Message from the Chair

I have been doing some research on leadership for a client, and find that there is much information available. For example, a recent search of a popular online book seller's Web site with the keyword "leadership" yielded over 210,000 responses. That's a lot of leadership books! If the average book is about one inch thick, it would take more than three miles (or five kilometers, if you prefer) of bookshelf space for these books. But, I digress.

My observation is that many sources agree on the attributes of an effective leader. Some of these are traits like self confidence, energy, and persistence. Some of them are skills, like effective communications (including listening) and technical knowledge. The good news is that all of these can be learned … through self-study, formal training, and experience. Mentoring is also mentioned as another source of learning. There are also various assessment tools that one can use to pinpoint areas needing development.

It seems that effective consultants may be similar to effective leaders. The traits and skills listed above are applicable to consultants as well. If the leadership development approach is applicable to consultant development, there are several questions that come to mind. What are the traits of effective consultants? Why? What would a self-assessment tool look like for individuals wanting to develop as consultants? What other aspects of leadership development could be adopted for use in a consultant development program?

One of the items on the Consulting SIG's to-do list is to assemble a body of knowledge regarding consulting to aid our members. We want this to be an evolving tool that would benefit both new and experienced members. This month's question is - what suggestions do you have for this consulting body of knowledge? These can range from recommendations for particular books (for self-study) to traits/skills descriptions for a self-assessment tool. We are also interested in suggestions for the overall structure of the consulting body of knowledge, i.e., what the various "divisions" would look like.

These are exciting times for the consulting profession, and exciting times to be a member of a community of project management consultants. Thanks in advance for your suggestions and comments. As always, I'll get your permission first before citing your name in a future issue of Connections.

Regards,

Bill Craddock, PMP
Chair, Consulting SIG
chair@pmiconsultingsig.org

We have had a challenging time identifying candidates to fill the shoes of our outgoing VP Finance, Stephan Bonnaire. He has done a great job and unfortunately is unable to continue in this role. At this point we have not had anyone nominate for this essential Board position. This is a key year for the CSIG and we need a solid VP of Finance to help us in what we believe will be a transformational year for the organization. In 2008, we see some major investments coming as we launch the infrastructure that is vital to the success of our geographically dispersed online community.The board has solicited our membership with documented Finance experience. If we do not have a viable candidate for election, Article V, Section 7 of our by-laws states that: "If any officer position becomes vacant, the Board may appoint a successor to fill the office for the unexpired portion of the term for the vacant position." If you are interested in this role, please contact the Co-Chair,
Drew Marshall at cochair@pmiconsultingsig.org.

Board Positions:

     Co-Chair
     VP Communication
     VP Finance
     VP Membership
     Director-at-large

     Download Candidate Bios (bios are also listed on the ballot)
     
Hurry! Election closes on 15 December 2007.

    If you experience any problems voting, please contact the CSIG administrator.

The Consulting SIG relaunched our Mentoring Program this fall and is very excited to announce that, at last count, we have more than 25 mentors available for pairing in North America and elsewhere. If you are interested in finding a more seasoned project management consulting professional to coach you in particular areas or have burning questions about a particular topic you'd like to learn move about, here's your chance to find another CSIG member who has experience and expertise they are willing to share. And, each of you (protégé and mentor) can earn valuable PDUs in the process.

Learn more about the Mentoring Program and find a
Protégé application on this page of our web site.

We are looking for "challenging projects" insights and stories. Specifically, we are looking for stories about projects that failed or had trouble due to the project manager and/or team's relationship with the client and we are looking for stories related to projects that ran into difficulties due specifically to leadership issues. If you have experience you'd like to share, we will use it anonymously in an upcoming edition of Roadmap. If you have success stories in either of these area, please tell us about those too! If you've had success with a particularly difficult client, tell us about it. Please contact Julie Stone, PMP, at communications@pmiconsultingsig.org.

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Archived Webinars Now Available!

View the Archived Webinars You must use Internet Explorer and allow Active X support when you play a webinar. If you experience any problems, please contact our Help Desk at Office@MetSIG.Org.

After a much anticipated wait, the 2007 MetSIG Online Congress webinars are now available on MetSIG.org!

The MetSIG would like to thank you for your patience and understanding as we worked to make these archived webinars available to you. Just as the Congress was a breakthrough event, the process of delivering the archived webinars online is also a new service for the MetSIG.

We would appreciate receiving feedback on any problems you experience in playing the webinars so that we can address and correct these issues.

If you experience any problems, or have suggestions, please contact our Help Desk at Office@MetSIG.Org.

Register for Archived Webinars Click on the Archived Webinars link on MetSIG.org. Select the webinar you want to register for and click on the "Buy Now" button (you can only register for one webinar at a time). Enter the CSIG member promo code. Members should contact administrator@pmiconsultingsig.org to receive the code. Click on "Update" button and ensure that the total is 0. Click on the "Checkout" button. Complete the required fields* and hit the "Submit" button. You will now be able to play the requested webinar. The MetSIG will report the PDUs for you Complete a survey for each webinar you view and we will report the PDUs each month. Please bookmark this link.