Practice makes perfect!  The saying goes, top musicians and sports people, don’t turn up and perform without some form of practice. Practice makes things easier, the challenges you face become familiar and you are able to overcome them relaxed and don’t waste as much energy working out what the best way to deal with that challenging situation. 
But its not just on a stage or in a stadium that we encounter repeatable challenges.
Within a project there will be areas that you encounter, project development, procurement, stakeholder communication, complying with contracts or legislation, organising the work to be done …. there are 14 generic areas I would consider that need to be understood, reviewed and performed on projects.
Delivering the scope, engaging users, engaging suppliers, Developing, Procurement, Finances, progress, change, risk, planning, quality, organisation and having a business case for the project.  Which all compliment your business as usual.
IDEA
If you could apply the same principles to getting through a project that a top musician or sportsperson do, you could exert less effort, overcome challenges quicker and better.
 
But a project is unique and takes time, its not a single action like a tennis shot.  In a work environment the more you experience the better you will be equipped to over-come a challenge, the better your stroke … but that takes time.  Do you have time? ……
 
SYNOPSIS
To make your projects better and take less effort you could then always employ experienced people and let them get on with it.  But that relies on people and people fitting in and staying.  It’s expensive and can make people indispensable, more important than the company!  Not an ideal situation if that person doesn’t fit into your culture or isn’t there anymore.
 
How can you make work easier and de-personalise the benefits of experience to help everyone? 
 
SOLUTION
 
Simple, don’t look at the person look at the what needs doing.  When you look at what needs doing and make sure the 14 areas of a project have a repeatable way of being done, you help reduce the effort in getting a result and reduce the reliance on experience and a specific person. 
 
Call them processes if you like, although a process can get to ridged for a project.  It’s simply about making sure all areas are being dealt with in a consistent way.
 
And the more a project requirement has a way of being dealt with, with a responsible person associated with dealing with it, you give the people and project a head start with dealing with the challenges it will bring.
 
This is a key aim in developing project management maturity and with it the benefits of managing projects more effective and transferable.

I was in the middle of a conversation recently with a senior manager about what areas a company needed to grow and what resource they need to invest in next.  Always difficult when funds are tight and the future uncertain.  They said it was essential that that someone was proactive.  I naturally instinctively agreed. … then I thought about it … how many times have I been in a conversation where another manager who’s been complaining because an employee has done something and not consulted or got the right person involved to try and sort out a problem, not done something as they would … quite a few!  More than I can say proactive actions have been given a positive spin probably!

IDEA
I got me thinking, what is being proactive …. The definition is ‘creating or controlling a situation by causing something to happen rather than responding to it after it has happened.’
That’s great if it’s the right action and better sometimes than doing nothing at all.. sometimes.  But to do it the right way is the key … I’ve seen and done many proactive things that have ended up being in the same situation if not worse than before.  Often this happens when senior managers jump in without understanding the situation or people doing things without consulting a person who could guide them a better way.
 
SYNOPSIS
O yes, we all want proactive employees, no one wants to spend even more precious time doing other people’s jobs, it’s just inefficient and frustrating, but that action needs to be causing the right thing to happen.  To make proactivity a positive thing then you need to make sure the proactivity is going to benefit the situation.  How?
 
SOLUTION
The key to encouraging proactivity and ensuring good proactivity is creating a good understanding of your company.  An understanding that is communicated simply to allow the proactivity to be channelled the best way or through the best person.
 
To do this create a clear structure that outlines knowledge, skills or at least responsibility and the  starting point for this is a company organigram.   These usually though just contain titles, but titles don’t explain the expertise or responsibilities and create a hierarchy.  To make it a proactive tool its needs to also include those expertise and responsibilities.  Then you have created a basis or roadmap to channel that proactivity in the right way.  Experience will eventually create this understanding most of the time, but it’s a simple solution to belt and brace it.  It will give new employees and anyone else who works with your company that instant clarity and even help existing employees. 

So make it fantastic Mr proactive.