Topic Teasers Vol. 33: People Complexity!

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  Complexity   Talent Management  

There is a very complex project my team has been assigned. It’s not that it’s that large, it’s just entangled between many teams, departments and external stakeholders. I can plot endless dependencies of the tangibles, but I sense the make-or-break portion of this project will rest on the people factor. Other than the obvious, what do I need to be on guard to notice?

A. Once the Work Breakdown Structure is in place, spend your time in talking with each stakeholder and each team member at least once a day. If they know you are watching them, the project will finish faster and more successfully.

B.  As a project manager, you already know the obvious realities about managing teams and communicating with stakeholders. Think of--and plan how you can address--additional possible thought processes and potential human pitfalls that can impact your project unfavorably.

C. To succeed in the face of complexity, you need to trust everyone involved to do their best. Assign work, walk away and have faith that it will come in on time and support the corporate goals as planned.

D. The real villains in complex projects are the external stakeholders. Once they set the first round of functional and technical requirements, keep them removed from seeing the project results until at least the first six months have passed.

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