LEADERSHIP

64 • LEADERSHIP
money, and attention away from those tasks you absolutely
must accomplish.
Don’t ask for trouble. Most projects are challenging
enough already! Remember: the key to successful planning is
to identify all essential tasks while keeping your project as
simple as possible.
Mastering the Action List Step-by-Step
Step 1: Assemble your core team.
You’ll obviously want to include subject-matter experts—
preferably those who will be doing the work. Planning is an
iterative learning process, so surround yourself with trustworthy,
competent, collaborative professionals and harvest their
wisdom.
If you want something done right, don’t do it yourself. Engage the
subject-matter experts who will be doing the work. By facilitating
participation, you create buy-in, which in turn boosts authentic
participation, clarity of purpose, and enthusiastic action.
Step 2: Review purpose, assumptions, conditions, and the
triple constraints.
There are always two (or more) ways of doing a project—I
describe these optional approaches as “my way” and the "team
way.” Ask any of us and we’ll naturally prefer our own approach:
our experience, skills, and personalities carry significant
weighting as we consider how to approach work.
Effective project leaders remind participants that the best way
to do this project may or may not be the participant’s preferred
approach. The best way is the team’s chosen approach:
the safest, simplest, fastest approach that achieves the purpose