SMCI – Best blogs of April
Our Best Blogs of April includes stories on why chefs and soldiers make the best project managers, how to screen technical job candidates and ways to maintain workplace relationships. That’s a lot of great stuff to read while waiting for traffic to die down.
Who makes the best Project Managers and why?
Great project managers are servant-leaders, with a track record of operating in service to both short-term and long-term goals.
The same could be said of both chefs and military personnel. That’s why Jim Patterson, CEO of cannabis technology startup Eaze, has said he prioritizes project manager candidates that have experience running a kitchen or a track record of success in the armed services.
In the kitchens of the best restaurants in the world, there’s an idea known as ‘mise en place’ – which roughly translates to ‘Everything in place.’ The term describes the carefully-designed organization of ingredients and equipment to allow for a quick and as smooth service. Patterson says the best product managers carry out their own ‘mise en place’ – organizing everything they can before executing on products.
Military personnel are trained to make quick choices with partial information. Patterson says product managers should always assume the information they have is always incomplete and make decisions accordingly.
Rethinking the technical interview
Most candidates for technical jobs are asked to come in for a typical face-to-face interview that involves being grilled with technical questions without access to any standard resources.
However, this nightmarish quiz show has absolutely nothing to do with actually sitting down doing the job, day-in and day-out all year round.
While hiring managers should still include a technical aspect in their interview process to weed out those trying to bluff their way into a job, it’s more important to find out about project management skills, leadership ability and communication skills. Hiring managers also need to ensure cultural fit as even the most gifted technical workers will have trouble in surroundings that don’t agree with their personality.
By taking a more holistic approach to the technical interview, hiring personnel can learn far more about their candidates and reduce time spent grilling applicants on technical minutiae.
Maintaining relationships in the workplace
Researchers from the University of Washington have developed four indicators of relationship collapse, which they dubbed “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”
If you’ve ever had a romantic relationship go south in your life, these indicators might sound familiar: criticism, contempt, defensiveness and stonewalling.
The UW research was based on married couples, but the principles apply to the workplace as well. If you want to foster good relationships among your team members – you must be diligent about combating these signs whenever they crop up.
Try to engage in well-meaning feedback, not criticism. Take a genuine interest in others and don’t view people with contempt. Listen to the complaints of others and don’t immediately take a defensive posture. Participate in discussions rather than stonewalling people with the silent treatment.
