Chapter Twenty - Be The Best SME * Ever! - Dawn J. Mahoney

"We Wish We Had Known - Everyday Tips from Consultants to Grow Your Business"

#Project Management
#Personnel Development

Be The Best SME * Ever!

Dawn J. Mahoney
Learning in the White Space
Professional Facilitator. Speaker. Learning Designer.
dawnjmahoney.com / dawnjmahoney@gmail.com

A few years ago, some colleagues and I developed a sort of tongue-in-cheek set of SME archetypes. (Download the full e-book at dawnjmahoney.com.) We did this because we rely heavily upon SMEs for successfully completing projects. We have learned that it is best to work with each SME archetype in the way that works best for them. We are aware that their contributions to the project are done in addition to everything else they are responsible for. For example:

AWOL

Overscheduled and overwhelmed. This SME is habitually double or triple booked, travels for business without keeping their calendar updated, and is only found at their desk every third Tuesday between 1:37 p.m. and 2:12 p.m.

Busy Bee

      They are the go-to person in their department – for everything. Enthusiastic about the project. Unavailable for the project as they are constantly in other meetings, troubleshooting problems, and making sure that no one’s birthday passes without a cake and a card. Their calendar is jam-packed; mobile device is constantly buzzing.

I Don’t Have a Clue

      Confused and dismayed by their assignment to the project. (Though assigned and authorized by their leader.) Refuse to make decisions or respond to questions. Feign ignorance and avoid taking on project assignments.

Include-it-All

      Insistent that every detail, no matter how inconsequential, must be included. They are experts who are unable to consider the perspective of the novice. Suddenly remembers another “must” late in the project.

Super SME

      Over-confident in their abilities. Prefer to talk, rather than listen. Strong opinions about smallest details. Able to ignore others’ ideas.
Unreliable

      Smart and capable. Terrible at time management and meeting deadlines. Always ready with creative excuses for incomplete or missing assignments. Has no trouble describing the latest crisis that prevented them from meeting a deadline in grave detail.

SMEs are vital to project success. SMEs bring experience, expertise, knowledge, skill, key contacts and insights into organizational culture to the project. Most projects would not be as successful without SMEs. So how to avoid becomingthat SME? Easy: participate.

Ways to help keep projects on track and over the finish line:

·       Insist on a project kick-off event. Roles and responsibilities defined, priorities established, communication preferences, agreement on how project updates are communicated and how often, and schedule for completion laid out.
·       Prioritize the project. Set time aside for the project. Meaning, read and respond to emails, share concerns and updates with the project team, complete reviews and suggested edits, etc.
·       Multitask effectively. SMEs are usually expected to complete project work on top of their regular work and deadlines.
·       Routines matter. Insist that all project meetings, 1:1s, and check-ins are added to calendars now to reduce the need for rounds of rescheduling due to conflicts.
·       Agendas. Insist that meeting agendas are provided in advance.

      Again, SMEs are essential to successfully completing projects. Thank you for choosing to BE THE BEST SME EVER!

DAWN J. MAHONEY

Dawn J. Mahoney, CPTD, is a talent development and instructional design professional who is passionate about developing people through better learning content, better learning strategy, and better dialog.

In 2015, Dawn founded Learning In the White Space, a boutique consultancy devoted to planning a learning strategy and bringing it to life. In addition to her regular work, Dawn currently writes the Last Word column in Training Magazine and is the author of Lean Learning Using the ADDIE Model. Dawn has been fortunate to also publish a course in the Techsmith Academy and has contributed to several other books.

To see more examples of her work, visit the showcase link at, www.linkedin.com/in/dawnjmahoney, https://www.facebook.com/LearningInTheWhiteSpaceLLC

Contact me—Let’s talk!