Grant MaddenPMO Director| IPC Asia PacificCroydon Park, Nsw, Australia
G’day folks - what is the biggest problem you have to deal with? I’ll kick-off by stating mine is influencing stakeholders when I am not their direct boss / functional head. Getting them to do what I want. Soft, inter-personal skills are important.
What is your biggest problem? Saving Changes...
Peter RapinSubject Matter Expect; Project Delivery| Independent ConsultantOntario, Canada
I think you have to determine if the management problem is with the purpose of the project or the methodology to deliver the project.
If the purpose of the project is being questioned by stakeholder(s) then as PM you have to defer to the stakeholders - it is their problem to resolve.
If the problem is with delivery methodology then this becomes your problem to resolve as PM - you are the delivering officer. Use your people skills and, if all else fails, use your feet and walk away. Saving Changes...
One of the biggest problems that comes to my mind is when you are a PM in a matrixed organization that disagrees where the PM vs. functional management balance of power lies (strong vs. weak matrix).
Large organizations can turn into a feudal system of lords (management) vs. commoners ( non-managers). This introduces a lot of hurdles for a PM to operate effectively. Office politics becomes the biggest challenge. Some lords are unwilling to listen to lowly commoners and prefer to dictate based on their own personal assumptions and biases. Those nearing retirement prefer methods used years ago when they came to power because they were successful back then, despite it being an entirely different subject or environment. They may even try to obstruct a PM so that any credit goes to the lord and not the commoner disrupting their court. Preserving the social order becomes more important than end results.
For a PM to effectively implement new methods, tools, and processes in that culture, they must negotiate a sociopolitical minefield at each step. The contrast in effective teaming becomes incredibly obvious when you have a high-functioning team, prior managers are promoted, new managers fill the void, and a discrete power struggle follows where the PM is caught in the middle. Those situations often lead to high attrition where PMs seek out new realms to ply their crafts rather than waiting for the petty wars between fifedoms to conclude. Saving Changes...
