Is Voluntary Team Member Participation in the PPM Process Possible?

 

It's no secret that more and more organizations are turning to project management methodologies to help increase efficiencies across the enterprise.  However, the greatest single challenge to successful adoption of project management best practice is a lack of voluntary team member participation in the process.  The traditional command-and-control or top-down management approach just doesn't work with today's workforce, resulting in:

1. Project information that executives don't trust
2. An overly structured management environment that people dislike
3. Frustrated project teams whose accomplishments go unrecognizedI believe taking a more social approach to the project management process in general could provide an answer to the overall lack of team member participation in the project management process.

If we ask ourselves, "What is it about social networking tools that have drawn so much participation?"  I think we can point to a number of things including:

1. Ease of use
2. People receive positive feedback and recognition from their network of friends
3. People can share conversational (qualitative) information about what they are doing with their friends

Regardless of the project management methods used by your organization, a more social approach to project management needs to accomplish the following to fuel greater voluntary team participation:

1. Empower the Front Line:  This is important because the people closer to the work understand it better.  Facilitate greater individual ownership over priorities and commitments by enabling team members to make public commitments, take ownership over deadlines and milestones, and prioritize their own work.
2. Capture the Real Story: The most significant factor to improving data accuracy is to capture more qualitative information.  Providing frequent and more descriptive updates delvers greater visibility and enables a richer understanding of the real story.  Qualitative information flowing upward in organizations gives managers and executives the ability to follow conversations on relevant initiatives.
3. Recognize Accomplishments: People, not technology, ensure project success.  Focusing on people fosters discussion, highlights accomplishments, and keeps everyone engaged.  Make it possible for people to receive recognition for their accomplishments, and comment on other's work and accomplishments, to foster an environment where everyone's work contributions are visible to peers and managers.

In my opinion, it really is people that are the key to project success.  Which is why facilitating an environment where collaboration, innovation, and efficiency requires that the solution address the needs of everyone involved in the work management process—starting at the front lines.