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Seven Habits of a Highly Effective Agile Project Manager
Glen B. Alleman, VP Program Management
Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site
Recent neurological studies indicate that the role of emotion in human cognition is essential; emotions are
not a luxury. Instead, emotions play a critical role in rational decision–making, in perception, in human
interaction, and in human intelligence. Habits are the intersection of knowledge, skill, and desire. The habits
of Effective IT department members are based on three attributes:
n Knowledge is what to do and why we do it
n Skill is how to do it
n Desire is the motivation, the want to do.
Using these attributes and the full acknowledgement of Stephen Covey’s habits † a concept can be formed of
highly effective software development, infrastructure management and general IT management processes.
Be Proactive
We are free to choose
This habit reflects our innate ability to take charge of our lives. We are not simply products of ingrained
stimulus–response reflexes. We have the ability to take charge, plan ahead, and focus our energies on things
we can control instead of reacting to or worrying about things over which we have little or no control. This
habit allows us to rise above the ebbs and flows of the tides of our day–to–day lives and direct our lives.
As individuals we must accept that we are responsible for our own behavior, and for the consequences of our
actions, especially the consequences of our actions as members of a team. As an organization, we need to
take a similarly proactive approach to success.
For our organization, this involves the tasks of constructing projects and portfolios of projects, aligning the
physical infrastructure with the organizational objectives, redesigning the architecture to the organizational
strategy, and changing the rules we use to deliver information technology to our customers.
Begin with the End in Mind
Identify the mission, the vision, and the goal
In this habit, we begin each day, week, project, etc. with a clear vision of our direction and destination. This
habit inculcates the ability to create the desired results mentally first in accordance to our guiding principles,
and then maintain this vision throughout our daily activities. Part of the process of developing this habit is to
develop a personal mission statement, philosophy, or creed. This mission statement focus on what we want
to be and do. Our planning activities always refer back to this mission statement so we can maintain a proper
perspective on where we are headed and how we hope to get there. This habit is called “Personal Leadership”
because Leadership is considered to be the first creation of our vision, which is then managed, in our
planning and daily activities.
Just as an individual accomplishment must be accomplished twice, once in the mind and once in reality, so
our organizational accomplishments must be accomplished twice, followed by the project execution
†
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey, Simon & Shuster, 1990.

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accomplishments. Our IT organization really does have a consciousness, even though it is made up of the
collective consciousness of its members. Our organization creates the mental image of the end through a
combination of a mission statement, public visions, public strategies, organizational vision, and of course our
project plans.
Put First Things First
Act on the priorities as they appear
First Things are those things we find most worth doing according to the project we’re are managing or
participating in. We use these priorities to manage our time and events so that every day we keep these first
things first. A key concept related to this habit is “Quadrant II Planning.” The diagram at the end of this
paper is the Covey “Time Management Matrix.” The top of the matrix divides the blocks into activities that
are Urgent, and Not Urgent. The left side divides the matrix into Important and Not Important. Here is a
summary of the quadrants.
n Quadrant I: Urgent and Important. This quadrant includes those items that represent true crises, deadline driven
projects, and other such truly important and pressing items.
n Quadrant II: Not urgent but Important. This quadrant includes items that are truly important in our work that we
truly need to do to maintain our productive abilities. Unfortunately, since they are not urgent (“Oh, I can put
that off today and get it done tomorrow!”) we tend not to do them. We procrastinate because they are not
urgent. Unfortunately, if we do this long enough, this tends to create highly urgent crises which force us back
into Quadrant I and give us less time doing quality activities. Most of us would conclude that our “First
Things” fall in Quadrant II. By ignoring things, we are setting up conditions so that we will have even less
time to devote to these important activities.
n Quadrant III: Urgent but not Important. This quadrant is those activities that appear to be urgent (or at least seem
to demand our attention as such) but are not that important. Examples include: needless interruptions, many
phone calls, other people's minor issues (which they invariably seek to make major ones because they like to
live in this quadrant as well!). A good example is all of emails or unnecessary phone calls during our normal
work time. Most of us are “Phone or Email Addicted” and find ourselves unable to resist a message. This is a
quadrant we tend to fall into when we become “urgently addicted”. We get a nice rush from the pressures of
Quadrant I and the success we have in solving these issues. Unfortunately, we then begin to fall into the
habit of mistaking urgent matters in Quadrant III that are not important as being important. Our precious
time tends to drift into Quadrant III (since there are more of these items hitting in on our daily lives than any
other) and we end up dealing with not very important matters most of the time. As a result, our project
management abilities begin to erode, and our productivity rapidly falls as well. This is the sure path to project
problems. The message is clear. Our First Things First planning should target spending less time in Quadrant
II and moving that time to Quadrant III.
n Quadrant IV: Not urgent and Not Important. Here we find items such as excessive email, time wasters, web
surfing, coffee (or tea) room chat, “escape” activities such as reading the trade rags and others. Obviously, we
don’t want to these things in excess. The key is “in excess”. Reading technical magazines is not bad in and of
it self, but when taken to extremes the danger is clear. The activities here all have a valued place as once–in–
a–while rewards, if not used excessively.
Spending less time in Quadrant III and IV gives us more time to spend in Quadrant II so that we can put
first things first, with the added benefit that we will also be finding ourselves dealing with fewer Quadrant I
crises.
Successful management and execution requires prioritization to put the most important things first, day in
and day out. It is important to remember that the squeaky wheel is not necessarily, or even normally, the
highest priority item. Reactionary management activities, responding to crisis and immediate needs, is never
optimum. For an organization to effectively put first things first, it must do a critical success factor analysis to
identify those critical aspects vital to the success of the organization, perform strategic optimization so that

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the organization’s resources are focused on the strategic mission, and do prioritization of goals based on
strategic objectives rather than immediate pressures.
Organizations starting from scratch should begin their strategic planning initiatives with these first three
items. Just as individuals move from dependence on others to independence through the first three factors,
so our organization can move from dependence on others or luck to independence through a focus on these
first three habits.
Think Win / Win
Look for alternatives so all stakeholders “win” in some way
Covey advises to get out of the win / lose way of looking at interpersonal relations and move towards a win /
win attitude. Too often we think of ourselves succeeding in terms of someone else failing. This has been
promulgated by the competitiveness of our culture. Unfortunately, in the real world, we have to cooperate a
lot more than we have to compete. A win / win attitude seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions.
Covey suggests establishing a win / win agreement as a tool for creating an effective, long–term foundation.
This agreement seeks to make explicit the following items:
n Desired results – What is to be done and when (not how!)
n Guidelines – The guidelines governing how the results are to be accomplished
n Resources – Human, material, and other help available
n Accountability – What are the standards for evaluating the performance and times of evaluation.
n Consequences – What will happen as a result of achieving and not achieving the results?
Win / Win is not a management buzzword, its a philosophy of interaction. Covey applies the concept to
individual interactions, but it applies equally well to corporate interactions. Without a true, from the heart,
desire to operate with the highest degree of integrity and concern for others a corporation cannot persevere.
Corporate win / win is accomplished through such strategic planning concepts as stakeholder analysis,
corporate culture analysis, development of a strategic reward process, and building individual learning within
the corporation.
Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood
Deep listening is the key to understanding
We can’t listen while we are talking! Unfortunately, when we interact with people, we rarely listen in order to
understand. As the other person is talking, we are already framing our replies. In effect we are talking while
they are talking. We are not listening. Covey suggests we engage in “Empathic Listening” which we do our
best to get inside another person’s frame of reference and see the world the way they do. This takes
tremendous courage and ability, because we have to suspend our own frame works to do this. We in effect,
make ourselves vulnerable to change. Keep in mind, however, that empathic listening does not have to mean
you agree with the other person’s views, just that you make an all-out effort to Understand them. Before we
can effectively make ourselves understood, we must first understand where the other person is coming from.
Then and only then are we in a position to communicate in a way such that our own views can be
understood.

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Synergize
Creativity can be discovered when differences are explored together
Synergy refers to the fact that in most situations 1+1 2 but 1+1=3 or more! That is, through creative
cooperation (not giving in or compromise) two or more people can produce results far better than either
could do alone. This habit draws upon the previous five habits. It allows us to be effective in an
interdependent setting! The key to developing this habit is to value differences among people. We must have
the humility to recognize that our own views are limited and preconceived, and that interactions with others
of different values and mind sets allow us to reach creative solutions that are far better than what we could
have achieved on our own. Inculcation of this habit removes bigotry and prejudice from our thinking and
replaces it with respect and caring. Intellectual, emotional, and philosophical arrogance are replaced by
humility and cooperation.
Sharpening the Saw
Call others forth to participate in the process, using this as a daily private victory
This habit involves engaging in those activities that are aimed at preserving and maintaining ourselves and in
the case of an IT Project, the project itself!
Just as individuals need on–going renewal to remain at their peak, so our organization must constantly look
for ways to re–invent itself to remain competitive. This is the fundamental purpose of our efforts with
Balanced Scorecard, Earned Value Analysis, and our team building and growth efforts.
The table below is Covey’s matrix. The accompanying Power Point presentation “Time Management
According the Stephan Covey,” should be “owned and practiced” by all members of the IT Team. Many of
Covey’s ideas are getting a bit “long in the tooth,” but the core “time management” concepts can serve us
well between now and closure.
¹
IV
Trivia
Busy work
Pleasant activities
III
Interruptions
Mail
Meetings
Popular activities
Not
Important
II
Prevention
Relationship Building
Planning
New
Opportunities
I
Crises
Pressing Problems
Deadline Driven Projects
Important
Not Urgent
Urgent