Mark WarnerProject Manager| AURATucson, Az, United States
I have a colleague who is a new engineering project manager. Due to the nature of her project, she doesn't have direct authority over most of her team; they are distributed throughout the U.S., working at other institutions, and they report formally to someone other than my friend. She is having trouble getting these people to do specific critical tasks. This includes simply committing to and coming to scheduled meetings. She has approached a couple of us, asking for advice. What advice can I give her to improve her effectiveness as a project manager and get better results from this team? Saving Changes...
Without understanding the root cause for the behavior it is hard to provide specific guidance as that might range from the team members being overloaded across multiple projects and operational activities to they or their functional managers not fully supporting the projects.
Was a kickoff meeting held with the team in person (preferably) or virtually where team members would have had a chance to voice concerns about their involvement?
At this point, once she has had 1:1's with the team members who aren't supportive, if there is no clue as to the root cause then a conversation with their individual functional managers is likely in order...
This is the classic issue in weak matrix organizations; how to get your own project prioritized.
If talking to the functional managers or team leads doesn't help, the problem needs to be escalated but that needs to be done carefully. While not all projects have a formal charter, getting the commitment from the management level that approved the project is helpful in this situation, or creating a charter if there is less formal approval in place. While the colleague may not want to go straight to the sponsor, they are ultimately the level in the organization who committed their own reporting managers.
Start by laying out the case carefully and objectively. If they are going to elevate the issue for support, their own management chain or the sponsor needs to know the implications so they know how hard to push. Are they facing a schedule slide, a cost hit, etc. Be careful not to overstate the impact or there is the risk of losing credibility.
There certainly may well be other work with higher priority at a given time so the response may be that the risk will be accepted as an issue due to business strategy. Ultimately the people who write the checks need to decide if they want the project to succeed, and at what cost. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
The point is to align those people objectives to project objectives. Project sponsor has to do that. Saving Changes...
Project managers usually don't have authority over their team members. Does she have support from the management? Was she well introduced? How important is the project for the organization?
She has to raise to her manager the situation to have a crisis meeting. She has to gather facts and send a clear email to the management. good luck! Saving Changes...
and you can tell your friend to be part of this community...she can ask questions here with confidence. She can also be part of a local project management chapter! Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Mark,
'Leading without authority' was a class I attended in the 1990s.
It is still a valid topic apparently and a core competency project managers need (in contrast to other managers who mostly have positional power).
PMs also need negotiation capabilities (e.g. to negotiate for resources) and political saviness/empathy (e.g. to balance power). Influencing skills are also valuable, if they are based on ethical understanding.
These all are leadership competencies and are much more helpful for success than methods, frameworks or principles.
Project management is foremost people business.
Most of us went thru this situation, some survived and some went back to technical areas. A good mentor would be helpful now. Saving Changes...
