How should I know? But, it sounds like the beginning of a good joke if anyone wants to take a crack at it! No, I didn’t spend too much time in the pubs of Dublin last week, but I did enjoy hanging out with new friends at the PMI Global Congress at the Convention Centre Dublin.
Oh yes, I’ve got a few stories to tell. But, I’ll save those tales for later.
In this post, I want to focus on a team formula that worked well last week. Here it is: Diversity + Experience + Tact = Excellent Results. Allow me to explain. I have the pleasure of serving on the PMI REP Advisory Group. (You can read about the purpose of the group and see the list of 9 members here.) In simple terms, the purpose of our group is to provide feedback to the managers at PMI who run the Registered Education Provider program. We met for 2 days prior to the start of the congress to discuss changes to the REP program, what works well, what doesn’t work, and plans for the future. For the majority, this event was our first face-to-face meeting. And, we really hit it off. I’ve got BFFs all over the globe, now!
Back to the formula…Diversity; this team is hands-down the most diverse group of leaders I’ve joined. Group members are from Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Netherlands, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, and USA. Another key trait of the members is Experience. The group holds a wide range of experience as internal trainers, external trainers, working with small business, or large corporations – and all are project management practitioners. Each member speaks from rich experience. Given the group’s diversity and considerable experience, I was very curious to see how well we would all “play” together. Would we get along? Would we overcome differences and be a productive advisory group? A resounding yes to that one! The members exhibited diplomacy, respect, and Tact as we batted around some very volatile topics.
I came away from the 2-day meetings with a renewed appreciation for the power of a team that shares those 3 traits: diversity, experience, and tact. Let me know if you have an effective team and what makes it effective. In true Irish style, we’ll raise a pint of Guinness to salute you…hypothetically speaking, of course.
