Jeff DahlProject Leader| Edward JonesMaryland Heights, Mo, United States
I am i need of the combined super intellect of this site. I have been asked to begin the process to convince a skeptical group of leaders that moving to a centralized PMO style organization is critical to meeting the firms long term goals.
Now I know my audience and if I try to sway them with just PMI type jargon on why this is a good idea and they should quickly move to implement this strategy I will fail. What I need to do is build thier emmotions to a point they feel it is the only course of action.
Has anyone ever successfully tied emmotions to building what in all respects is a mini pmo team? If you have could you please let me know how you did it.
Thanks
Jeff Dahl
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Peter WrightProgramme Manager| BAE SystemsSouthport, Merseyside, United Kingdom
Jeff,
If you believe there is a need / benefit to moving to a centralised PMO emotionally what are the benefits for your audience?
"need to do is build thier emmotions to a point they feel it is the only course of action"
Why is it the only course of action - with this aim for your strategy there must be compelling reasons that you see where your audience is being affected at present - you could build on those problems and issues as the reason and get each individual to buy into how the central PMO could solve the problem over dispersed PMO.
I am assuming you are raising concerns as are some of those people to be centralised being taken out of the teams your audience own? If so then you will have resitance due to loss of control. Get them bought into a strategy of being able to still support them in getting work done or include those particular managers/directors in the project prioritisation process so they still feel included in the decisions of what the PMO is doing, this may not mitigate all of the loss of control feeling however.
You have to look at what they lose against what they gain and sell the gain benefit as something positive, it is likely you will never overcome the loss of control feeling but talk them through individually as some of that "audience" will be happy to relinquish and some will not.
If you are pulling a PMO together without taking people from other teams then your case to win over emotions needs to sell who thePMO will work with those audience teams - I have had some managers/directors see the central PMO as a police force / blocker to agility by introducing a cottage industry of paperwork. FOr this you need to develop your strategy with an aim to put in place an efficient PMO, that may put in controls (as it may need to for ISD/STandards) but those controls will be as flexible as possible for the audience and their teams.
This has worked for me as when dealing with people a fair proportion of any discussion in business becomes about their emotions and feelings towards what it is you are trying to achieve and hopefully the above helps. Saving Changes...
Harlan BridgesConsultant, Coach, Trainer, Speaker, Program Manager, Project Manager| EntrepreneurSeguin, Tx, United States
First things first. What is the need for doing this? What problems is this proposed centralized PMO trying to address? What are the benefits of making this change? What is the mission, vision and objectives of the new PMO? The most effective method of implementing a PMO is ensure that it meets the needs of the business and demonstrates value.
Forget PMO Model, Process, People and Tools until you have clearly developed your mission, the vision of the PMO and identified the measurable objectives for the PMO. These should all be in alignment with the organization's strategy and objectives. It is crucial that the executive leadership team take part in creating the mission, vision, and objectives of the PMO. Remember, they own the PMO, the business is the customer of the PMO and it exists to meet their needs.
What has this got to do with your question? This is the surest way to demonstrate to resistors why they should get on board with this change. In order to get on board, the resistors need to know what's in it for them, how it benefits them to become supporters of the centralized PMO. If they see no benefits to them, they will remain resistors.
How is this new PMO going to solve their pain points, their problems? Going back to my earlier statements, it is critical to the success of any PMO to identify the mission, define a vision, and develop objectives that the PMO must achieve. This provides concrete evidence of the value of the PMO to it's constituents. Remember value is determined by your "customers" and only by them.
You are right to avoid PMI jargon. The resistors won't care a whit for it, will probably be put off by it, and will remain resistors if you try that tactic.
Keep this in mind, "The purpose of a PMO is to assist its constituents to successfully achieve their objectives and execute their strategy." And keep the 'WIIFM" (what's in it for me) principle in mind.
You might consider reading: Business Driven PMO Setup: Practical Insights, Techniques, and Case Examples for Ensuring Success (2009), J. Ross Publishing, 500 pages
Good luck! Saving Changes...
Mark Price PerryBusiness Driven PMO Evangelist| BOT InternationalOrlando, Fl, United States
Jeff, great post and replies by Harlan and Peter. As you are asking for the combined super intellect of this site, this disqualifies me from responding. Nonetheless, I would somewhat echo Harlan's and Peter's advise but with a little bit of a twist.
First, I would completely dismiss the idea of "moving to a centralized PMO" from the discussion. Many would suggest, and I would agree, that is putting the cart before the horse. In fact, your very words, "Has anyone ever successfully tied emotions to building what in all respects is a mini pmo team?" is backwards and the wrong way of thinking, IMHO. Rather than tying emotions into some kind of support for a pre-conceived PMO, you should tie the idea of a PMO into the specific project-related needs that those emotional folks have and would be supportive of having addressed and resolved.
So, I would first inquire with that skepical group of leaders and ask them what project-related problems and/or opportunities do they face for which business as usual is not a viable option. If they say, collectively, that there are no project-related problems and/or opportunities, then the discussion is over. In my experience, this never happens.
Second, I would ask them, individually, to state the business value, quantitatively and qualitatively, of having their (not the company at large, but their own) project-related problems and/or opportunities successfully addressed.
Third, I would ask them in a group meeting if that is possible to prioritize and agree to the top project-related problems and/or opportunites that as a leadership team they all agree should be addressed. And based upon that set of priorities, I would ask the leadership team as a group to state in their own words what the mandate of the potential PMO (their PMO) would be in terms of problems to be solved by the PMO (mandate), goals and objectives of the PMO that serve as fulfillment of the mandate of the PMO, and the leadership team assessment of the value of having fulfilled each of the PMO goals and objectives. This step is quite important as it becomes the purpose and mandate of whatever kind of PMO is best to fulfill the mandate. In layman's terms, we are putting the horse (business need) before the cart (PMO organization and people, process, and tools kinds of things).
At this point in the discussion, that skeptical group of folks has established the value of having their top project-related problems and/or opportunities addressed. From here, as servant-leader, you can develop and advance a business strategy that best fulfills their needs. Such a business strategy will no doubt have setting up a PMO of some kind as a component of the strategy. But note, the set up of the PMO is not the purpose, nor the goal, and not even an objective. The PMO is merely a component part of the strategy. It (setting up a PMO) is a means to the end, but never (ever) the ends unto itself. This premise is what distinguishes a business-driven PMO from all other kinds of organizations that call themselves a PMO.
As an aside, if you are interested in the Business Driven PMO approach, I highly recommend Harlan Bridges. He is an expert in working with the leaderhsip team to first establish the purpose and value of the PMO (their PMO) and then working with the PMO team to develop the best fit PMO strategy to fulfill the mandate, purpose of the PMO.
Great post and replies by all, I hope we hear and learn from others... Saving Changes...
Jeff DahlProject Leader| Edward JonesMaryland Heights, Mo, United States
Thank you all for your replies. They have great insight and I need to read through them several times to be very clear what you are recommending and how it applies to the situation I currently in.
