Overcoming politics from senior mgrs who are not 'on the train'
Anonymous
We have to put an end to some of the undermining of a huge project that is about to take place. A couple of directors are trying to sabotage the attitudes of employees by sending incomplete information that would affect the opinions about proceeding.
We're within a couple of months of signing a contract that will become a huge organizational shift and will create improvements and efficiencies organization-wide. It truly is positive change, and 20% of the workforce, including those executives, were involved in the selection process that showed by FAR the process we're looking at is the best for us.
I'm looking for suggestions on what other organizations (or PMO's) have done to manage this. Saving Changes...
Really need a lot more info, but 2 basic approaches to start with, I'm sure others will add ideas that fall between these two poles.
Either... engage with your chief exec to ensure he/she is on board, then with these directors & bring them within the signoff group, giving them some ownership of the deliverables. Or, closer to Julien’s advice, remove their influence by discrediting them, giving them misinformation, accidentally giving them the wrong venues for board meetings etc & all the other dangerous games that politics can employ.
'It truly is positive change, and 20% of the workforce, including those executives, were involved in the selection process'
The 20% per cent of the workforce that were involved in the selection process consisted of which employees! the directors were involved also in the selection process, did they endorse the selection! did they voice or document their acceptance! was it just a selection process to empower the PMO to sign up to this contract! If you have a PMO director he or she should be taking up this issue and challenging the two directors that are playing games! If you dont get the buy-in from the top the project will not kick off! there must be an underlining reason why these two directors of your organisation are behaving in such a way!
Dont play same game! get your paperwork together and invite them to discuss what their concerns are about and ensure you have other senior people at your meeting - thrush it out in a professional manner.
Saving Changes...
Hi Anon,
Vasoula is correct, you MUST get the CEO on side and he(?) must take the leadership on this project. Only with the CEO's highly visible support will you be able to defuse the other directors misinformation.
Good Luck Saving Changes...
Mark DyslinHR Project Leader| Xerox Business Services LLCDallas, Tx, United States
This may be easier said then done, but one of the tactics I have used in the past is to get the offending parties involved in the process. Especially where it affects them.
If they have been involved in the selection, then get them involved in a piece of the pie that will have their names on it. That way when the frijoles start hitting the fan blades, they won't be able to simply duck and blame. They will have to answer questions and promote the project out of a necessity to survive.
Get both sides in a room at the director level (and the CEO if possible) and don't rule out the fact that the opposing directors might have some valid points. At a minimum, you may be able to identify some risks that can be mitigated early on in the project. Saving Changes...
William WiliamsProject Manager| W3src ConsultingCanyon, Tx, United States
A situation where the executive sponsor is key. This is what sponsors do. Engage. Saving Changes...
Wai Mun KooPMO Director| Intergraph PP&MSingapore, Singapore
Agree with William. Let the sponsors do their job - clear your roadblocks. However, if your sponsor is weak, then you will have a problem. In this case, you might want to consider raising this as an issue to the steering committee and get their help. Saving Changes...
How about we hear from the Anonymous person! we gave you our views and opinions! made assumptions too! what is your role! not the Project Sponsor!!! Saving Changes...
Wai Mun KooPMO Director| Intergraph PP&MSingapore, Singapore
Nice try Vasoula. My bet Mr Anonymous is the poor PM. Saving Changes...
