Tips on dealing with organizational politics

Those who say that they haven’t seen organizational politics are in denial. The reality is that each organization has some level of politics and as long as it is healthy, I don’t see anything wrong with it. Everyone has to play some level of politics in an organization, especially if they’re in a leadership position.

Here are some tips for dealing with it:

• You learn a lot about organizational politics at events outside of work. If you cannot make it to these events, at least make an effort to learn from an associate who did.
• Make an effort to understand, who is influential in your organization. Once you know that, you will have an easier time navigating your way through the company.
• Aligning your goals with the goals of influential people is always a smart strategy.
• Needless to say, avoid getting in conflict with those who are influential in your organization. It is a sure shot way of shooting yourself in the foot. I am not saying you need to be a "yes man", but find a neutral way to put your opinions forward and always weigh the pros and cons of sharing your views if they drastically differ from the person in charge.
• Don’t play bad politics! It always comes back to bite you, sooner or later.

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Aditi Chopra is an experienced leader in the software industry.
She is a consultant, writer and a leader.
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BPM Quotes from my book

Here are a few quotes from my BPM  book:

• A process in a large organization is a necessity!
• Every time a new process is defined, there is a strong need to bring order amidst chaos!
• A common mistake amateur process professionals make is that they underestimate the challenges.
• Resistance to change is the most difficult yet the most common obstacle that BPM professionals face.
• If overcoming resistance to change is the most crucial challenge, influencing is the most crucial skill needed by a process professional.

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Aditi Chopra is an experienced leader in the software industry.
She is a consultant, writer and a leader.
 LinkedIn |  Web |  Twitter | Book

Skills a Project Manager should have

I get asked this question a lot, “Which skills are most important for a project manager to succeed?” In all honesty, job of a project manager is not an easy one, while he has no direct authority, he has a great amount of responsibility and a greater number of deliverables. A manager has direct control over his team but a project manager has none and yet, he is tasked with getting everyone to work together to deliver. It is a tough job and one thing is for sure, only people with experience under their belt should take on the role of a project manager.

Here are some skills that are must have for a project manager :

• Project planning in terms of resources, deliverables and schedule.
• Identifying risks ahead of time and communicating to the stakeholders.
• Ability to motivate the team and keep them focused on the tasks at hand.
• Ability to deal with different and sometimes conflicting personalities in the team.
• Being organized.
  
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  Aditi Chopra is an experienced leader in the software industry.
  She is a consultant, writer and a leader.
   LinkedIn |  Web |  Twitter | Book

Importance of 360 degree feedback

Anyone in a leadership position should take advantage of this tool called   360 degree feedback. It enables you to do a complete analysis on your leadership style and competencies as well as areas for improvement. Doing a 360 degree feedback analysis on yourself is not something that would come naturally to you. It is a skill mastered over time specially if you are going to be dealing with negative feedback.

    Think of it as a tool to improve your leadership skills, for your own development instead of criticism. 360 degree feedback is kept anonymous and therefore those providing feedback are very frank and provide valuable feedback. If you ask someone upfront to give you feedback, they may not say exactly what is on their mind but they would feel more comfortable providing honest feedback via anonymity.

    Leaders should take the issues brought about via 360 degree feedback seriously. However, in some cases, they can take the comments with a grain of salt. If someone is really pissed off, their comments may appear quite sharp. Nonetheless, there is always something to learn from these comments. Perhaps the person providing feedback is very sensitive and you could keep that in mind in future.

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Aditi Chopra is an experienced leader in the software industry.
She is a consultant, writer and a leader.
 LinkedIn |  Web |  Twitter | Books

Ins and Outs of Customer Satisfaction

All businesses care about customer satisfaction whether they offer products or services. Customer experience as well as satisfaction should unarguably be the number one priority for all businesses.

         Is it harder to achieve good customer satisfaction for a service or product? The answer really lies in the expectation set for each of them. In most cases a product is a well defined entity with a feature list or parts and so setting expectation is easier. On the other hand, a service is less tangible than a product. Good businesses tend to do a better job of packaging service and setting clear boundaries and expectations around a service. This leads to better customer satisfaction.

       Customer satisfaction has two components to it. First component is all about expectations and how well the product or service meets those expectations. The other very important component of customer satisfaction is how well the product or service compares to its competition. If the customer is loyal, they will not shop around (true to some extent for recognized brands). However, in general, customers will be dissatisfied if they have had better experience with a competitive product or service.

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Aditi Chopra is an experienced leader in the software industry.
She is a consultant, writer and a leader.
 LinkedIn |  Web |  Twitter | Book

How to handle project transition?

As professionals, we have all come across circumstances where we have to either transition out or transition into an ongoing project. This is a tricky exchange and one needs to be prepared to ensure a smooth transition. For instance, a good practice is to make a checklist of items to be checked off for a transition. 

Here are some tips on making an effective project transition

• Every project manager has his own way of managing a project. His way could be different from yours. If you are transitioning into an ongoing project, take some time to look at the details. Ensure that you are not missing any details even though the current project manager may have done a good job on handing over the project to you.
• Do a level set of the current state of the project with all stakeholders. This ensures that everyone is on the same page in terms of what deficiency or shortcomings you may be inheriting.
• Take some time to study the current state of the project, strategize on your path forward and then communicate to all stakeholders. This is a good opportunity to ask for more resources, change in milestones, etc. if the situation demands it.
• In every project, there are some critical parts that should not be changed. Even though your ways of managing the project may be different from how the project was managed before, don't make the mistake of throwing out those critical parts of the project.
• Most importantly, refrain from criticizing the previous project manager. He did his best and now you own the project and you are doing your best in managing it. Know that everyone has their own style and respecting each other's style is a good business etiquette.
  
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  Aditi Chopra is an experienced leader in the software industry.
  She is a consultant, writer and a leader.
   LinkedIn |  Web |  Twitter | Book

Nurturing Young Leaders

A question that I asked myself today – Is leadership very different for children as opposed to adults? In some ways – yes, it is different but in lot of ways, it is actually quite similar to leadership for adults. When we are developing leadership skills in children, we are teaching them the same skills but in different ways. We teach them in ways that is more meaningful and understandable at the age bracket they are in.

I think it is very important to teach kids at every age some of these leadership skills so they can become successful leaders as they grow up. They may not recognize and understand everything at a younger age but at least we will sow the seeds.

Here’s a look at different age bracket for children:

• When the child is growing up in very early years, we are teaching him discipline which is the basic quotient of personal leadership (the very first tier of leadership).

• As they grow a little more into their elementary school years - we teach them social skills. How to be with other kids, playing with other kids and the concept of sharing (which in lot of ways is similar to team work for adults).

• Middle school years are probably the toughest for kids since they are learning their own individuality and at the same time building lifelong friendships. They have to balance between individualism and the concept of collaboration. They have to find their individuality and yet be somewhat disciplined by their parents. If the kids get a good coach at this stage, they will avoid pitfalls and grow into stable leaders.

•  By the time kids make it to high school - they have already learned quite a bit about their personality and they have made stable friends. They have hopefully found their balance of power with their parents and their focus now is towards polishing their individual goals. They start to learn how to make decisions on which branch to choose for college, which college to apply for etc. Parents play a good role here to balance between guiding and letting kids develop their decision making skills.

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 Aditi Chopra is an experienced leader in the software industry.
She is a consultant, writer and a leader.
 LinkedIn |  Web |  Twitter | Books

Audio books on leadership

Audio books are so much more convenient to listen to and learn from in this fast paced digital age. You can listen to them anytime while driving or doing some other chores.

 Take advantage of my audio books to polish your leadership skills.

These books are written from my personal experience and have valuable suggestions. My readers always get practical take-aways that they can utilize in their career.

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Aditi Chopra is an experienced leader in the software industry.
She is a consultant, writer and a leader.
 LinkedIn |  Web |  Twitter | Books

Quotes from my management book.

Enjoy some quotes from my management book:

• “A good manager is one with a balanced mix of technical skills as well as emotional intelligence.”
• “As a leader, you don’t want to make the mistake of not building interpersonal relationships.”
• “Conflict management is a crucial skill a manager needs to have.”
• “No employee likes to be micro-managed.”
• “Recognizing what drives the employee and giving him that reward is essential to managing an effective team.”

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Aditi Chopra is an experienced leader in the software industry.
She is a consultant, writer and a leader.
 LinkedIn |  Web |  Twitter | Books

Myths of Leadership

Leadership is a complex skill. We are constantly defining and re-defining it. We are researching it and understanding the complexities so we can produce better leaders. 

Here are some myths about leadership

• A good leader is a good coach : This is certainly a myth. There are some leaders who are visionaries. People aspire to be like them. But these leaders are not necessarily coaching other individuals.
• A leader is one with a high rank : There are times when a person speaks in a crowd and everyone listens and this person does not hold any high rank. What they have is personal power. One doesn't need a high rank in order to be called a leader.
• A good leader is always predictable : Consistency and predictability are certainly good qualities. However a good leader is one who surprises us with his hidden strength and talent when a situation demands it.
• A leader only has strengths : This is undoubtedly a myth. We all know that as human beings we all have strengths and weaknesses. So does a leader. However, a good leader is aware of his or her weakness and knows how to work around it.
  
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  Aditi Chopra is an experienced leader in the software industry.
  She is a consultant, writer and a leader.
   LinkedIn |  Web |  Twitter | Books