TRG Talk - Get a New Perspective on your Project and your Team

November 07, 2019 - the monthly TRG talk about Project Management took place upstairs in one of the TRG meeting rooms. The topic for this month was: “Get a New Perspective on your Project and your Team – Systematic Simulation in Project Management”.

This month’s seminar was led by Dr Torsten Seeger who is Director and Founder of ConsulToSee Co. Ltd. He has 13 years of leadership experience in manufacturing, quality management and project management with the German multinational company SGL Group and has worked in several different countries like Germany, Russia, France, UK, Spain, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Our guest speaker was introduced by Rick Yvanovich, CEO and Founder of TRG International, who began by explaining the motivation for hosting these TRG Talks on project and talent management.

Dr Seeger began this month’s TRG Talk by asking the participants: What is the most challenging thing in project management? Whereas the following was mentioned:

• Change management: There will always be a wish for change to become better
• Stakeholder management: How do I establish good relationships with the people around me? How do I meet expectations? And how can I move people?
• Milestone achievements: Setting the right milestones, keeping the focus and getting there.
• Timeline

Keeping the timeline

Building on this, Dr Seeger asked What is a system? Because to understand systematic simulation, we must first understand how a system works, which he then continued to explain using an exercise:

Everybody had to get up and move around in the room – then stop. The participants needed to choose two secret partners in the room without saying anything. The group start moving again but this time one the participants needed to make sure they and their two secret partners keep a triangle formation without communication or knowing who is partnered with who.

After a couple of minutes, Dr Seeger started explaining the point of the exercise: That we are all part of a system that moves when one person moves, the entire system will move, and it’s the same in project management.

When you look at the group from two different perspectives, it looks different. It’s easier when people move slowly to make sure that everyone can keep up, that they understand what’s going on.

If you move fast, it might slow down the process as people don’t know what’s going on. You only have your own perspective, you don’t know what the two others you are following’s perspective, which makes it a little chaotic, meaning there is an influence you are not aware of, you move when they move.

Same with companies, they are moved by stakeholders, managers each other, everyone is moving you and you will be moving others. Everything is connected and will have an impact. That is a system and you are the parts.

What it Systematic Simulation?

Even though the name might suggest it, Systematic Simulation has nothing to do with software or technology, it is a way of gaining other perspectives on you or your project by creating a bigger picture.

Systemic constellation work helps to uncover unconscious mechanisms. It works effectively by setting up a picture of the relevant parts of a system with physical representatives.

This gives an outside perspective. Since the language of such a picture has been shown to be universal, it can be analyzed, and as a result, it becomes possible to see what was unconscious before which then can be worked with consciously now.

How can we make the information that we are not aware of visible?

It has been measured that we consciously get 40 bit of information per second, on the contrary, it has been measured that we unconsciously get 11.000.000 bit of information per second.

Dr Seeger explains that if this was converted into a physical measurement, weight, it’s like comparing a mouse to an elephant. You consciously perceive the size of a mouse and unconsciously perceive the size of an elephant.

Being part of a project, you might feel like you understand a lot, but in reality, you understand the size of a mouse. The elephant decides where to move and you, the mouse, may not notice that we are moving.

It’s all about taking a step back, gain perspective to how things are wired together, to change the things that might not be working or could work better. Two or more people will never have the same perspective of things, and understanding other perspectives can help you move forward to reach your goal.

To help gain perspective, Dr Seeger gives a few questions that you can ask yourself;

• Yourself/team – where are you?
• Your goals – what/where is your goal?
• Your resources – what resources do you have?
• Objectives – what do you want to accomplish to reach your goals? Are there any obstacles?

By doing this, Dr Seeger explains that you will be able to see the direction you are currently going and if there is a better way of doing things.

ConsulToSee helps you see what is going on, gain perspective, to change it for the better.

Mark out your steps (pieces of paper), the direction you’re looking, is it better or worse? If you are looking in another direction, is that better or worse? You mark out the steps to form the best path to reach your goal and where you’re most comfortable. By marking your steps, you might notice steps you need to take or ignore, that you didn’t know of before.

About TRG Talk

TRG Talk is a series of events co-organised by TRG International and PJ’s Coffee Vietnam in order to promote the latest trends in the IT industry and the HR world, as well as tips and tricks in improving your project management skills.

About TRG Talk - Project Management

A good Project Manager must be able to identify problems and risks. He/ She also needs to know how to minimise these issues and is able to make the decision needed throughout the entirety of the project. Do you consider yourself a good project manager? Do you have the required skills and power to handle the situation and the people involved in your project?

TRG Talk - Project Management is a monthly meetup that allows project managers to discuss in detail what it takes to become great at what you're doing. The event takes place every first Thursday of the month.