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Leading a Successful PMO: 10 Real-World Strategies
Michael R. Wood is a Business Process Improvement & IT Strategist Independent Consultant. He is creator of the business process-improvement methodology called HELIX and founder of The Natural Intelligence Group, a strategy, process improvement and technology consulting company. He is also a CPA, has served as an Adjunct Professor in Pepperdine's Management MBA program, an Associate Professor at California Lutheran University, and on the boards of numerous professional organizations. Mr. Wood is a sought after presenter of HELIX workshops and seminars in both the U.S. and Europe.
Managing the project portfolio can turn into a real juggling act if you are not careful. Imagine the pressure of having 10, 30, 50 or more projects in the pipeline, some active, some in the middle of implementation with an ever-growing backlog of projects waiting in the wings. The secret to leading a successful PMO might just be avoiding the pitfalls of having too many project balls in the air at one time, while not having the PMO be the black hole of project oblivion.
Before the emergence of PMOs, most organizations looked to the CIO to manage the portfolio of “IT” projects. As corporate leaders become more enlightened they come to realize that there are few “IT” projects but many enterprise-enabling ones with a vast array of stakeholders…and thus the PMO was born.
Leading the successful PMO requires a unique blend of prudent judgment and finesse that is rare among the CIO and CFO crowd. Simultaneously maintaining an enterprise-wide perspective and real-world sensitivity to the needs of local and geographically dispersed business units can be overwhelming and energy-draining if not properly balanced.
Every CIO knows what it is like to be caught in the middle of a war of competing priorities. Yet it is the nature of the PMO to be in that war 24/7. Is it any wonder why so many PMOs are dysfunctional or have become steeped in bureaucratic …
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