It Starts (and Ends) at the Top

Andy Jordan is President of Roffensian Consulting S.A., a Roatan, Honduras-based management consulting firm with a comprehensive project management practice. Andy always appreciates feedback and discussion on the issues raised in his articles and can be reached at [email protected]. Andy's new book Risk Management for Project Driven Organizations is now available.

  Decision Making   Leadership   Strategy   ProjectsAtWork  

Project leadership at the executive level too often ends at selection and approval. Leaders must remain present during execution, guiding strategic alignment, championing objectives and goals, and driving decision-making when change requires it. Is your organization set up for project success, starting at the top?

There is a strong movement in project management to improve alignment between strategy and project execution. PMOs are being asked to take on more strategic roles, portfolio management is becoming more commonplace and distributed across organizations, and project selection, alignment and benefits delivery have become increasingly important areas of focus. These are all significant changes, and they can dramatically improve the chances of projects delivering on the strategic goals of the enterprise.

However, this push cannot solely be focused on the execution elements; there must also be consideration of the executive and leadership role in delivering project success in this model. There is a dangerous perception that leadership’s work is done once the organizational direction is set, the goals and objectives are established, and the resulting initiatives are approved. One CEO even said to me, “We complete our work on this before the annual portfolio ever begins — once the projects are approved, it’s up to project execution.” Actually, no, that’s where the work is …

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