Working in a Global Setting - II

If you are in technology chances are you have or will work with a multicultural team who are perhaps located miles away at some point.

Either they are part of your team or work has been outsourced.

Remember:

 They are here because they are part of the team and want to help as much as you do
 Clear instructions help when working miles away. So, when work is delegated ensure you have mentioned what is required, when and how you want it delivered.
 Try listening when they come up with issues and being in their shoes.
 Distance can be a major factor, so overlapping times for meetings might be necessary.
 They are emotional. Bonding as one human to another might help, instead of focusing only as colleagues.
 Communication gap will be the source of discontent. Conversations/phone calls should be given priority over emails if traveling onsite/offsite doesn’t seem a feasible option during the recession period.
 Fairness matters
 Don’t take things for granted, please re-confirm.
 Recognition for special initiation or delivery encourages everyone to pitch in or contribute to the best of their ability.
 Understand the regional politics and try to keep it minimal. Lesser the better.
 Beware of the cultural taboos when conversing with the counterpart from other nations.

To know more about working in a multicultural team, click here

Working in a Global Setting- I

Have you worked with a globally placed team ?

If you are getting into it, there are certain things you might want to consider:
  • Time zone difference is the most important thing to consider
  • Culture needs to be treated as a bonding factor
  • Accents and language barriers can be solved
  • Work ethics should be synched
  • Communication will keep the team together
  • Work will happen on how you manage all of the above
So, why hear it from me? Having worked closely with two cultures- Indian (by birth) and American (Masters degree and later work) I have survived and made some lifelong friends on the way from both the worlds through my work. Being globally placed is awesome.

Part II of this post coming soon.

(Picture Courtesy: Google Images)

What mentor-ing can teach you?

When I started mentoring a few newly joined individuals in my office, I always remembered and thought about my mentors and what they have taught me. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have some amazing mentors who have helped me groom as a professional and an individual.

Mentoring is hard. You are trying to impart lessons of a lifetime to them. I make sure they have good work ethics with a good heart; that helping each other is important. More I work with them, more I figure out about myself.

What you learn from your mentees:

•Your ability to bring out the best in them- By helping them do so, you work on your patience, your teaching skills and analyzing your own mistakes that you should work on to become a better mentor.
•Teaching skills- As they say, if you can’t help a 10 year old understand a concept you don’t know it yourself. True to the core! Now you know how much you know.
•The basics of being a professional- If you tell someone to be honest and be true to your work and be inquisitive; you will have to show them yourselves in your job. Or what you teach is just for the sake of teaching; they won’t follow it because they see you not doing it.
•They will observe what you don’t teach- I always did and I know they do too. The best teachings are those which are not taught and the mentees simply pick them up by being in your proximity. Your bad habits too. So beware.

We all want one of those perfectly curious and patient mentees who are easier to teach, who pick up skills easily, are smart and witty and want to learn. When you don’t have a perfect one, remember how perfect a mentor you can be is what will determine their learning curve.

So what if they are not perfect, you can be.

(Picture: Google images)

Have you joined PM groups yet?

Have you? If not, you are missing out on a lot of information.

Being part of groups help you find treasure bags, you didnt even know about. Join the project management community where ever possible and of course keep a track of them. Jot the links in a notepad or word document and once in a while go browse.

Here's what I found from the linkedin group today:


Now, you know why you should join groups!

If you are not giving certifications yet and just trying to figure out what the PM stuff is all about, this is a good chance for you to try them out and see. You will get an idea at least.

Why wait? Browse the site and thank the author.


Steppingintopm is back

Jun 1, 2009 | | 0 comments |

I’m back and thank you for visiting my blog!

If you have noticed, my blog has a registered domain name now- www.steppingintopm.com . Hurray! I wanted to celebrate my one year of blogging (June 13) so after much deliberation I got myself a domain. Of course with the new domain, my hard earned page rank of 3 went poof.

Nope, I didn’t take a vacation from work; I was here all the time working and reading blogs, sites and New York Times like always. I did spend some time with my family, enjoyed with my sister who visited for 10 days from London, watched movies, went shopping and finally have my new schedule working for me. Yes, I am exercising every morning. It was about time!

The break seemed great and I spent as much as possible offline trying out new ideas, going for walks and enjoying the rain.

Here are some links you can visit, while I get ready with my regular posts:
Enjoy!

(Picture: google images)