Project management in business management
For the better part of a year and a half, Nicolas De Greef has been at the helm of Equalminds. Before that, he was one of the Agile consultants. That’s a position that demands rock-solid project management skills. And now those same skills are proving crucial in his new role. Project management in business management. Enjoy your read!
“Now I am using my project management skills much more broadly, to lead and expand Equalminds,” says Nicolas. Today, as managing partner, he can confidently confirm what he had suspected all along. You need an armory of project management skills to run a business. “You must maintain a good overview. As a business manager, it’s best to look at things from a bird’s eye view. A habit that I had already acquired as a project manager. That helps a lot.”
By way of clarification, Nicolas likes to compare the project manager’s role with that of the analyst. “The analyst goes into great depth — that’s the nature of the job. But as a project manager, you naturally take a broader approach. Think of a fire-fighting helicopter that must put out fires all over the place as quickly as possible. An analyst can put out a single fire very effectively, but in the meantime, new fires are starting that the analyst can’t even see.”
Inspect and adapt
Does that mean he never digs down as a business leader? “Absolutely not,” Nicolas says resolutely. “But you have to know when you can and should do that. For example, I have set times in my schedule when I critically examine both my performance and our business plans. Then adjusting if necessary.”
Nicolas mentions annual budget setting and the monthly review as an example of such “inspect and adapt” moments. “That’s an opportunity to look critically. For me, budgeting and financial controlling aren’t about going into an ivory tower and coming out with a finished budget set in stone. I work with a sincere desire to challenge and improve myself. And I expect the same ambition and agility from our team and everyone who wants to work here.”
People work
It sounds like a cliché but running a company — just like managing a project — is first and foremost about working with people. “You have to be able to motivate the people around you. Also and especially when things aren’t going well or as planned. That requires a positive attitude and good communication skills,” says Nicolas. “As a project manager, I was already used to managing a team and taking on a coaching role. As a business manager, I’ll continue to do that, albeit on a somewhat larger scale, of course.”
Now more than ever, Nicolas sees it as his mission to help his colleagues grow in their jobs. “Equalminds is an inquisitive company that wants to grow based on knowledge and skills. To encourage and further sharpen that inquisitiveness, I’ve drawn up an individual development plan for all our colleagues, in consultation with our HR managers.”
Constant improvement
“At Equalminds, we don’t just want to grow based on routine,” Nicolas explains. “We strive for constant improvement, a reflex that is inspired by our Agile way of working. Constant improvement requires an Agile but critical mind. With an open culture that thrives on free communication. For example, I (try to) regularly ask for feedback from the people around me. Again, based on the idea that I will learn something from them this will benefit my performance and ultimately the organization as a whole.”
“Within Equalminds, you can be both ambitious and critical. That’s what we expect from each other. But always in a positive way,” Nicolas concludes. “We believe healthy communication is important and we recruit for that. On top of that, we want to write the Equalminds growth story. But it must remain a human story first and foremost. We don’t want to keep growing at any cost, and we’re determined to take the time to consciously create the space to reflect.”
