Who do I have to please?

 

Situation: Every problem can make you feel like you have to please a thousand different people who all want different things. However, the problem isn’t only “who do I please?” It is also, “which needs are truly important?”

(This is a partial chapter excerpt from the book, Project Pain Reliever)

Warning Signs

• You are wasting a lot of time going back and forth between people, and trying to figure out what your project should accomplish.
• No one seems to be confident in your ability to deliver.

What will happen if I do nothing?

Trying to please everyone means that you will end up pleasing no one. This is how a lot of folks lose their jobs or get moved to a position that doesn’t require managing people.

Solution

You need a clear set of goals and a real understanding of how everyone’s needs affect what you’re doing. In short, you need:

1. A high-level executive, a sponsor, whose work is closely tied to the outcome of your project, to make the tough calls.
2. A scope document to make sure that you understand exactly what needs to be done.
3. A defined way to work with the sponsor to address everyone else’s needs.

What should I do?

When you don’t know who to please, you need to identify a sponsor as the one person you need to please most. Then, you need to develop a scope document, which essen- tially outlines how you will please that person and accomplish something really valuable to the organization.

There are two sets of people you need to be concerned with when managing a project: sponsors and stakeholders. The sponsor is the one you ultimately answer to. He or she should work with you to define “success” in a way that also pleases stakeholders.

the new application. Tons of effort would need to be spent beyond the application itself, but the efforts needed to be done to make everything work together.

It was clear to Susie that none of the additional needs could be addressed without causing massive delays and increased costs to the project. Rather than send the email she had composed in her head, telling everyone to forget their needs and wants, Susie took a deep breath and tried to figure out what to do next.

Focusing Your Efforts
You define “success” in a scope document. Then you stick to doing what is in the scope document and accomplish what you set out to do.

5(a) Sponsor

Gather what you have in terms of goals and support materials, and make sure you have the best description of what the project aims to do before looking for a spon- sor. Then identify your sponsor “candidates.” In this context, the best sponsor will most likely be someone you know or at least know of. It may or may not be the person to whom you’ve been reporting status. Think about:

• Executives you report to.
• Executives tied to the function.
• Which executive has the most to lose if your project fails?

To identify a sponsor, think about these questions:

• Who has the financial power to be a sponsor for this project? 
• Who has the political influence in the organization to be a sponsor?
• Who has a history of backing successful projects?
• Will this sponsor defend the project as it runs into challenges or starts to lose organizational support?
• Would you have a good working relationship?
• Who will provide the project direction and focus, and at the same time, ask the right questions to help you be successful? 
• Is the sponsor positioned to take ownership in the resulting product of the project?

The sponsor is a “buck stops here” person. He or she is a business leader within the organization who:

• Is tied to the success of your project in a meaningful way. 
• Helps define the scope and objectives of the project.
• Sets priorities and resolves conflicts.
• Has the power to make changes to the project in order to achieve the goal(s).
• Can approve assignment of people and resources.
• Has enough influence to communicate effectively to every group involved in the project.
• Communicates with the executive team to ensure continued support.

Think about the first three bullet points for a moment. Someone in the business above you has likely committed to executive management that your project will be a success. His or her reputation probably depends on it. You just need to make the sponsorship role clear and official, so that there is a single person (or small group) that can define success and resolve conflicts.

Once the right person has agreed to be your sponsor, work with them to identify stakeholders and plan to address their needs. Also, work with them to set and document the project scope.

5(b) Stakeholders

The project’s stakeholders are probably all of the people who have been asking you for things. They have a vested interest in the project, and would like to make their priorities yours. This isn’t a bad thing, but you can’t please everyone. Identify and group stakeholders with the help of your sponsor. Understand whose needs you can and cannot serve, which needs are incompatible with each other, and any conflicts those needs may present.

To understand what you are dealing with, you want to first separate stakeholders into groups. Ask yourself, are stakeholders:

• End-users of what the project is creating?
• People whose jobs will be affected by what you are doing? 
• People who will be better or worse off in a specific way, based on the outcome of the project?
• People who are on competing projects?
• Sharing other reasons to care about your project?

Grouping stakeholders will give you a better idea of what you are dealing with. You can’t give people everything that they want, but hopefully you can give them what they need by working with the sponsor to create an effective scope document.

5(c) Scope document

Then you will work with your sponsor to create a scope document. The scope document defines what you are doing and NOT doing. At a minimum, it defines:

• The goals and objectives of the project.
• How the project aligns with your organization’s goals and strategies.
• Assumptions that you’ve made about the project (things you assume are already taken care of).
• Constraints that you are placing on the project (objectives you are NOT trying to achieve or items that you will NOT do).

The scope document can include other items and take various forms. Often, it is a business case or project charter, but the important part is that your participating in the project is documented, agreed upon, and reflective of the sponsor’s definition of success.