David BurnsAcquisitions Officer/ Project Manager| United States Air ForceParker, Co, United States
As a PM what do you value more, Relationships or Results? Are you willing to allow one affect the other and if so, in what direction and why? What are the interplay's between them and how are they related?
Do you have any experiences where there were success or failures in these areas and why did that outcome occur? Saving Changes...
it's not an either/or situation - the choice between being task-oriented or relationship-oriented is influenced by not only the individual's biases and personality but also what the situation demands.
In general, a PM needs to focus on achieving both the "how" (which is heavily relationship oriented) and the "what" (the results), but there might be specific situations where a primarily task-oriented approach is taken - for example, during a crisis.
It is all about the achieving the results and keeping the best relations (stakeholders). Saving Changes...
Kevin SmithProject Management Consultant| Prime Focus Project ManagementWest Bloomfield, Mi, United States
There is always a need for a balance in trading relationships for results. A relationship is a tool used in order to deliver project results. I trace my response to this question back to the question of project management being an Art or as a Science. The art is building relationships. The science is delivering results. High level stakeholders are often driven by scientific data points, but the fact is, it is people who create the data points i.e. deliver results. Relationship and Results go hand in hand. It's often challenging to have one without the other. Saving Changes...
If any endeavour falls short on either of these two aspects, the endeavour has failed.
For situational scenarios, there is no one single option. Trade-offs between relationships and results will have to be considered and decisions need to be taken on a case-to-case basis. Saving Changes...
Paul HollingsIT Project Manager| Self EmployedHerne Bay, Kent, United Kingdom
And let's not forget that there is a need to strike a balance between relationships...
A drive for results can improve your relationships with stakeholders and leadership whilst damaging relationships with team members.
Pushing back against management pressure may have the opposite result.
But as always, open, clear and transparent communications, and a balanced, justifiable position will provide the best environment for objective reactions, after the fact, if not necessarily at the time. Saving Changes...
Both are equally important and can't do without. The key here is to maintain the right balance of relationships to ensure results are achieved. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
The answer to your question is simple: systemic theory. Take a look to Ludwig von Bertalanffy, Mario Bunge, Rusell Ackoff, C. K. Prahalad work, starting by Bertalanffy and Bunge. Saving Changes...
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