Untangling the Project Organizational Chart

Kenneth has 14 years of healthcare experience in government and private industry. Over eight years of experience managing healthcare IT projects, operations, contracts, and personnel. His work experience includes project management, contracts and procurements, data analysis, claims adjudication, business writing, and business process modeling. Kenneth was certified in 2006 as a Project Management Professional.

  Organizational Project Management   Talent Management  

When a project is conceived and laid out for the first time, the project manager will probably have an idea for organizing the resources that will work on the project. There will be clear lines of management and responsibilities will be assigned in a logical manner in order to get the work done. As the team is assembled, though, there will be more and more people touching the organizational chart--managers, influencers, stakeholders and so on. It is not unheard of to find a simple organizational chart turned into a nightmare of lines strung all over the page like a maze that has no solution.

There are many situations that could lead to a tangled mess. It might be that the project manager was handed the organization instead of creating it, or it might be that the mess has developed in the organization over time and all projects are approached in the same convoluted manner. The matrix of the organization can also create havoc in the organizational chart. Most often, though, as the project grows from conception to execution there are just too many fingers stirring up the organization pot and it becomes a pungent stew instead of a fragrant soup (no offense intended to good strong stews).

Whatever the reason is (and whether the organization is a strong matrix or a weak matrix), it is up to the project manager to untangle the mess so that project resources can do their job…

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