You’re in a program management role. How do you know when to be resilient?

Programs by nature are "living breathing" entities and things change and evolve as a program progresses through its life cycle. Not everything will go as per plan. Anticipate what can go wrong (Risk Management), identify mitigation strategies, and continually review Risk Logs. Communicate with key stakeholders on an ongoing basis and let communication not be a barrier to program objectives, be ready to pivot, analyze impact and ensure business benefits are always on the forefront of everything you do.

When things don't go as per plan it is important to be resilient situation such as budget cut, resource constraint and sudden changes in business requirement are example of this. It is important to reassess the situation, and make a new plan of action. Adaptability is all about adjusting to the new dynamic environment when Program manager has to adjust program plans and deliverables. Market shifts, economic fluctuations or change in regulations are prime example when Program manager has to show adaptability

Resilience is a cornerstone of effective program management: -Uncertainty is inevitable due to factors. Being resilient allows you to adapt to unexpected changes & remain calm under pressure - Programs often encounter setbacks. Resilience enables you to bounce back from setbacks & learn from failures -Program managers must effectively manage diverse stakeholders with competing interests/expectations -Resilience allows you to remain persistent in driving change initiatives, address concerns constructively & inspire confidence -Program management roles can be demanding, requiring juggling multiple priorities, tight deadline & difficult situations. Resilience helps you manage stress effectively, prioritize tasks & delegate responsibilities.

It is key to adapt and go through susseful long term pathway. Do not go for fast, go for safe stability. As per any endeavor we have to go in a progressive and elaborated way toward program objectives. This is key to keep the team united and sharing good fears [the ones that build resilience] and expectations [the ones that motivate us].

Resilience relates to staying focused on the objective and ensure the objective is met inspite of any obstacles one encounters. In one of my projects, a secure connection could not be established between a client and a server in spite of ensuring all the configurations are done correctly. As a project manager. I enabled the debugging to progress by asking the right questions and digging through the code encapsulated underneath the APIs. Finally, it was root caused to ciphering mismatch and a known issue within RH JBOSS. A patch was already published by RH applying which the problem got resolved. Resilience on this case is persistence in debugging and resolving on time. Alternatively we could have raised ticket to RH and miss the deadline.

When faced with setbacks such as budget overruns, schedule delays, or unexpected obstacles, resilience is crucial. Instead of being discouraged, remain adaptable, resourceful, and find alternative solutions.

Being resilient should be a proactive strategy. As an example: During a digital transformation anticipating resistance to change, we used a persona modeling approach to understand stakeholders' potential fears, and frustrations that could stem out of the proposed change. Leading with empathy, I organized workshops with potential detractors and proponents to foster dialogue. We tackled concerns, clarified the new system, and showcased personal and organizational benefits. This proactive and empathetic approach underpinned our success, proving that resilience is as much about adaptability as it is about endurance - and a proactive approach might lead to let's say: fewer situations that may be "beyond your control" :)

Resilience is the art of not giving up on a project prematurely. When managers know their chosen track is optimum, they must pursue it. The knack for recognising when to be resilient and when to quit is something managers develop with experience and self-reflection. While preparing for unforeseen risks, unpredicted variations and initial setbacks, one must persist if the program is on track to yield targeted results despite the challenging process. Those setbacks and alterations can be stepping stones and learning opportunities. A manager must realign with stakeholders or reflect on ethical considerations as long as the setbacks and delays are temporary and transient. All's well that ends well.

Always! Please excuse the sports analogy. You are playing in basketball game. Your team's goal is to score more points than the other team. When do you stop playing? You play until the official game time ends. I work with a property development team. We seek funding for one of our projects. If one source is unavailable, we seek the next source. Our team leader is a retired NBA (National Basketball Association) player. "We are always looking for the open shot. We keep passing the ball until we have that open shot. If we miss the basket, we keep shooting until we score. If we score, we do it again." Resilience is always in our DNA. We just need to be tapped into it.

In general, I can think of situations like these - 1) When something does not go as planned - schedules, budgets, risks, quality 2) Things that were not part of your planning - unforeseen risks for instance 3) People issues - burnout because of customer, difficult stakeholder. Issues with self management 4) Organizational politics, changes, technology changes etc

In day to day working Program manager often has to adapt, readapt himself but largely the factors behind this include market dynamics changes, technology changes, regulatory changes like compliance etc, there are changes to the competitive landscape and factors like staying ahead in the curve become paramount for success. There could be changes in organization, resource constraint or focusing on new opportunities arises when Program manager has to adapt and realign himself

When sheer resilience is no longer a profitable business strategy, it is time to adapt. When managers realise they are not in sync with the market trends and stakeholder feedback indicates a business downturn, it is time to adapt. For instance, with the call for environmental sustainability and the advent of electric vehicles (EVs), Uber management knows that they must let go of their fossil fuel-powered fleet in the long run. The need of the hour is to adapt to the new trends and change their way of doing business. Uber must replace their fleet of current vehicles (with EVs) and contribute to the innovation of EV infrastructure instead of being resilient in running business as usual.

A program is a change process requiring that program managers possess an understanding of change methodologies, which includes quickly adapting to new situations. This knowledge is crucial for identifying and responding to signals of specific internal changes (ex. shift in strategic goals) or external changes like new regulations or the introduction innovations.

Self-awareness is the key to developing qualities like resilience and adaptability. A program manager who is fiercely aware of their strengths and weaknesses is more likely to be resilient and adaptable. For instance, program managers who knew their strengths (and weaknesses) during the COVID period knew the situation wouldn’t change their traits. They knew they just had to brave through the period through self-care and balanced thinking. Similarly, self-aware managers who lost jobs during COVID-19 could count on their skill set and pivot to different domains through careful deliberation, upskilling and networking. That’s the beauty of self-awareness in building resilience and adaptability.

Program management is akin to developing muscles—skills like resilience and adaptability must be continuously exercised. Challenges are inevitable, necessitating a proactive approach to navigate setbacks. Project and program managers lead by example, fostering resilience within the team. Adaptability, ingrained as second nature, enables agile responses to evolving program requirements, transforming challenges into opportunities for growth and success.

The best teacher is life experience - it gives us the test first, then the training. Test here is the experience of burnout, training is the synthesis of experiences through reflection. Family and Friends is an indispensable support system that holds you together as a person. However, having the habit of conscious effort of reflecting both pleasant and unpleasant experiences trains the brain to be resilient when needed.

Leading with resilience and adaptability involves fostering a growth mindset, staying composed under pressure, promoting open communication, and adapting to change. It's about setting an example, providing support, celebrating successes, and learning from failures. Encourage self-care, seek feedback, and continuously reflect on your leadership to inspire a resilient and adaptable team culture.

Resilience allows program managers (PM) to bounce back from setbacks and failures, and adaptability enables them to navigate changes. A self-aware PM is ideally suited to lead their team. They can foster resilience by boosting positive & focused thinking & promoting self-awareness in team members. Also, they can establish a supportive setting & encourage members to seek help without hesitation. A PM with (acquired) emotional intelligence is well-prepared to aid their team over adversities without the fear of judgment or rebuke. Over time, a supportive manager will raise resilient teams. By actively discouraging career stagnation & nurturing a culture of continuous learning, team efficiency can be enhanced and adaptability maintained.

When we think of resiliency as a Program Manager, we may automatically think of mental resilience. In the face of unavoidable risks that unfortunately develop into issues - as Program Manager you may be tasked with delivering this unfortunate news to the customer and to PMs managing dependent projects. This requires mental resiliency as the information may not be received well. Here’s where “what else to consider” comes into play: “emotional” resiliency! Maintaining your emotions is imperative as Program Manager because you have not only your customer looking to you for results - but multiple PMs managing the relating projects. Remaining honest, yet positive may be challenging, but is always necessary. Interpersonal resiliency is key!