How Tae Kwon Do can be applied to Project and Program Management, part 3

In parts 1 and 2 of this series, I described how the Tae Kwon Do tenets of etiquette and modesty can be applied to project and program management (PPM). In this post, I'm going to cover the next tenet: perseverance. As usual, I'm going to display the definition directly below for you to have a quick review of:

My goodness: there's a lot to this one, isn't there? Just look at some of the words in that list! I'm sure at least half a dozen will be resonating with you, but the question is: how much success did you have with any of them, and can you improve upon that success? I'm going to apologise in advance if I don't cover one of the words in the list that you would particularly like me to, but I can't cover every one of them, as this post would be way too long. OK: let me take 'determination' and also 'staying power' and give you the TKD spin on it.

Firstly, if you are not determined to reach your ultimate goal of (initially) achieving 1st Dan or black belt, then, put simply, you won't. You might say that this is similar in many ways to a PPM practitioner needing to gain a particular certification, be it one of the PMI offerings or Prince2 etc. If you have been told that you need to gain that certification, and you know that success in your career is dependent upon it, then that's a good driver, obviously, but it's possibly not the real motivator that you need. That really has to come from you, otherwise you may well find that it takes you several attempts and a whole load of angst to get where you need to be. In the TKD world, reaching your black belt means that you not only need to continue applying all the patterns you learned already, but you then get to learn much more complex ones. Again, this is a good analogy of the PPM profession. Sad to say, though, there will be many practitioners who will learn the relevant knowledge in order to pass the exam, then never truly apply it in their day job. That's where TKD and the PPM profession differ, of course.

How about 'staying power'? Again, from a TKD perspective, if you don't have the staying power to face many challenges on your way to black belt, then you will end up quitting. The same is true of the PPM profession: there are many practitioners who, having faced a 'make or break' situation, have dropped out and moved into a different career. The thing is, you see, neither TKD or the PPM profession are for the fainthearted. In both, you will pick up battle scars. If you don't, then - in my own humble opinion - you've either not really done it correctly or it's still to come for you, so be aware. Forewarned is forearmed.

I also want to mention that, in TKD, you have to work and experience the nuances of each pattern. Experience is absolutely imperative: anything else just will not do. If you stand there at the grading, and you do not have the experience and understanding of a particular pattern, you will fail. The same is true of the PPM profession, be it project management or PMO: if it's apparent to others in your profession that you don't have that degree of experience, then you're in for a rocky ride.

Looking at some of the others from the list, 'patience' is almost a no brainer, isn't it? For both TKD and PPM you need to have patience in spades. If not, you should reconsider what you're doing.

'Endurance': you're still here. In other words, you got through to the end of the project, learned some major lessons that you can take with you on your PPM journey and apply on subsequent assignments. You endured.

'Application': this means applying yourself. What exactly does that mean? Well, in TKD, it's not enough to simply know the pattern: you have to really focus and apply that knowledge in that particular situation, whether it's in a grading or in a self-defence scenario. It's no good knowing a pattern if, when faced with a dangerous situation, you're not able to apply those moves in defending either yourself or the helpless or weak. The same is true of PPM: if, despite having the knowledge, you then revert to 'fight or flight' behaviour, then you're doing yourself a disservice. By the way, don't assume that you can automatically do this in a natural way: it takes a lot of practice.

The last one I want to focus on is 'tenacity'. For me personally, this has been one of the most important traits that has helped me both in TKD and especially in the PPM profession. In a way, you could describe this as being very determined. I was always very determined that I would end up in the PPM profession and so positioned myself initially to get the opportunity of a PPM role. How did I do this? Well, I went through every role I could that I felt would give me insight into the world of PPM. All of this was time well spent, as it provided me with knowledge and insight which would be invaluable as a project manager. This automatically made me more tenacious. Rather than dropping away at the first excuse given to me, I was able to challenge those excuses on the basis that I'd actually 'been there, got the T-shirt' etc. In other words, I had credibility - another trait which comes in very useful as a PPM practitioner.

So, going back to the 'exam question', how much success have you had with the above, and how can you improve upon that success? Well, I would say, try to become more disciplined in your approach, in the same way that TKD practitioners have to be disciplined. Keep these traits in your armoury and - more importantly - be ready to apply them. You may just be surprised at the progress you make: progress that is noticeable by you, your peers and teams, your managers and your customers.

I really hope that this post has been of some use to you. Please join me next time when I'll cover the fourth TKD tenet of self-control.