The Virtue of Patience

Joe Wynne is a versatile Project Manager experienced in delivering medium-scope projects in large organizations that improve workforce performance and business processes. He has a proven track record of delivering effective, technology-savvy solutions in a variety of industries and a unique combination of strengths in both process management and workforce management.

  Communications Management   Organizational Project Management   PMO   Talent Management  

“What is going on here?”

That is the question in your mind early on in the Control phase after a key customer service team manager accuses you of inappropriate interference in his process, which--for your edification--happens to be “a key strategic priority.” This is the latest example of a series of communication breakdowns and a pitifully slow project performance ramp-up. You have simply been following your charter and great gantthead-based project management practices, so…I repeat…what is going on here?

When you are in a project that is part of a large organizational change, there is a generally predictable response from employees as a whole. It doesn’t matter whether the change is replacing an old clunky system with a major new efficient system or creating support for a new corporate service or integrating a merger or acquisition. You get a predictable response as the organization gradually progresses from anxiety to acceptance to participation.

But this organizational response is an amalgam of the response of individuals--the individuals you work with. For you as a project manager, the problem is that you are trying to complete your project collaborating with these individuals, who--depending on how long after the change was announced--may appear disoriented, stressed out, confused, irrational, stubborn, unstable, …

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