Perspectives - How you can learn from laying a project to rest
Christian Busch has investigated the art and science of serendipity, and here he explains how it pays to connect the dots.
Dr Christian Busch is the director of the CGA Global Economy Programme at New York University. He teaches at the London School of Economics. His new book Connect the Dots: The Art and Science of Creating Good Luck, is published by Penguin.
Sometimes, people have luck without any effort. That’s blind, ‘passive’ luck: success or failure brought about simply by chance rather than through our own actions. Like being born into a loving family. That’s where a lot of societal inequality comes from. Some were born luckier, and others experienced ‘dumb luck’ along the way. Often the former makes the latter more likely. But what’s fascinating is that there’s another kind of luck: ‘smart luck’, or serendipity.
Smart luck is the luck that we create ourselves. Our research shows that successful people have often (either consciously or unconsciously) done the necessary groundwork to create the conditions that have brought them smart luck; they worked hard to be luckier. They spot opportunities in the unexpected, but they also often create them. What separates this active perspective on serendipity from blind luck are the steps one takes to influence, facilitate and leverage coincidence.
If you’re running a team, you can help people get luckier within your project in two ways. The first is by spotting serendipity triggers. We can ask people in routine meetings if they came across something that surprised them last week. If the answer is ‘yes’, does that change their assumption? Would it be worth digging deeper?
The point here is that, once we incentivise people to look out for the unexpected, we start seeing opportunities where others don’t. If you’re working for a white goods manufacturer and you learn that farmers in China use your company’s washing machine to wash their potatoes and it’s causing problems with some machines, do you just tell them to not wash their potatoes in it, or do you connect it to the fact that many other farmers in China might have the same problem, and build in a dirt filter to make it a potato washing machine? Coming up with this new idea might lead to your next promotion.
The second way is by facilitating an environment of psychological safety that allows for creativity and cross‑pollination.
Take the example of post‑mortems, or ‘project funerals’. The idea is that, when a project doesn’t work out, the project manager who is responsible for it presents it in front of project managers from other divisions and reflects on why it didn’t work. It’s not about celebrating failure – it’s about celebrating the learning from what didn’t work. Instead of hiding away things that didn’t work (and thus not really learning from them or each other), ‘laying a project to rest’ usually builds trust and often leads to people connecting the dots.
In one major materials and nutrition company, for example, a coating for picture frame glass was unviable for the market. When the team ‘laid it to rest’, someone in the audience realised that it appeared to absorb a lot of energy. He then asked: could it be useful for solar? That’s how ‘serendipitously’ a part of the company’s solar division emerged. Nobody knew in advance that this lucky outcome would happen – but by creating a practice that allowed people to connect the dots for each other, it became more likely that serendipity would happen.
We’re less often in the office, so watercooler moments happen less frequently, and we aren’t able to fully recreate online the human energy and sense of belonging. But there are things we can do. I always loved the idea that Zoom/Webex/Google Meet etc are essentially our own private planes – we can be within someone’s living room at the click of a mouse, without having to travel in real life. That potentially allows for meeting more people, and it allows us to experience them in their own home, which can be a bonding experience.
And technology can easily foster serendipitous networking from home; for example, by planting serendipity seeds. You can write honest, speculative messages to people you admire (eg via LinkedIn) to share how they have already shaped your trajectory, and open up a conversation about how they can be a part of your future journey. Or follow professionals you respect on Twitter and make a point of providing thoughtful, relevant commentary on what they have to say. The goal when planting seeds like these is to increase serendipity by engaging in unexpected conversations.
Don’t be scared of change
Louise Hardy shares her experience of navigating extreme uncertainty, terrible lows and dreamt‑for highs in the world of projects.
In late 2021, I was named Business Woman of the Year at both the National Business Women’s Awards and the FL National Leadership Summit. The question I have been asked most is: ‘So how did you make it to this moment?’ My answer is simple: embrace change. Uncertainty and change can bring opportunity. My career and life have been shaped by big paradigm shifts, some within my control and many imposed externally. Resilience and agility have been essential companions.
In the late 1980s, I became a chartered civil engineer. Soon, I found my passion working on major engineering projects, but as each project came to its impressive conclusion, my search for the next major project began – forcing the transition to a new location, organisation, team and role. From the Limehouse Link tunnel, spearheading innovative observational techniques for cut and cover tunnelling, to the project management of Europe’s biggest bridge slide on the High Speed 1 railway, the new projects and challenges were abundant. I instigated my most major career shift, moving to Romania to lead the construction of the western half of the 145km Autostrada Transylvania motorway. For the first time, I led an all‑female team. We were a potent, productive project force.
In 2004, my partner and I were caught in the devastating Tsunami in the Indian Ocean, and he was badly injured. I returned to the UK, but fate had some magic in store. I joined Laing O’Rourke just as it commenced its bid with CH2M Hill and Mace to become the delivery partner for the programme management of the engineering and construction of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
I ultimately achieved my dream role as infrastructure director for £2bn worth of critical integrated infrastructure on the Olympic Park and the beautiful park landscaping. Seeing, from my office window, the majestic stadia rise a little each day from a barren landscape was exceptionally rewarding. I handed over the Olympic Park in 2012, and two weeks later I gave birth to twin girls. Life was very different and joyous. I found that my voluntary work as a STEM ambassador, plus undertaking committee work for the Institution of Civil Engineers, provided industry contact and continuity through my maternity leave. But while our daughters’ birth was planned, the sad, sudden and untimely death of their father was not.
As project managers, we are problem‑solvers; this trait certainly helped me through this difficult time. I reconfigured my professional life to meet the needs of our young daughters and began to build a non‑executive portfolio. Many years on, I now sit on several FTSE engineering and construction company main boards, combined with bringing up my twins and continuing my voluntary work. At the FL National Leadership Summit, I was also named 2021’s Mentor of the Year, of which I am most proud. It is inspiring to help the next generation of engineers and to see the future Business Women of the Year forging their paths.
Louise Hardy is an Honorary Fellow of APM.
What are you doing about social mobility?
Sarah Atkinson on why it pays to have a strategy that counters class bias.
It has been two years since I was appointed CEO of the Social Mobility Foundation – a charity that supports young people from low‑income backgrounds into higher education and top jobs. During this time, even without accounting for the external events that have disproportionately affected those from disadvantaged backgrounds, I have been struck by the resilience and drive of the young people we support in the face of persistent and often invisible barriers.
Something we continuously come up against in our work is a focus from employers on ‘polish’ over potential. This creates a cycle where candidates who fit the mould – often from a small number of elite universities – inadvertently gain preferential treatment in the recruitment process, while other talented individuals are overlooked. Once those lower socioeconomic individuals make it through the doors, the situation does not necessarily get easier. Our recent campaigning efforts on the concept of ‘class polish’ highlighted that working‑class people are held back from progressing at the same rate as their more privileged counterparts and can face a class pay gap of up to £6,000 per year.
Many would agree this is unacceptable, yet unfortunately social mobility is often the forgotten dimension of companies’ diversity efforts. There is a multitude of reasons why in 2022 leaders should be placing this high on their agenda. Not only is it morally unfair for anyone to be held back from progressing professionally due to factors such as accent and background, it also makes business sense to prioritise social mobility. Opening the door to young people from different backgrounds allows companies to access the best talent in the country.
The benefits of increased social mobility are especially true in the world of project management. If today’s leaders cultivate diverse teams with different backgrounds, this in turn will avoid ‘groupthink’, ensuring different points of view are heard and projects are not left to stagnate.
We are starting to see the tides shift towards greater progress among employers. It is especially encouraging that APM’s latest Salary and Market Trends Survey included two social mobility metrics – free school meals and first in family to go to university – for the first time. It is this kind of socioeconomic data collection at an organisation‑wide level that will be vital to understand the make‑up of the workforce before developing a social mobility strategy. The data should span both new and existing employees and include pay. Next, leaders should work to identify and remove the barriers that people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are facing on entering and progressing within the workplace.
The APM survey data demonstrated a demand for public action and for recruitment policies and processes to change in order to drive diversity and inclusion. It is true that in many recruitment systems, and in wider society, class bias remains deep‑rooted. Research carried out by Accent Britain in 2020 showed that job candidates with a ‘received pronunciation’ accent were seen as more informed and more suitable for professional employment, even when speakers with other accents gave identical answers.
To combat this at the assessment stage, we have seen success from employers adopting ‘blind’ recruitment, which involves the removal of personal indicators to protect against bias. It is also valuable to explore the process of flagging candidates from lower socioeconomic backgrounds in the recruitment process and taking a second look to ensure context was not missed.
To zoom out even further, leaders should start to ask themselves: does my organisation have robust processes in place to welcome candidates from all backgrounds? Do we conduct outreach work with young people from low‑income backgrounds at school and a wide variety of universities? Are there alternative routes, such as apprenticeships or school‑leaver programmes, that are open and accessible to all? Answering some of these questions will allow leaders to pinpoint where to focus efforts and begin to build a social mobility strategy.
Change will not happen overnight. However, at the Social Mobility Foundation, our annual Social Mobility Employer Index offers tailored feedback and advice to organisations at any and every stage of their social mobility journey. Together, we can put in the hard work to support the next generation of young people and ensure our businesses are open and accessible to all.
Sarah Atkinson is CEO of the Social Mobility Foundation.
Leaders as a catalyst for the project profession
APM’s chief executive Professor Adam Boddison on how leaders can give project professionals the support they need.
Thinking about the most significant problems facing contemporary society, one of the common factors linking them is that projects are required to realise the solutions. The volume and complexity of the issues facing society are such that the world must be equipped with enough qualified project professionals to make the necessary impact.
Professional bodies like APM clearly have a vital role to play in the supply of qualified project professionals. This is why APM’s refreshed strategy, being launched in 2022 (the year of its 50th anniversary), seeks to position chartered status as the accepted global standard.
However, it is leaders who are arguably the true catalyst for the project profession. In some cases, leaders are themselves project professionals, or they at least have a good understanding of the project profession, which means they recognise the importance of their role as an architect for facilitating project success.
However, too many leaders are unfamiliar with the project profession, and as a result they fail to create an environment in which projects have the best chance of success. For leaders who want to support project professionals and maximise their impact, here are three key areas they should seriously consider:
1. Give project professionals the same status as marketing, finance and HR professionals
For those working in marketing, finance and HR, their status as professionals is broadly accepted and appreciated by leaders. Their professional expertise is well understood and valued by leaders, and generally these areas will constitute departments within an organisation. Unfortunately, the same cannot always be said for project professionals, who are too often attached to another area of a business rather than being recognised as a professional department in their own right.
This issue is exacerbated by MBA programmes, which seem to be broadly dominated by curricula centred on finance, marketing and HR as the three core functions. The argument sometimes made for this is that every leader is likely to have to deal with finance, marketing and HR in their role. While this is true, the reality is that every leader is likely to have to deal with projects too.
2. Ensure that project professionals can have a strategic influence at executive board level, eg by having a chief projects officer or chief transformation officer
One of the challenges sometimes facing project professionals is having to retrospectively unpick decisions made in the boardroom, or to work around them, to ensure that projects are delivered successfully. This issue can easily arise if project professionals are not able to influence strategic decision‑making because their role is incorrectly seen by leaders as being purely operational.
This is not a phenomenon that is unique to the project profession. Twenty‑five years ago, marketing professionals faced a similar issue. Decisions were made in the boardroom, and the marketers were then informed what actions they needed to take. Fast‑forward to the present day, and marketing is now at the heart of strategic decision‑making. Chief marketing officers are often in the boardroom as key strategic leaders, and this should be replicated with chief project officers. At the very least, any project professionals in the organisation should have a mechanism for contributing to strategic decision‑making.
3. Be alert to those who may be ‘accidental project professionals’
In some organisations, leaders may not realise they have any project professionals, because it is not immediately evident from their job titles. It is essential for leaders to be on the look‑out for those who become part of the project profession without realising it, since it is then possible to support their development with targeted training and by becoming part of a relevant professional community of peers. Similarly, this will support project professionals to secure recognition for their achievements, eg through chartered status.
Whether you are a project professional or a leader (or both), it is in your interests for the projects in your organisation to be delivered successfully. It is time to ensure that all leaders in your organisation understand their role as a catalyst for the project profession.
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