How do you conduct periodic risk reviews with all functional leads, and how do you ensure ongoing engagement from these leads in the risk management process?
Smit ShahProject Manager| Navitas LifesciencesBanglore, Karnataka, India
For example: do you have structured meetings or workshops to discuss risks, and what strategies do you employ to keep functional leads actively involved in identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks throughout the project lifecycle? Saving Changes...
Dr. Hillson defines risk as uncertainty that MATTERS. If you make the information presented to the invited stakeholders matter and the process used to refresh the risk data is perceived to be of value, then folks will participate.
This also relies heavily on the maturity of the organization. If it has a mature risk culture such as you'd find in a large bank or insurance company there might be greater willingness to participate effectively than in a small, unregulated organization where key stakeholders don't fully appreciate the value of optimized risk management.
Normally I try to integrate risk reviews and planning into my regular project meetings where I assemble the leads for regular information sharing, change planning, etc. to avoid having yet another meeting. If the risk content exceeds the normal time slot or there is a critical point in the program, then I will schedule a dedicated meeting for the sole purpose of risk reviews. One strategy is to plan that review time well so that team members can attend portions relevant to them and not sit through long discussions in which they're not involved. When I assemble large groups, I try to ensure the time is used well and people learn that if they miss my meetings, they probably missed something important to their own work.
Another strategy is strategically communicating risks vertically to ensure horizontal engagement at the lead level. I will often give senior leadership visibility of top risks early when I don't need help explicitly so they know I am being proactive and while no help is currently needed, but if/when I do ask for help, it requires priority and a prompt response.
In communicating risks up the food chain, I am careful about my messaging. I don't use terms like fear or worry as they imply lack of confidence; people who always think the sky is falling are often disregarded as overreacting, and I don't need unwanted "help" in the form of micromanagement.
If I retire a top risk, I will communicate that up the chain as well. It is one less watch item, but perhaps more importantly it provides additional confidence that I do in fact have things under control helping my credibility as a leader, reinforcing my ability to work independently and also that I can recognize when I do need help and won't hesitate to ask when needed. Saving Changes...
