Twitterview with Jhaymee Wilson
Posted in Keynotes
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On Sunday, March 7th at 3:00pm I had the most fun “Twitterview” with Jhaymee Wilson aka @TheGreenPM. You can still see the actual Twitterview by searching hashtag #TheGreenPM. What was fun about this interview was, it was entirely conducted on Twitter. So both questions and answers were limited to 140 characters each.
I loved Jhaymee’s approach to the whole affair. She approached me early, and worked up some really great questions in advance. She was warm and enthusiastic in the days leading up to the event, helping me to prepare. Knowing Twitter’s 140 character limitation I wasn’t sure how it would play out, but I thought it went really well, and it was an awful lot of fun.
I would highly recommend anyone not already doing so to follow @TheGreenPM on Twitter, and subscribe to Jhaymee’s website, as I believe she presents some fantastic insights into our profession. Jhaymee has organized some great social media events in the Washington, D.C. area, so if you live, work, or are visiting there, check her website to see if she has anything happening!
For ease of reading, I’ve transcribed our Twitterview below.
| TheGreenPM | : | Welcome to our Twitterview with @PapercutPM! We’re excited to bring this exclusive chat to you. Hi Geoff!!:) |
| PapercutPM | : | hiya jhaymee! i’m very excited as well! thanks so much for this! 🙂 |
| TheGreenPM | : | No problem! Thank you for joining. Let’s start off with a few questions about you and your fantastic blog. |
| PapercutPM | : | *blush* certainly! 🙂 |
| TheGreenPM | : | What inspired you to start a career in PM and what was the catalyst to start a blog on the subject? |
| PapercutPM | : | i don’t believe i ever “chose” a career in pm. LOL it sort of just happened. |
| PapercutPM | : | the blog started because over the years i’ve learned that projects are about people..but nobody seems to want to talk about that |
| PapercutPM | : | the primary things i hear about projects are theory based as opposed to emotions or human based |
| TheGreenPM | : | Interesting! Why do you think that people don’t talk about the human aspects of projects? |
| PapercutPM | : | primarily i think it’s because the human aspects are nebulous and fuzzy. it’s easier to talk about quantifiable things |
| TheGreenPM | : | I agree with that. Do you think that PMs are capable of building their “emotional intelligence” on projects? |
| PapercutPM | : | i think by and large the tools PMs need are already there because they’re human. it’s just a matter of expression. so, yes. |
| PapercutPM | : | expression on the other hand takes experience and maturity. think about consequences before making choices |
| PapercutPM | : | (this is crazy fun btw working within 140 characters) |
| TheGreenPM | : | I know we’ve talked a little bit about “soft skills”s & PM. What do you think is the biggest soft skill most PMs lack and why? |
| TheGreenPM | : | I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I am too.:) |
| PapercutPM | : | i would say empathy. when things are moving so fast, it’s easy to stop thinking of other people in favour of our own agendas |
| PapercutPM | : | the problem is, as PMs, our own agendas require other people to realize. so there’s an irony there. |
| TheGreenPM | : | So PMs need to have more empathy in regards to project teams, customers, stakeholders in your opinion. |
| TheGreenPM | : | #TheGreenPM “Projects are about people.” ~Geoff Crane (@PapercutPM). Search for our live Twitterview using . #pmot |
| PapercutPM | : | it’s a question of making the people around you the priority. what do they need? want? think? feel? |
| PapercutPM | : | it’s important because those things are all potential barriers to getting work done |
| TheGreenPM | : | That’s certainly difficult for a lot of PMs I know. Especially with your own competing priorities. |
| TheGreenPM | : | So besides empathy, what other soft skills do you feel are important for PMs to have? |
| PapercutPM | : | it’s true. PMs have tools..communication plans, different comms vehicles |
| PapercutPM | : | but those are just vessels for the real issue which is managing expectations |
| PapercutPM | : | i would say active listening is a big one. every PM needs a big ol’ set of ears |
| TheGreenPM | : | I couldn’t agree with you more on that! Do you think active listening comes with maturity as a PM? |
| TheGreenPM | : | #TheGreenPM “Every PM needs a big ol’ set of ears.” ~Geoff Crane (@PapercutPM). Search for our live Twitterview using . #pmot |
| PapercutPM | : | i do. in my early career i clung to my plans like a drowning cat clinging to a floating tire. other people kept messing it up |
| PapercutPM | : | over the years you learn your plans are transitory. it’s just a piece of paper that reflects the wants and needs du jour |
| TheGreenPM | : | I can just visualize you clinging to a tire.:) So do you think that soft skills should be evaluated on tests like the PMP? |
| PapercutPM | : | these days the tire is permanently attached. 🙂 |
| PapercutPM | : | i think it’s a bit of a conundrum. measuring soft skills stops making them soft. applying measurements breaks the skill |
| PapercutPM | : | a measurement suggests there’s a silver bullet response to individual situations and there just isn’t |
| TheGreenPM | : | So how would you evaluate a PMs soft skills? Or would you? |
| PapercutPM | : | i would and i do. but it happens face to face. |
| PapercutPM | : | my evaluations are based on a) fit, b) their listening ability, c) experience |
| PapercutPM | : | when my senior PMs would hire, i always insisted on meeting them to rubber stamp |
| PapercutPM | : | a person can’t be evaluated on soft skills on a piece of paper. at least i don’t think so |
| TheGreenPM | : | You seem to have significant experience in determining strong PMs. 🙂 |
| PapercutPM | : | hehe you get burned enough times (or you burn yourself) you learn 🙂 |
| TheGreenPM | : | So I’m sure you have a lot of battle scars from projects gone awry huh? |
| PapercutPM | : | oh yes. and it seems i keep getting them. you’d sort of think they’d stop after awhile LOL |
| TheGreenPM | : | So does your blog focus solely on articles pertaining to emotions and PM? What types of articles do you write? |
| PapercutPM | : | well, it didn’t at the start, but it seems to be something people have a lot of questions about and want to ask me |
| PapercutPM | : | i write about the human side of projects. i try to raise specific problems that require an emotional response |
| TheGreenPM | : | So you are the “emotional intelligence” guru in the PM community? 🙂 |
| PapercutPM | : | HAHA um, if you want to throw that moniker on me LOL really i’m just a guy with a hairy face who likes to listen |
| TheGreenPM | : | Very well put.:) So if there was one piece of advice that you’d give a new PM, what would it be? |
| PapercutPM | : | step outside yourself. your success is based on the success of those around you. if they get what they need, so will you |
| TheGreenPM | : | Spoken like a true leader! A couple of final questions. 1) Do you follow other PM bloggers? If so, which ones do you recommend? |
| PapercutPM | : | oh my goodness my aggregator is full! i’ll miss some but i follow @BackFromRed @derekhuether @commsabilities @UnlikeBefore |
| PapercutPM | : | @JasonMartin530 and of course yourself! 🙂 i don’t mean to not include some but there’s just so many. |
| PapercutPM | : | i LOVE all the different perspectives. you learn so much from them |
| TheGreenPM | : | Aww, thanks. What do you enjoy about @JasonMartin530 blog? |
| PapercutPM | : | you know, jason’s just so inquisitive and interesting. he’s learning and you can see the connections he makes. i love that |
| TheGreenPM | : | Ok, so I have one final question, and then you can feel free to share what you want.:) Do you ever plan on getting your PMP? 🙂 |
| PapercutPM | : | HAHAHA there’s the rub! 🙂 not at present. at this point in my career i would need a compelling reason |
| PapercutPM | : | to be honest? i’m 40 years old and academic tests still freak me out LOL |
| TheGreenPM | : | Hahaha! I’ve heard that argument before.:) Well those are the questions that I have. Any final comments, thoughts, etc? |
| PapercutPM | : | *big smile* all i can say is this has been a tremendous amount of fun! |
| PapercutPM | : | if folks would like me to write about specific problems i’m more than happy to take that up. (psst: gives me content too hehe) |
| TheGreenPM | : | Absolutely! Tell us how readers can contact you. Email, phone, etc? |
| PapercutPM | : | the best way is through my website http://www.papercutpm.com which has all my details, or my blog http://edge.papercutpm.com |
| PapercutPM | : | i’m super chatty (as you know, hehe) so hitting me up on twitter is a great way too! 🙂 |
| TheGreenPM | : | Great! Well thank you again for participating @PapercutPM. This was a FANTASTIC Twitterview!!! |
| PapercutPM | : | jhaymee thank you so much for putting this together! it’s been a genuine thrill! 😀 *BIG HAIRY HUGZ* |
| TheGreenPM | : | Thanks to @PapercutPM for a fantastic Twitterview! Blog post to follow on Monday. Search on to read the transcript! #pmot |
