In our February
Newsletter, AJC announced that we are offering the NEW
service of “Fractional Integrator,” and last month in our March Newsletter, we described
what a Fractional Integrator is.
In this article, we discuss how you know if someone could be a terrific Integrator (Fractional or
otherwise).
Have you ever
been part of a great project team?
Everyone knew their responsibilities, and what their particular scope
was. Team members communicated regularly
and collaborated on solutions. Everyone
got their action items done on time, and felt comfortable asking for help when
they were stuck or behind. People helped
each other and the final product, solution, or implementation was delivered on
time, right the first time, and with enthusiasm by all team members that they
had accomplished something great, and were each a valued member of the team.
Think back to
how this was possible. Who was at the
helm of this type of project? Who kept
the ball rolling, kept people focused, and paid attention to the details? Was
there someone who made sure that what people said they would do was documented,
discussed both in team meetings and offline, cleared roadblocks, and followed
up until work was complete?
Probably that
person was the main Project Manager.
Great Project
Managers know how to facilitate, delegate, discuss the “elephant in the room,”
and have an experience-based instinct for knowing what it takes to get work
done. These selfless people know that
the real heavy lifting is done by “Subject Matter Experts,” and they dedicate
themselves to serving those people for the sake of the greater cause.
This is the
mark of a terrific Integrator. I like to
tell people that EOS is like “Project Management, on steroids, for a
business.” Just as at the helm of most
successful projects is a good Project Manager, at the helm of a successful
business will be a good Integrator whose characteristics, behaviors, and
methods parallel that of a good Project Manager.
Integrators
will tend to be Servant Leaders; they will find a way for amazing work to be
accomplished and lift others up who do it.
This will be deceiving if the Visionary or Leadership Team is looking
for a strictly charismatic leader. That
may happen, and it may not, to me it is not the essential ingredient in an
Integrator. Look instead for the person
who brings people together, who listens to all sides of any discussion or
debate, who finds a way to help others clarify their responsibilities and
complete them in a timely manner, and who others say they enjoy working with. So often that is a terrific Project Manager,
who has the potential of being a truly great Integrator.
If this makes sense to
you, and you would like some help evaluating current personnel for their
skillsets as an Integrator, finding a full time Integrator, or working with a Fractional
Integrator in any way, the first step I would recommend is to discuss with your
EOS Implementer. He or she will be able
to best advise you on this course. If
you do not have an EOS Implementer, be sure to check out the online resources
for Integrator searches, and if you are in the Portland, OR area, please feel
free to reach out to AJC.
