The Influential Project Manager Winning Over Team Members and Stakeholders

Part I: Training a Better Horse

Ten Keys to Influence
Dialogue
Persuasive Conversations
     Preparation
     Alignment
     Situation Review
     So, What’s in It for Me?
     Your Idea 
     Overcome Objections and Obstacles: The Art of Persuasion 
     Next Steps
Emotional Flow
Classic Mistakes
Summary
Influence Assessment

Practice Active Listening
Practice Active Listening 
     Open and Purposeful Questions 
     Reinforcement
     Paraphrasing 
     Contradiction
     Disclosure
Active Listening: A Case Study
Summary
Active Listening Assessment

Develop Trust
Sharing Common Values
Credibility
Risk and Opportunity
Distance 
     What We Say and What We Mean 
     What We Say and What Is Heard 
     My Interests and Your Interests 
     My Background and Your Background
Summary
Trust Assessment

Practice Your Integrity
Integrity Is Needed to Succeed as a Project Manager
Integrity Is an Inside Job
How to Measure Your Integrity
Become a Person of Integrity
Importance of Integrity
Project Management Integrity
Summary
Influence Checklist

Influence to Win
Achieving a Win–Win Discussion 
     Focus on Interests 
     Offer Options 
     Craft a Story 
     Agree in Public, Argue in Private
The Winners
Why Do Winning Streaks End?
Persistence
How to Break Out and Master a Turnaround
Summary
Winning Checklist

Practice Your Generosity
Customized Generosity
Earned Generosity
Measured Generosity
Requested Help
Five Characteristics of the Generous Project Manager
     Altruism
     Optimism
     Trust 
     Energy
     Ability to Lead
Philosophy and Principles of Generosity
Summary
Generosity Assessment

Understanding People
Why People Fail to Understand Others 
     Fear 
     Self-Centeredness 
     Not Appreciating Differences
     Not Acknowledging Similarities
How Do People React to Your Style?
Some Things Everybody Needs to Understand about People 
     Everybody Wants to Be Somebody 
     Nobody Cares How Much You Know until He or She Knows How Much You Care 
     Everybody Needs Somebody 
     Everybody Can Be Somebody 
     Anybody Who Helps Somebody Influences a Lot of People 
The Ability to Understand People 
     The Other Person’s Perspective 
     Personal Empathy 
     Positive Attitude about People
Projecting Warmth
Projecting Strength
Summary
Understanding People Checklist

Develop Commitment
The Hook 
     Personal Introductions
     The Teaser 
     Ask for Advice
Making Commitment a Two-Way Street
Using Territory Well
Building a Tribe: Belonging, Meaning, and Recognition
     Belonging and Meaning 
     Recognition
Gaining Commitment by Giving Control
Public Commitment, Private Challenge 
     Manage Conflict in Private
     Publicize Agreements
Summary
Commitment Assessment

Cultivate Your Informal Power
The Power of the Informal
Four Ways to Build Your Informal Power in a Project
Project Manager Feelings
Informal Power
How to Increase Your Informal Power as a Project Manager
Summary
Power Assessment

Understand How to Convert Your Project Vision into Reality
The IRM (Idea, Resources, and Money) Principle 
     The Idea 
     Human Resources 
     Money
Have a Plan B
Crisis and Opportunities
Summary
Vision Assessment

Part II: Sell Your Horse

Develop and Sustain Your Influence
The Selling Model
The Right Assignment
     Having the Right Experience 
     Being Successful 
     Enjoy What You Do
Taking over a New Team or Role
     Having an Idea
     People 
     Having the Money 
          Budgets
Influencing Decisions
Meetings
Presentations 
     Style 
     Substance
Conflicts 
     Only Fight When There Is a Prize Worth Fighting For 
     Only Fight When You Know That You Will Win
     Only Fight When There Is No Other Way of Achieving Your Goals
Summary
Getting Buy-In and Making It Happen

Part III: Ride Your Horse

The Myths of Influencing
Mistakes and Myths
Main Mistakes 
     Lack of Trust
The Influence Myths 
     Myth 1 
     Myth 2
     Myth 3
     Myth 4
Monitor and Control Your Horse
Summary

Summary and Conclusions
Bibliography

Index

Biography

Alfonso Bucero , MSc, PMP, PMI-RMP, PMI Fellow, is the founder and managing partner of BUCERO PM Consulting (www.abucero.com). He managed IIL Spain for almost two years, and he was a senior project manager at Hewlett-Packard Spain (Madrid Office) for more than thirteen years.Bucero is a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI), ALI (Asociacion de Licenciados, Ingenieros y Doctores en Informatica) and AEIPRO (IPMA member). Bucero was the founder, sponsor, and president of PMI Barcelona, Spain Chapter, and he is an IPMA Assessor. He was a member of the Congress Project Action Team of PMI EMEA's Congresses in Edinburgh (2005), Madrid (2006), and Budapest (2007). He graduated from PMI's Leadership Institute Master Class 2007 in Atlanta at the PMI NA Global Congress. He was president of the PMI Madrid Spain Chapter for two years and has served as Component Mentor for Region 8 Southwest since 2011. He received the PMI Distinguished Contribution Award in 2010 for his long and varied body of work, and the PMI Fellow Award in 2011 from the PMI for his sustained contribution to the development of the profession internationally. Bucero has a computer science engineering degree from Universidad Politecnica (Madrid), and is a PhD candidate in project management at the University of Mondragon in Spain. He has 31 years of practical experience and 25 of them in project management worldwide. He has managed and consulted on projects in various countries across Europe. Since 1992, Bucero has been a frequent speaker at international PMI Congresses, IPMA Congresses, and PMI SeminarsWorld. He has been a keynote speaker in several congresses worldwide. He delivers project management training and consulting services in several countries worldwide. As a project management believer, he defends passion, persistence, and patience as vital keys for project success. Bucero has been a professor for MEDIP (Master in Construction and Proj