Understanding Leadership through Questioning

One of the most important things that you can do to improve your company is to ask the right questions in the right way.

Questioning strategies that improve the way employees and production process work include:

• collaborating
• experimenting
• educating
• reviewing.

Collaborating
There are many different ways that leaders can approach working with their employees. In the old style of organizations, leaders would direct rather than collaborate.

Leaders who direct have a hard time learning to ask questions. They tell others what to do and pack unsolicited advice into their conversations with subordinates. On the other hand, leaders who collaborate with their team do so by asking questions and using what they discover to improve the way the team operates.

A good piece of advice is to learn the difference between opinions and facts. Employees and co-workers are much more likely to be drawn into dialog with someone who knows the difference.

Experimenting
Leaders who understand what they don't know take the experimenter approach, using questions to learn. Leaders who think they know everything use their opinions as facts and don't listen to those who actually know.

Educating
Another hallmark of leadership is educating. When teachers start giving advice, they have failed as teachers. When leaders spell out what they believe to be true, with no room for inquiry, they are telling others what to do. But when leaders use step-by-step questions designed to let others figure out answers for themselves, they are educating.

The trickiest questioning strategy has to be employed when there is something wrong with someone's work. In the old school of management, leaders often served as inspectors. When they found a mistake, they pointed it out. "This is a mistake," they'd say. This accusatory manner makes people defensive and works against positive solutions.

Reviewing
Leaders who use reviewing as a questioning strategy learn how to ask the questions that get others to see the flaws in their own work. "How can you stop this problem from occurring?" or "What can you do to track down the source of the problem?" are inquiries that encourage participation and involvement.

By using a variety of questioning strategies to involve others in the production process, you can significantly improve quality and efficiency at your organization.

Identifying Risks by Reviewing Documents

Ling, a project manager (PM) with Simple Software Solutions, feels extremely overwhelmed. She is new to the realm of project management. Her first project with this company is the Key-entry project. This project entails the development of privacy software solutions for a large Internet company.

Ling wonders how she can possibly identify all the risks for this project. A good place for Ling to start is the documentation review.

Every project plan and list of project assumptions will contain risks. Documentation reviews identify the inherent risks in the project plan and assumptions. In order to perform a documentation review, you and your team members should carry out a structured review of project plans and assumptions, files from previous projects, and other available information.

There are three steps that need to be addressed in order to perform effective documentation reviews.

Step 1: Identify the project documents needed.
When you are ready to begin the documentation review for your project, the first step is to gather the necessary documents.

The documents you gather for the review are critical to identifying project risks. You should examine documents available from the current project, plus documents from similar past projects. Some of the most helpful documents are the:

• Post-project reviews from similar, past projects - Post-project reviews from similar past projects are documents contained in project files that summarize what went as expected during a project and what didn't go according to plan.
• Lessons learned from similar past projects or any other documents from similar past projects that will be helpful - Lessons-learned documents refer to the learning gained from performing a project. They may be identified at any point in a project and are often considered as project documentation.
• Other documentation for the current project that will be helpful - Other documentation includes the inputs to the project's risk management plan, such as project charters, the company's risk management policies, defined roles and responsibilities, stakeholder risk tolerances, the company's risk management plan template, and the WBS.

Step 2: Choose how the review will be structured.
Next, you need to decide how the review will be structured. The structure of the review is contingent upon two factors: 1. the size of the project; and 2. the areas of the project being targeted.

Documentation reviews for projects of more than five phases should occur at the management level and are conducted for each phase and subphase. These reviews will be continuous throughout the project and will involve various participants in each phase. Reviews for projects with fewer phases should occur at the team member level for each phase of the project.

PMs must also decide the areas that are being targeted for risk identification. This is project specific and depends on the types of project and risks that may occur.

If a project involves developing new technology, the PM may target the design and marketing risks.

If a project uses a lot of external suppliers, the PM may target the supplier management risks.

If the project involves construction, the PM may target industrial safety risks.

If the project involves construction, the PM may target industrial safety risks.

Step 3: Identify the reviewers for each part of the review.
When selecting the team members for the documentation review, you should ask yourself "Who are the people who have the necessary experience and knowledge for this area of the project and who will bring the most value to a discussion about potential risks?" Generally, the reviewers will be the project team members, subject matter experts (SMEs), team members from similar projects, and other stakeholders, like sponsors. The documentation type, for example, project level, also plays a role in deciding who should be part of the review team.

Ling is ready to begin the documentation review for the Key-entry project. First, Ling gathers files from two similar privacy software development projects that Simple Solutions has recently completed. Then she decides how the documentation review will be structured. She examines the project plan and assumptions for the Key-entry project. She decides this project is rather large.

Finally, Ling identifies the reviewers for each part of the review. She selected Jake because of his extensive experience, Tanya because of her expertise in the field, and Rachel because she is the lead project team member. They have a discussion and successfully identify risks for this project.

Knowing how to perform effective documentation reviews is an important skill. Performing an effective documentation review is a good way to begin the risk identification process.

Maintaining Documents and Records

Every key step or change in the project or quality control change needs to be documented so that the reason for any changes can be traced at a future date. The documentation serves as authorization for action and evidence that the change did occur.

Project or process documentation begins with the original concept plan. It then evolves into activity-based documentation in which there are a variety of possible documentation types.

• Checklists - can be developed to ensure that documentation flows properly and that certain documents are retained for archival purposes. There should be a checklist for every major activity that needs to be completed before another can begin.
• Control sheets - record the flow of key documentation and changes. Data on decisions, changes, and who made them, are recorded.
• Sign-off sheets - are documents which verify that a particular stage to a project has been completed to the quality goals. Sign-off sheets record specific information about which activity has met the standard and when.
• Approval forms - verify that permission was given to advance to the next stage in a tightly controlled project. They are somewhat similar to sign-off sheets.
• Reviews - examine a process or stage of a project to ensure it has met the particular goals set out in the original plan or to other quality standards. Most reviews recommend changes of some sort.
• Testing reports - are carried out by specialists such as laboratory technicians, programmers, and quality testers. Their language is quite technical, however the use of non-statistical and statistical techniques can aid understanding. Test reports can express if a change, or no change, is required.
• Logbooks - record the movement of documentation and when certain activities occur. This ensures an orderly flow and if a problem arises, it can be examined to see when and even what was responsible. Logbooks in manufacturing often contain the data required for analysis.
• Acceptance reports - indicate whether a project or product was done satisfactorily. If not acceptable, suggestions can be offered. It is similar to a sign off sheet, but with more detail.

In addition to these activity-based documents, various standards organizations may require you to maintain records verifying conformance to industry standards. These records may be in the form of:

• inspection reports
• test data
• qualification reports
• validation reports
• survey and audit reports
• material review reports
• calibration data
• quality-related cost reports.

Depending on the project, you may also need to save instructive documents such as:

• drawings
• specifications
• inspection procedures
• test routines
• work instructions
• control sheets
• the quality manual
• operational procedures/checklists
• quality system procedures.

All records and documentation need to be clear, legible, dated (including revisions), identified, accessible, and stored to prevent deterioration or loss. These can be in the form of images, hard copy, CD-ROM, and electronic files. The quality management plan for the project or company should specify how long documents need to be kept and how they should be disposed of once out-dated.

The control of documentation depends on the process or project undertaken. Long duration projects may require documents and records to be archived at set intervals. Short duration projects may allow subordinates to retain documents until the end of the project and then they are stored. For most projects there should be some sort of post project review. The idea is that the record keeping can provide specific information to see if the various procedures work well. This is a function of quality assurance.

Documentation is often relegated to minor status in a project. Many people think once the key work is done, that there will be time later to catch up on the paperwork. However, in a proper project, documentation is designed into the process to ensure an orderly flow, without unnecessary paperwork. The preservation of data, decisions made, and the general plan and outline of the project are key to ensuring quality.

Understanding Leadership through Questioning

One of the most important things that you can do to improve your company is to ask the right questions in the right way.

Questioning strategies that improve the way employees and production process work include:

• collaborating
• experimenting
• educating
• reviewing.

Collaborating
There are many different ways that leaders can approach working with their employees. In the old style of organizations, leaders would direct rather than collaborate.

Leaders who direct have a hard time learning to ask questions. They tell others what to do and pack unsolicited advice into their conversations with subordinates. On the other hand, leaders who collaborate with their team do so by asking questions and using what they discover to improve the way the team operates.

A good piece of advice is to learn the difference between opinions and facts. Employees and co-workers are much more likely to be drawn into dialog with someone who knows the difference.

Experimenting
Leaders who understand what they don't know take the experimenter approach, using questions to learn. Leaders who think they know everything use their opinions as facts and don't listen to those who actually know.

Educating
Another hallmark of leadership is educating. When teachers start giving advice, they have failed as teachers. When leaders spell out what they believe to be true, with no room for inquiry, they are telling others what to do. But when leaders use step-by-step questions designed to let others figure out answers for themselves, they are educating.

The trickiest questioning strategy has to be employed when there is something wrong with someone's work. In the old school of management, leaders often served as inspectors. When they found a mistake, they pointed it out. "This is a mistake," they'd say. This accusatory manner makes people defensive and works against positive solutions.

Reviewing
Leaders who use reviewing as a questioning strategy learn how to ask the questions that get others to see the flaws in their own work. "How can you stop this problem from occurring?" or "What can you do to track down the source of the problem?" are inquiries that encourage participation and involvement.

By using a variety of questioning strategies to involve others in the production process, you can significantly improve quality and efficiency at your organization.