Strategic Project Management

P.T. Barnum once said, "Without promotion, something terrible happens ... nothing."

Barnum wasn't talking about projects or promoting the goals and objectives associated with them, but he could have been. Keeping project teams focused on the right things requires that they all understand what the right things are. When team members don't understand their role and how it plays into the bigger picture of the project they're working on, it's difficult for them to know whether or not their contribution has any value.

Most people gain great satisfaction by contributing to something bigger than themselves. When project team members understand project objectives and how their role contributes to that objective, they can do more than simply complete tasks—they can contribute at a higher level and ultimately impact project success.

Like many things associated with the project management process, it isn't really very complicated to make this happen, but it does require effort. However the costs associated with ignoring these simple yet powerful ideas could be costly.

Although it's possible for projects to do reasonably well with a team that does nothing more than show up and complete tasks, most organizations need more out of their project teams than people simply going through the motions. This kind of atmosphere eventually ends up in lower productivity, apathy and eventually project failure.

1. The first key to success is to make sure that everyone understands the purpose—the circumstances that initiated the project in the first place and the expected outcome of a successful project.
2. Connect the dots. Make sure everyone on the team understands how their role contributes to the project objectives. When team members feel they are making a relevant contribution to the project outcome, they take more pride in their work, contribute at a higher level and take ownership of their responsibilities.
3. Create a transparent environment where stakeholders have visibility into what project teams are doing and project teams have a view of what's motivating decisions.

When everyone (sponsors, team members and other stakeholders) are all on the same page, projects are more likely to achieve successful outcomes.

What are you doing to keep everyone on the project team focused and informed?

Have you ever read the instructions on a bottle of shampoo?

The very nature of projects makes the thought of such simple instructions laughable, right? If it were that simple, organizations wouldn't need project managers, project teams would become a thing of the past, birds would sing, flowers would bloom and all would be good in the world. Unfortunately, nothing about managing projects is that easy.

That being said, I know of a project manager in the medical industry with an interesting story. His teams are sent around the world to help operating rooms keep track of their surgical instruments and keep patients safe from infection. Although the installation procedure for the software and other equipment they install is not the same in every hospital, they have established a standardized procedure for every project. By capturing and templating best practices, they have created a best-case scenario for every project—making it possible for every installation to come off flawlessly, regardless of who is doing the installation.

About a year ago, Gartner described how they see repetitive work fitting into the project management landscape. Although what we traditionally call "projects" isn't repeatable work, in most projects there are building blocks that tend to repeat. Project leaders who are able to capture and template those building blocks are able to streamline the planning process when new requests come in, create a more predictable and efficient environment for project teams and ultimately enjoy a higher level of project success. In the above mentioned Gartner report, Audrey Apfel and her colleagues suggest that our role as project leaders should be to move from managing projects to managing value and change. I agree.

Are there similarities that exist in your projects from one to the next? Are there areas where applying a template makes sense? Would doing so improve team performance and the likelihood of project success?

I have to admit, I've never known anyone who wakes up in the morning and thinks, "I wanna suck today!" Without exception, I can't think of anyone I have ever worked with who didn't want to excel and be successful at their job.

I'm writing this while in Boston. I don't travel very much, but I do occasionally have the opportunity to board a plane, sleep in a hotel room and ride in a taxi. I've spent the last few days in Boston speaking to a group of IT professionals from the healthcare industry. The 3rd Annual World Congress Leadership Summit for Project Management is taking place at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge in Boston this week. I've never stayed in a Hyatt (I usually wind up in a Marriott), but I must admit to being impressed with everyone from the housekeeping staff to the friendly faces at the front desk.

Over the last couple of days I've gone through security at three different airports and dealt with Delta Airlines personnel in Salt Lake City, New York and Boston—all of whom have been friendly and helpful. Even most of the taxi drivers in Boston seemed interested in doing their job the best they could.

That doesn't mean that there weren't a few times that someone dropped the ball—it happens, but I didn't run into anyone who was trying to "suck."

During the conference, I spoke with a couple of people about something I think is foundational to helping project team members succeed. I'm sure there might have been someone overhearing us that dismissed our conversation because of the simple nature of what I was suggesting—but I think they would be overlooking something very powerful. At least it has proven to be worthwhile throughout my career.

I'm convinced that people really want to do a good job—they just need to know what we define as a good job. When people have a clear understanding of what's expected of them, they know that they are going to give an accounting of how they performed against that expectation and will be rewarded or otherwise acknowledged for performing well, people are more productive and do a better job.

Over the last 30 or so years I've seen this approach work time and time again. It doesn't matter what industry you work in or what discipline you practice, if people know what success looks like they work hard to achieve it. Nobody wants to "suck."

I'd be interested to know what you do to make sure the members of your projects teams understand what success is and what they need to do to be successful. I believe it has to be more than simply showing up and completing tasks. How do you measure success on the project team?

Last Spring while working in London, my colleagues and I spent one evening exploring the city and found ourselves in the Sunday evening crowds around Piccadilly Square. Wandering around, we came across a Haagen Dazs® ice cream shop and thought we'd order one of their delicious milk shakes. Like every other time we've been on the road and thought one of these delicious ice cream confections sounded good, the place was reasonably busy. We took our place in line (or the queue if your in England) and patiently waited our turn.

It wasn't long before some self-important guy with fancy shoes bust in expecting his order to be taken—however he'd tried to enter at the wrong end of the queue. Upset that he had been ignored (while uttering a number of expletives) he stormed out frustrated that the person behind the counter had the nerve to expect him to take his place at the back of the line.

This is not an uncommon problem in many organizations. All too often it feels like the squeaky wheel gets the most attention while more important work sits patiently in the queue waiting. Sometimes because of the title or authority of the "squeaker," insignificant work gets top priority—which makes capacity planning problematic at best and impossible in many cases.

In my opinion, before we can accurately capacity plan, we need to effectively manage the queue. This is much easier for project teams that work on the same types of projects on a regular basis; and more challenging for companies that are always doing 0n-off, special projects—but it can be done.

When I first started managing projects I used a whiteboard to manage the queue. It worked, but it required me to capture email requests, assignments made in meetings and other requests manually. I'd then add them to the queue, prioritize them and begin the project planning process. I liked the fact that the whiteboard was on the wall in front of my desk and that I could keep an eye on my projects and how the team was progressing—but it wasn't very efficient. I spent a lot of time at the board updating status, re-prioritizing and making notes. Good, but not great.

Although I'm not a certified "Scrum Master" I have led a Sprint or two. I like the idea of the backlog, which is a lot more efficient than my old whiteboard, but it has its limitations.

Managing the queue becomes really important when your team does a lot of ad hoc work like my team does. Sometimes things fit nicely into a work breakdown structure, but this isn't always the case. In a recent webinar, I heard Forrester's Tim Harmon suggest that for most knowledge workers over fifty percent of their work is what he calls unstructured/ad hoc work. In conversations I've had with project leaders over the last year, they all tell the same story: there's a lot of work done by project teams that are short-duration one-off requests from colleagues, managers from other departments and peers that eat up a lot of team members' time. Sometimes the project manager might know about these requests so he can accommodate them within his or her capacity plan, but not always.

I use our software to help manage my queue. Some of the most commonly requested project types are templated with the building blocks (established by best practice) already in place so we can apply them as needed to any upcoming plan. Internal customers can enter their request into the queue and I can prioritize, plan and execute as needed. Even one-off task requests come through the queue so I can add them to my work list, prioritize, take care of them myself or assign them to another member of the team. Managing the queue makes it much easier for me to address the likelihood that a new project request can be completed and when it might be executed with the person making the request. The queue informs the discussion about capacity and prioritization—making it easier to say "no" when needed or to "pivot" and change gears when required.

Before we can manage capacity, we need to manage the queue. I know what works for me. What works for you?

This has been a concern of mine for some time—and I'm not alone. A few weeks ago I read an interesting excerpt from The Enemy of Engagement: Put an End to Workplace Frustration—and Get the Most From Your Employees, by Mark Royal and Tom Agnew. I don't think there's any question that most of us understand the importance of engaging the team to maximize their value and contribution to the projects they contribute to, Royal and Agnew suggest two key concerns:

1. Building employee's confidence in the future of the organization (though Clear & Promising Direction, Confidence in Leaders, Quality & Customer Focus) as well as employees' roles in it (i.e., Development Opportunities).
2. Ensuring that employees are adequately rewarded for their contributions to company success (through Pay & Benefits and Respect & Recognition).

Sometimes I think organizations think they can have their cake and eat it too—particularly in the world's current economic situation. However, keeping the best employees involves making sure they have opportunities they perceive will enhance their skills and allow them to develop professionally. It's not enough that they have a job. They need to have confidence in the organization and that the time they spend at XYX company will provide growth opportunities and help their career. They also want to know that what they do provides benefit to the world at large. If we don't give our team members the opportunity to grow and develop career-enhancing skills and they see what they do as meaningless (and making the boss a multimillionaire isn't meaningful enough) engagement will suffer. And ultimately turnover will be the result. Earlier this year I shared my thoughts on helping team members advance their careers, I think it matters—if we want to keep our best people.

Whether we like it or not, the workplace is changing. Part of that change is the workforce, but it also includes the social contract the workforce shares with the organization. The authors suggest, "Because the social contract surrounding the employment relationship has been redefined, and the old loyalty-for-­security bargain has been cast aside, employees are increasingly aware that they are responsible for managing and developing their own careers and that their futures depend on continuous elevation of their skills. If they are not expanding their capabilities, they risk compromising their employability, within their current organizations or elsewhere. Accordingly, opportunities for growth and development are among the most consistent predictors of employee engagement."

I understand that many organizations are operating very lean in the current economic situation. I get it. Everyone is being asked to do more from the CEO on down. With that being said, today's workforce wants validation (recognition) that what they're doing is meaningful and important to the organization. I agree with Royal and Agnew when they suggest that comes in two forms:

1. Pay & Benefits: Earlier this year I read Daniel Pink's book Drive. He suggests that  we can take extrinsic motivations (like compensation) out of the equation by paying people enough to take that discussion off the table. I think he's right. People do their best work when they're not worried about money. This doesn't mean that organizations need to go to the poor house to keep employees' happy. In fact, I believe it's really less about exactly how much someone is paid and more about whether or not the compensation is fair and the employee feels like the organization is more concerned about getting the most they can for as little as they are forced to pay than the employee.
2. Respect & Recognition: Most people are proud of what they do. They want their peers and colleagues to have visibility into their accomplishments. I'm convinced this is one reason why social media is so popular. Make an update, receive feedback and validation. As project leaders, if we can foster an environment where people receive regular feedback about what they're doing and their contribution, the team will be more engaged, take ownership of their tasks and roles and be more productive. I know this is something that feels too touchy-feelie for a lot of project managers—but get over it. It's not about sticking stars on their foreheads, it's about making sure everyone on the team knows that their contribution is valuable and that they know that their managers know that their contributions are valuable.

Needless to say, this is another book I've added to my reading list.

Do I think their is a talent crisis coming? Yes. If we're not careful, we're going to lose our best talent to organizations that will take the above two concerns seriously, leaving us with a challenging talent imbalance.