surgery with this style of approach - I researched it to death, understood the recovery, the rehab, the process I was about to undertake. I identified the risks in this and cleared my diaries to facilitate this period of recovery as a mitigation. I even read up and spoke to people who had been through this recovery themselves, so I thought I had half an idea of what to expect. How naive.
No matter how prepared you are and how many practical tools you apply to the preparation period of any project which involves complex interdependencies - it will never be enough to eradicate optimism bias, because you are a novice.
Even if you have experienced something similar, or spoken to experts that have done this time and time again; You and your team are still novices in this endeavour because it is, by definition, a unique set of circumstances that defines the parameters of that project.
It is only when you begin that you truly understand the depth and multifaceted nature of your project.
This means that your previous estimates are, I would argue, ALWAYS on the optimistic side. Now that I am on the path to recovery, I reflect that my novice-self was only understanding the theoretical side of the process, which is always easier to estimate and assume you understand. The reality is that the human(s) always get in the way, leading me to;
The Human Affect on Projects
My mood effects my day. Nothing new or profound to note here. But the impact of my human self on my recovery journey has been significant. Day to day and week to week I observe the changes in my mood, my perspective and more importantly my perception of reality and my perception of progress.
If I get in my own way, I can impact positively or negatively the outcome of my project, in this case, my rehab, by my perception of reality and progress.
Some days, I'm super zoomed in, frustrated and over the constant battle of physio, pain and swelling management and attempting to get back my independence in any small way that I can. I reflect that this is no different that a project team getting lost in the small daily fires that they have to battle, the relentlessness of the business rhythm with the progress, the monitoring and the reporting drumbeat which can sometimes feel all consuming to those deep in its grasps.
When I'm in this frame of mind, I can't see clearly. I feel like I'm making no progress, frustrated at my body for not responding the way I want it to, and everything feels like an uphill battle. I see this in teams that I've worked with over the years; that frustration, that super zoomed-in perspective.
It's only when I have a more balanced view and my coach (a fantastic and highly knowledgeable ACL rehab specialist from NYC) helps me regain perspective that I realise how many successes I have. Another coach I used prior to my surgery once described the recovery (she had also gone through a similar process) as requiring the setting and celebration of "mini-milestones" and mini-goals to keep you focused on the longer journey, which can often be lost, unformed and often a bit too nebulous to see in the moment; something so far away, you cant quite reach out and grab it.
So, I started thinking about our collective responsibilities as Project Controls professionals in this "Human Affect" on projects;
How do we foster a culture of frequently trying to zoom out, to minimise the periods of time our teams are too zoomed in and frustrated to see the progress we are making?
How are we creating those tangible and achievable mini-milestones? And how do we celebrate success?
And most importantly, my last point for this reflective piece;
The team we build supports our success
My recovery is my own. If I don't put the hard yards in, and do the physio, the gym sessions and ensure that I become disciplined and laser focused on rehabbing this knee so that it is stronger than it was before; it simply wont happen. No coach, physio, external voice from a family member or other advocate can make this happen.
The same can be said for project teams. Only they can physically deliver all of the activity required to result in a successfully delivered scope.
However, if the project team is just left to self-motivate, self-organise and self-deliver, they may be successful, but it is not easy. Left alone with the basics (the physio exercises, the knowledge from my vast pre-reading and research and my sheer will-power) I may rehab this knee to a certain degree of success.
I simply wasn't comfortable with those odds of "MAY". I want certainty and that comes from setting myself up for success so that I KNOW that it will be a top priority for me through the next 12-18 months.
I set out to surround myself with a team that will be my psychological as well as physical support structure.
I have an excellent in-person physio, an online coach who is an expert at the rehab process and is there to help me retain accountability and work through those mental challenges daily.
In a project setting, how often are we neglecting this external support mechanism for our teams?
It is not good enough to just say "aaaa but we have a supportive culture" or "oh, we have an engaged project sponsor who advocates for us".
Who is there to help coach the individuals and the team through mental challenges and roadblocks? Who is there to recognise and help discuss and overcome the Human Affects that drive many of the invisible delays and frustrations on the project? Who is that external advocate who can remain zoomed-out with no motive or incentive to keep the team focused and invigorated to deliver and achieve not just the mini-milestones but the major ones as well?
I offer up that every project team needs a coach. Not a sports coach who gets hands-on with form and technique, but a true external coach who can help the team self-reflect on their performance, self-identify their blind-spots, their next steps and work through the challenges of project delivery.
I have found coaching invaluable in my personal life, and yet we don't see this as a need in our professional Project delivery lives?
The Coaching Project
That is why, in my "downtime" I've taken some positive steps forward to address this gap in our Project delivery capability.
I am currently studying toward my ILM Diploma in Executive Level coaching, and I'm passionate that project teams can benefit from having an external advocate to coach them through their projects, their career development and ultimately get the best out of themselves and their teams.
I will shortly be looking for individuals who are willing to help me carve out and define this in more detail. If you are Senior or Executive level and are looking for a Coach, please do reach out to me via DM or via email at carolyn@browningconsultancy.co.uk.
I need a few clients to work with me on an initially pro-bono basis to develop my portfolio of evidence for my coaching practice.
Onward from there, I hope to grow and develop what I feel is a huge gap in our Project delivery capabilities, and that is the ability to remain impartial.
Introducing a coach helps accountability, mindset, culture and ultimately performance.
So watch this space for The Coaching Project.
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