Project Management Insights with Laszlo Retfalvi

Laszlo_1Laszlo Retfalvi leads Oregon State University's online Project Management Certificate program. Laszlo is founder and general manager of Retfalvi and Associates and author of "The Power of Project Management Leadership: Your Guide on How to Achieve Outstanding Results". Laszlo's background includes extensive project management experience, including leadership positions at General Dynamics and Allen Vanguard Corporation. He is a frequent industry speaker at both national and international conferences and has published over 60 papers in the areas of risk and leadership. Laszlo is the developer of the "Project Management Leadership Model©", a framework to develop personal project management leadership excellence.

 

What drives your work in continuing education and what kinds of advantages do you see in working with these students?

I couldn’t have done what I have without the help of others, and I hit a point in my career where I wanted to start giving back. I’m good at working with people and instructing, and I enjoy it. It’s driven by the passion of giving back. I also enjoy that the people who are in these classes want good solid advice. They want something that they can start using tomorrow. People coming here understand time management challenges and trying to balance everything.

How would you describe your instructional style?

Empathy comes to mind because it’s important to listen to what’s going on. You try to understand the challenges and coach the students through it. When I’m instructing, I focus a large amount on discussions. Students have to post their answer and their logic to a question, and I have to post my answer, too. Discussions are worth a large portion in my courses because it’s important to look at others’ experiences. My experience is just a guide. Students really learn from one another.

What type of backgrounds do your students typically have? What industries do you tend to see represented?

Many of my students are individuals out in the workforce who are involved in project management and business management. They are project managers or they are supporting project managers. Core leadership skills are shared with all industries, which was the premise of my book. Generally, my students come from organizations involved in projects or supporting projects and they want to learn how to do it better or become more recognized as a project manager.

How can project managers leverage the tools of leadership to be effective, especially when working as a peer within the organization?

There are four areas that all project managers need to excel at: (1) pure project manager expertise, (2) core leadership skills, (3) having a risk-smart attitude and (4) embracing accountability-based behavior. There’s a new term (project management leadership) that I’m promoting heavily, because you have to balance project management with leadership. A risk-smart attitude is honestly understanding the reality of your surroundings and where you are now. It’s not about being risk-adverse or risk-seeking, but rather is about acknowledging and managing the two. Project managers also need accountability-based behavior or the willingness to accept the consequences for something they have done or were supposed to do. They could be the big guy or the lowest one, but all project managers have to work with those around them.

What advice would you give to new project managers?

Focus on what is important, not what is easy. Reaching out is a strength, not a weakness. Not knowing something is not a weakness. Know what you know, and be willing to learn new things. That’s the kind of environment I want to set up in my teaching, too, because I always look forward to learning from others. Focus on your ability to establish trust and confidence with your team, stakeholders, and within your organization. The Project Management Leadership Model offers a simple, proven, effective way to help individuals achieve this. If you follow my model, people will trust you.

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