Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
Mutual Trust: Achieving Success With Your Sponsor
Categories:
Career Development
Categories: Career Development
| Projects can be very complex -- a bit of a jumble of various considerations. As Wendy Mason's comment on my last post suggested, reducing project success to achieving scope, schedule and budget objectives is overly simplistic. Success on a project has to be measured in many dimensions and according to changing circumstances. As Sergio Flores commented, there is risk inherent in every project. There are things beyond the control of the project manager and in some cases project managers simply make mistakes. When a project manager takes on a project, he or she enters into a partnership with the sponsor. The sponsor depends on the project manager's ability to bring the project to fruition, and the project manager depends on the soundness of the sponsor's ideas. They share in each other's potential success and each must be willing to face the risk of failure. It's human nature to inherently push ourselves beyond our limits. The willingness of a sponsor and project manager to enter into a partnership knowing that there are risks is a testimony to this spirit. I believe that the very possibility of failure makes success all the more exhilarating. And because we're social creatures, I believe the possibility of mutual failure makes mutual success all the more exhilarating. Is it a disservice to the sponsor for a project manager to enter into a partnership when there is a distinct possibility of failure? I think not. In fact, I think it would be a grave disservice to decline to do so for fear of failure. At a personal level, I rather like the idea of my sponsor and I betting on each other to succeed. We could lose, sure. But the fact that we could lose, together, makes the possibility of winning together all the more compelling. What do you think about mutual success and failure with your sponsor? |
Finding the Shortest Path to Project Success
Categories:
Teams
Categories: Teams
| What's the shortest possible path from project initiation to completion? You might say it depends on the size of the project or the work involved. But there's always a shorter path than the one you have in mind -- even for larger projects. There's always a solution that makes better use of resources while providing faster delivery times. It's like when you play Scrabble® and come up with a word combination that uses the fewest letters and still gives you the highest point value. Say you walked into a job interview, for example, and you were hired on the spot. Although it seems impossible to get hired just by walking into the room, it's the ability to recognize the possibility that allows you to open yourself up to ideas that you'd otherwise discount. So what's wrong with the way you currently manage a project from initiation to completion? Maybe nothing. But what if you could get there faster? Try asking these questions to help you create the space in which actions towards the shortest path will arise:
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Are We Self-Organized Yet?
Categories:
Agile
Categories: Agile
| The Agile Manifesto calls for teams to be "self organized," but this is often easier said than done. The manifesto states, "The best architectures, requirements and designs emerge from self-organizing teams." This can be a challenge for some team members. Project managers on traditional teams may be more comfortable working alone than working closely with each other, as Agile demands. So how can they implement self-organization? Here are some ways to know if your team is self-organized: 1) Actions taken after Scrum meetings. Good teams have frequent exchanges during the daily standup meetings. Are people mentioning problems and are teammates offering help? Do members take collaborative actions to solve those problems after the meeting? Watch for teams where people remain individually focused. 2) Flexible roles. Members on self-organized teams will be able to support each other by handling tasks outside their usual specialties. 3) Communication. Self-organized teams will use immediate forms of communication: text messages, instant messages, phone and even walking to each other's desk. 4) Role of the project manager. On self-organized teams, the project manager will spend less time assigning work, and more time facilitating the team as work is "pulled" from the backlog. 5) Role of the manager. The project manager's boss does less hands-on direct planning, but more coaching, rewarding and gathering resources for the team. Teams may also benefit from better understanding of diverse personality styles (See my post: Making the Most of Team Differences). The benefits of self-organization are not just a better product. You will sense renewed energy in the team. Is your Agile team self-organized? What benefits do you find in that structure? |
Valuing Your Employee Stakeholders
Categories:
Stakeholder Management
Categories: Stakeholder Management
| Rewarding good performance helps keep employee stakeholders motivated during projects. But there's a difference between the methods many businesses use to motivate people and what actually works. Simple financial incentives and other "carrot and stick" methods have been shown to be largely ineffective motivators, especially for employees on your team. And these incentives can be totally inappropriate if applied to stakeholders outside of the organization. Instead, rewards should address our deep need for: Autonomy: The desire to direct our own lives Mastery: The urge to get better at our work and be successful Purpose: The yearning to work in the service of something larger than ourselves Rewards don't need to be huge, but they should be visible to the entire team. They can be as simple as acknowledging a job well done in a daily stand-up meeting. Or it can be more substantive, such as granting greater autonomy or responsibility. As a leader, you must allow employee stakeholders the freedom to define their work within appropriate boundaries. Provide opportunities for them to develop new skills and link your team's work to the objectives of the organization or a larger social benefit, where possible. So where can you start? Rather than instructing the team member receiving the award on what to do and when to finish, offer a little bounded autonomy by asking how he or she can best achieve the objective of the task and how quickly it can be accomplished. If the stakeholder is a senior manager, create a sense of purpose by linking your request for help to the manager's goals for the organization. You may be surprised at the positive reaction. What do you think? Can autonomy, mastery and purpose be motivational rewards? |
Know a Project Management Superstar?
Categories:
PMI
Categories: PMI
| There's a lot of talk about the importance of acknowledgment. But many project managers in the trenches go unnoticed. Here's your chance to change that by nominating a peer for the PMI Linn Stuckenbruck Person of the Year Award. Named after Linn C. Stuckenbruck, PhD, this award recognizes a PMI member for outstanding contributions to the development and advancement of the profession, and his or her contribution to PMI during the previous calendar year. Each nominee's contribution must: 1. Help recognize PMI as the world's leader in project management through activities completed in the previous calendar year (2010 for the 2011 award) 2. Expand and advance the knowledge, use and application of project management 3. Demonstrate broad, far-reaching implications for the profession Nominees may work in any field, including but not limited to business and academia. For the complete list of eligibility requirements and biographical information on Dr. Stuckenbruck, please download the nomination guidelines. Nominations for the 2011 PMI Linn Stuckenbruck Person of the Year must be received at the PMI Global Operations Center by Friday, 1 April 2011. Talk to your project team and PMI chapter colleagues about nominating a PMI member: four to six members must join together to nominate a candidate for this award. No one knows excellence in project management like you and your peers. Nominate a deserving colleague today. |