Strategic Project Management

I'm a big believer in fostering an environment that develops effective project leaders.

While talking to a colleague the other day, this topic came up and we came to the conclusion that effective project leaders make decisions. Of course, that's not the only difference, but part of what sets a strong project leader apart is their ability to make a decision, effectively present it to a group of stakeholders and achieve consensus. In fact, my colleague (who's been a project professional for many years) suggested that the project management role used to be a testing ground for future executives. A project manager who couldn't execute on strategy and make smart decisions would quickly be replaced with someone they could train for some kind of executive role. (In fact, she argued that the focus on process, at the exclusion of leadership skills, is a relatively new project management development.)

This is very consistent with a conversation I had with a large appliance manufacturer a couple of years ago. They use their new product launch process (that includes 500+ tasks and last about 18 months) as a way to train their future executive leadership. It was described to me as the "trial by fire" training method. She indicated that it was a very effective way to determine who had the "right stuff" for leading people and getting work done.

With that in mind, here are three questions that must be answered to make good decisions:

1. Who can make decisions? At the beginning of every project the "who" question needs to be answered. Nobody likes to "mother, may I" every decision. That being said, some organizations give project leaders more autonomy than others. Knowing upfront who has decision-making authority makes the process a lot smoother.
2. What decisions can they make? Once you know who has decision-making authority, it's important to determine what type of decisions can be made. It's frustrating to everyone involved when this is unclear. Project leaders who make decisions and begin to execute only to discover that they are summarily over-ruled soon avoid making decisions and become ineffective.
3. How should decisions be made? Establishing a decision-making process helps enable those with decision-making responsibility and train those new to making project decisions. How proper decisions are made is every bit as important as who makes them.

Many project managers are stuck in roles that allow them no authority to make decisions. This is a mistake in a business climate that needs project professionals to step up and lead teams that can consistently provide value to their organizations. In my humble opinion, the project management role needs to evolve into a real leadership role if projects are ever going to provide the business value we all believe they can. Making decisions is a big part of doing that.

Tell us about what happens within your organization. Should project managers have more autonomous decision-making authority?

 

I hope Jo Ann Sweeny won't mind if I talk about this, but her WorthWorking Summit caught my eye this morning. "We all know employees give of their best when they believe their company is worth working for," she says. "Uncover how to improve employees' attitudes and behaviors so yours is a company worth working for."

Although her post is an ad for the conference, it got me thinking about the work environment and whether or not our project teams are worth the effort ... or worth working for. I wonder if worthwhile teams have something in common? You might want to check out the conference and see if it's something you might be interested in. The link above will take you there.

In the mean time, I would welcome your thoughts on what makes your teams worth the effort. I think it's safe to say that a great team culture or dynamic is important, but I have to believe that there's more to it than that. Share what you do, and we'll post the results in a few days. It will be interesting to see what project managers in the real world do to keep teams motivated and engaged.

What do you do to make your project team worth working for?
 

Ian Fleming created the character James Bond in the 1953 novel Casino Royale. Bond is also featured in one of the longest running and most successful English-language film franchises ever, starting with Dr. No in 1962. Bond, agent 007, an officer of the British Secret Intelligence service MI6 has been the go-to guy when the mission was dangerous, the women were beautiful and the cars were fast, for a very long time. Fortunately, you don't need 007 to have accurate project intelligence.

Business leaders need accurate and reliable information for informing decisions. This includes both quantitative and qualitative information. Executives who leverage solutions that capture better information are able to keep an accurate pulse on their business and make proactive decisions. Let me share two keys to improving the quality of the information used to make project decisions:

1. Capture Information at the Source: The people closest to the work understand it best. Involving team members in project plans promotes a greater sense of ownership over priorities and commitments. Allowing team members to make public commitments, take ownership and prioritize their work changes the team dynamic from "you will do this" to "we will do this together." Most project management methodologies focus on planning and solving problems at the project manager or executive level (the traditional top-down management approach). I believe a more effective approach engages individual team members in the process, encourages real dialog and captures a more accurate flow of project information.
2. Capture the Whole Story: The most significant way to improve the value of the data collected is to capture more qualitative information. Encouraging a flow of conversational (qualitative) information, and providing frequent and more descriptive updates, delivers greater visibility and an understanding of the complete story. Qualitative information flowing upward in organizations gives managers and executives the ability to follow conversations on related initiatives—along with a greater sense of confidence in the data used to make decisions.

Considering how individual team members interact with the project management process and how that positively impacts the quality of the information used for making decisions is important. Engaging the front line with project management software or project tools that help capture accurate and up-to-date information that can be trusted for making informed decisions is critical. You may even find yourself sitting back in your chair and softly whispering, "Bond, James Bond."

What are you doing in your organization to encourage a more people-centric approach to managing projects?

 

We don't do it often, but there are times when putting together a big and complicated puzzle is a fun and rewarding family activity. It will sometimes take several days to do it, and those times when we do tend to put a puzzle out on the card table are during holidays or other special occasions when all the kids are home visiting.

As fun as successfully finishing a puzzle can be, getting to the end and finding that all the pieces aren't there is incredibly frustrating. You need all the pieces to finish successfully ... sound familiar?

I think it's pretty safe to say that most of us recognize that without a project team and a project leader, not much gets done. They are critical parts of the project management puzzle. However, just like the tiny parts of the puzzle that aren't the easiest to find (yet without them the puzzle wouldn't be finished), I don't think we can ignore the other players who contribute to project success. In my opinion, the role project stakeholders play is critical to project success.

Although there are times when a project might not require a formal project sponsor, there are many times when they do. In fact, there are times when a project without a sponsor could even be doomed to fail. However, simply having a sponsor isn't enough. Let me share a couple of sponsor issues that can contribute to an unfinished project puzzle:

1. The sponsor's role is not clearly defined: Don't assume that the project sponsor knows his or her role in the project. Most business people don't really understand the project management process (they just think they do). Make sure sponsor know exactly what's expected of them. It's never a good idea to make them guess about their role. They will appreciate the explanation and you will appreciate the results.
2. You sponsor falls out of the loop: If your sponsor doesn't have the political clout within your organization to help you push issues forward, he or she won't add much value to the project. It's important to pay attention to how connected your sponsor is to the decision-makers in your organization. Remember, ineffective executives sometimes get the ax too. Don't let your project languish on the chopping block along with them.

Sponsor relationships should add value to your project. If they don't, you may need to evaluate whether it's the way you interact with your sponsor, or whether you simply have the wrong piece to you project management puzzle.

What do you do to manage sponsor relationships? Have you ever had to work with a sponsor who was "out of the loop?"

 

I read an interesting article this morning written by George Roberts, It's Time for Senior Managers to Look in the Mirror, published in the OpenView Labs newsletter. Although Roberts is talking about evaluating the performance of the executive team, and himself (the Chief Executive), I think his comments are valid for project leaders too.

With the start of every new year, organizations are doing annual reviews and evaluating how they did over the previous year. I think this is a good idea for project teams. However, Roberts brings up something we should keep in mind. He suggests, "...it's sometimes easy to evaluate [others], but how often do you turn the mirror on yourself?"

He may be right when he suggests, "The truth is, it doesn't happen often enough." It's always easier to see the faults and shortcomings of others—and decidedly more difficult to see one's own weaknesses. For example, what are the odds that you are the only person on your project team of above average intelligence? I mean really? Is it possible that you contributed to some of the challenges your project team had to overcome last year?

"More than likely" is the right answer.

Roberts suggests three things we should ask ourselves as we look in the mirror:

1. What am I doing well?
2. what am I not doing well?
3. What can I do better?

Simple questions, but honest answers could be very revealing. With the start of a new quarter, a new year, and potentially another year's worth of new projects, now is as good a time as any (and maybe even the best time) to look in the mirror and ask ourselves three simple questions.

What do you think? When was the last time YOU looked in the mirror?