Have you identified your people problem yet? If you were working as a project manager for a while, you probably heard of the people-process-technology principle. It is a simple model that provides a framework to structure anything. Basically, it is saying, that you should take care of those three dimensions in order to become successful with your project. Sounds obvious, right? Yet, it seems, that some companies, especially in the engineering sector, just can’t wrap their head around that principle. In those cultures, facts and figures are the single sources of truth. And if some numbers are broken, they look out for a tool or process to fix it. They respond to every problem by either changing technology or process. But the people dimension is way too little represented. It is not accepted as a valid cause for problems, because it seems irrational and does not follow strict logic.
But sometimes problems are rooted in the people dimension of your project. And if you already invested in a lot of technology and process, chances are, that your problem is exactly that: a people problem. And people problems will not be solved in a sustainable way with more processes or tools.
How to solve your people problem
So maybe you now bought the idea, that your issues stem from intangible issues in relationships. Now what? Well, first of all, try to avoid actionism. Invest some time in a proper root cause analysis to identify the real issue. Simple techniques like “5 Whys” will help you with that. Your root cause will rarely be the wrong tool. Your Scrum Master can help you to facilitate such a session e.g. during your retrospective. If you do not have a Scrum Master, you might want to read my former article: The ugly truth about why you fail with your agile team
If you identified a people problem, my advice would be to hire a skilled coach. Not a consultant, but a coach. A consultant can help you to fix processes and tools. But you might want to have a coach to deal with your people issues. They will come up with many techniques and methods to help you with your problem. None of them includes “process optimization” or fancy new software.
And once you fixed your people problem, make sure to avoid those issues to come up again as good as possible. If you invest some time as a leader to learn more about people management, it will help you to avoid those situations in the future.
Key Takeaways
- Do not forget about the “people” dimension in the people-process-technology triangle
- Invest in root cause analysis to avoid “fixing” the wrong problem
- Hire skilled Coaches instead of Consultants to solve your people issues
- Do not underestimate the importance of people management
True!