For those less than familiar with the 70:20:10 model it is, in essence, a formalisation of what has long been recognised as one of the most effective ways to learn. It proposes that only 10% of an individual’s development time should be spent in the classroom undertaking formal education or training. 20% of development time should then be directed at structured learning events which are relevant to the workplace and not conducted in formal training environments; for example work-shops or coaching schemes. The vast majority of development, 70%, is to take place in the working environment through managed exposure to the full variety of experiences any role might be expected to encounter.

This is where the model mimics reality; as far back as medieval times the guilds of individual trades recognised the value of work-related experience to learning. The entire concept behind the apprenticeship and the journeyman was that you couldn’t reasonably learn your trade to a skilled level without five years of experience in practice. Indeed, to this day, some professions, notably medicine and the law, appear to implicitly recognise this as they continue to style their work as ‘practice’ – you never become the finished article because you are expected, and expect, to constantly develop. The current National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) scheme could be viewed as an attempt to replicate these time-honoured behaviours in a contemporary context. But herein lies the rub; many people appear dismissive of the NVQ as a cynical attempt to short-cut formal education or rigorous professional training.

If this sounds a bit like Del Boy from Only Fools and Horses “The University of Life, Faculty of Hard Knocks”, well, that might be because it is very close to that. What differentiates it however is how well structured and managed it is. Everyone is familiar with that old adage that fifteen years in the same job does not necessarily equal fifteen years of experience. It can simply be one year of experience repeated fifteen times. The trick with the 70:20:10 model is to avoid this potential pitfall. This is achieved through understanding the full range of experiences that a role occupant might reasonably encounter given their level of skill, ability and responsibility. This understanding can then be broadened out in a managed and safe way to guide development to a shape that suits both them and their employer.

The attractions are self-evident. With structured development based on what is happening to you and around you in your own work environment the learning is immediate (there is no delay whilst you try and equate classroom theory to practical application). It is also clearly relevant as the problems are real and your solutions either succeed or fail to varying degrees and, often, in short order. Peer support and advice is available from colleagues who share the same environment and constraints rather than through theoreticians. Perhaps most importantly the ‘pay-back’ on the development investment is more-or-less immediately apparent.

However the problem doesn’t lie with the concept or the framework; it is more with the behaviours and attitudes to those that operate and are affected by it. The two potential pit-falls are firstly the learners’ engagement with the process and their ownership of their own development. Secondly the degree of management focus on an individual’s development needs and their contribution to promoting and managing the development process in partnership with their direct reports is crucially important.

Without an explicit focus on their development it is easy to let the ‘day job’ dominate working life; in such situations development is piecemeal and at an organic rate of progress. At the same time it is hard for the developing worker to know what they need to learn because, by definition, they have not yet been exposed to it. Here is where effective management pays dividends; not only will they encourage and guide the learner’s efforts but management is ideally positioned to help identify the detailed learning needs having, as they do, an overview of both the role and the individual discharging it. They are also ideally placed to identify the necessary learning experiences and a safe environment in which they can be practiced.

This dependence on management, both by the learner and their manager, can prove one of the main stumbling blocks. With pressure to achieve whatever production or management targets the business sets it is easy to allow development to become the poor relation with insufficient focus on the individual’s needs or their contribution to the overall goal.

What appears to stand in the way of effective deployment of the 70:20:10 model is a lack of management comprehension, ability and appetite on behalf of both the learner and their manager. Yet, once harnessed we have witnessed its effects as transformational on not only individuals but also departments and even whole enterprises.

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In this article I’ll discuss how to prepare for that difficult conversation using a simple four-step plan:

1. Situation analysis
2. Options development
3. Options selection
4. Communication

1. Situation analysis

It is important to understand what the situation is quite clearly. You haven’t got the leisure to conduct detailed root-cause analysis which would, in any event, probably be irrelevant to the current situation. However you should have a clear insight on the situation from at least two perspectives what is wrong? And what are the consequences or ramifications if it is allowed to remain wrong? Remember Einstein said “If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”

2. Options development

There is always more than one way of dealing with things and the most obvious may not be the best or optimal; it is worth carving-out some time to look at the available options. At this stage you should have no clear preference for any option; all options that will address the situation are contenders and should be given equal consideration.

3. Options selection

Ultimately, of course, you do need to select one of the courses of action to pursue. This should be done on a ‘business case’ basis that is balancing the three considerations of cost, benefit and risk. Cost has to be considered from a variety of perspectives and not solely cash; for example time, in stressful situations, is often at a premium. Benefits are a question of what, beyond resolution of the situation, is the ‘spin off’ or additional benefit or utility of each option. Finally consider the risks, this is the risk to the resolution of the situation as well as to the implementation of the option. Once you are satisfied with the option you have selected you can take one of two courses of action, you can either enact it or communicate your intention of enacting it.

4. Communication

By this stage in proceedings you have assessed the situation and can justify the selection of a remedial course of action. If you have followed the preceding three stages thoroughly (or at least as thoroughly as time will allow) you should have confidence and conviction when you come to communicate it. The usual laws of good communication now apply; be clear what response you need from the person or group to whom you are communicating. The effectiveness of a communication can only be assessed from the perspective of the effect it has. Once you have established this then select the most appropriate mechanisms and vehicles to deliver your communication (including the anticipated form of feedback) and then execute it.

Practice makes… better

As with anything else familiarity with the process steps and rehearsal will always increase your competence against the day you need to deploy these skills for real.

Prepare yourself for the difficult conversations by practising this simple set of tried and trusted processes in your day to day project interactions, so that you will be able to use them to help you through the inevitable stressful situations.

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Panic!

Have you ever had that horrible surge of panic in your project? Everything is going as expected, if not exactly to plan, and then, without warning, disaster strikes. A contractor comes up and says “the plug in adaptor doesn’t fit, we’re stuck!” or “the pumps gone down and the spare is missing” or “it didn’t happen in testing but half the data has come through corrupted” or, well, just about anything you really don’t want to hear. One unwelcome aspect of this news is that you know that sooner, rather than later, you’re going to have to have an ‘interesting’ conversation with your sponsor or some other senior stakeholders about this.

The real trick is not to go into a panic but to smoothly, calmly and professionally respond to the situation. However, it is in this area that the junior or inexperienced project manager can easily come to grief. Part of the problem is that people don’t like surprises. They tend to over-react to them. Sponsors and senior management are no more immune to this tendency than any other member of the project and programme community. The way in which they are often different is that they can come across as intimidating or angry and their opinions do matter.

Golden rules

There are several ways of dealing with such situations and awkward stakeholders. But there are two golden rules:

1. Don’t panic
2. Don’t communicate until you are prepared.

Don’t panic

Isn’t “don’t panic” a great bit of advice? How often have you heard it? How often have you achieved it? So before we prepare to communicate, let’s think about some panic reduction techniques. Of course, for many people this is easier said than done. However there are a few simple tricks to remember to calm your nerves.

Take a deep breath

Yes, it sounds elementary but it really works; here are some potential reasons why:
The act of breathing in deeply puts more oxygen into your bloodstream which, in turn, gives the brain a little spike of clarity, which is precisely what you and it need.

Oxygenating your bloodstream has a calming effect on you and, astonishingly, on other people (probably because they see you looking calm and, in their sub-conscious, they are thinking if you are calm, you are probably in control).

Whilst it may sound trivial the act of taking a deep breath is you starting to consciously exert control which will boost your confidence and it is vital that you maintain control, confidently.

No matter what your level of experience you are unlikely to get this wrong and so you will have taken a first positive step (always remember it is easier to build on positives).

The time taken to breath in is valuable thinking time (with your freshly re-oxygenated brain) and prevents the impulse to start doing things before consideration – thinking time is valuable and likely to be in short-supply.

Three key things to remember

1. The situation is important but it is seldom critical

Quite literally unless death is imminent it is unlikely to be critical. Things can be hugely important, massively urgent, pressing, demanding and or challenging but critical is in a league of its own; if you don’t deal with it now someone is going to die. But even then one is always reminded of the old television advert for insurance that made a virtue of not turning a crisis into a drama. Remember ‘keep your head’ and you can use it to make the right decisions.

2. This is not the first time

Given that the situation is not critical, remember that you have survived similar situations before. In fact the way in which you dealt with those previous situations means that you are better prepared to deal with the current ‘crisis’. In other words, those experiences have made you stronger, and that includes both the successful responses AND the ones where you didn’t do so well.

3. You ARE capable and you MUST show confidence

It is a well-known maxim that senior managers will have confidence in you, if you can demonstrate some confidence in yourself. A particularly useful video on this subject can be found here:
http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are

Amy Cuddy is a world expert on how control of our body language can have a positive effect on our performance in stressful situations. Take a look at what she has to say. In a nutshell, she recommends that you ‘fake it until you are it’.

Calm? In control?

In my companion article I will discuss Preparing for that “difficult” conversation using a simple four-step plan:

1. Situation analysis
2. Options development
3. Options selection
4. Communication

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