Team Gathering – Global Edition

Is your team ready to rock?

Achieving the right balance when building a new PMO is more art than science.  How many FTE? More consultants?  New Vendors? Full outsource?  Just when you think that, you have your charter and you understand your hiring goals you realize the real fun is just about to begin.

If you have modest reporting needs, conversion goals for growing your organization, or just a list on paper of potential agencies to contact, I will cover those challenges in a different post… today I have some spokes for your training wheels where the landscape is big, complicated, and well charged.

I had the opportunity to construct global standards for contractor procurement, time tracking, and asset retention while working at a global pharmaceutical company that taught me some valuable lessons:

Safe Space Edition

Team Alone Time Is Valuable

Once a week I host a meeting for all of my peers to roll out process change, have process owners come and present / discuss, and to talk through process suggestions.

I use cartoon clip art (MS Word, insert clip art feature) and lots of puns, and strictly follow the 4 lines / 5 word rule of PowerPoint presentations.

If the conversation is going to be perceived as stress filled… I bring snacks… and in a non-lactose, sugar free, non-wheat crowd that can be a challenge in and of itself!

Humor rules the conversation… first last and always… the pace is much slower and much more open than many of the presentations that they would give themselves.

I say ‘many’ instead of ‘all’ because over the past 2 years or so that I have had this position the entire energy of the group has changed. Some of it is because of familiarity… but some of it is because there is a safe, restful, fun, space for interaction.