Interview with Colin Powell, PM Network in August Issue. Page 58 features a conversation with Colin Powell. Many of the questions and answers are relevant to project managers and there are some great pieces of wisdom. However, there were some important questions that I would have asked and not included in the article. Here’s the breakdown of pmStudent.com: Likes

• Open communication channels
• Methods to build trust
• Openly confronting problems
• Contingency planning
• The decision-making process
• Over time, consistency in leadership principles

Dislikes:

• For motivational purposes, focus only on the “big picture” and not the WIIFM (“What’s in It for Me?).
• Implicit assumption that there is a direct relationship between leader/team throughout – I would like to have seen a question where “positional authority” was not available and Colin had to use other forms and influence to get the job done. This is because I believe this situation applies to most project mangers!

Comment on this post to let me know your thoughts about the article.