Victim or Victor Taking Control as a Project Manager

Transcription

1 Victim or Victor Taking Control as a Project Manager In the current business climate, it is not unusual to hear the following complaints from project managers, core team members, and even sponsors: I am having to deliver against externally-imposed, arbitrary objectives The resources that have been made available are not compatible with the goals that have been set The corresponding metrics are complex, irrelevant and keep changing Management does not take resource limitations into account We do not have the authority to make our own decisions Management does not accept their share of responsibility in achieving goals If you manage a PMO and identify with any of the aforementioned complaints, now is the time to take the situation in hand. It will not get better on its own. This paper presents the advice that the PMO needs to give to all project managers.

2 The Starting Position Although it is one of the key roles of a PMO, there is only so much that it can do to directly reduce this level of stress on the project managers. What the PMO can do, however, is arm the project managers with empowering tools to work effectively in the corresponding environment. Irrefutably, project managers should be proficient with the technical aspects of each project. Possessing these skills ensures projects are delivered as efficiently as possible, with limited resources in order to maximize ROI and impact the organization s strategic objectives: In order to apply these technical tools effectively, however, you also need to master a set of relational skills to enable you to interact effectively with all of the relevant stakeholders. These are often referred to as soft skills, which is paradoxical since they are often the hardest skills to apply: RELATIONAL SKILLS Confidence-building TECHNICAL SKILLS Negotiation The project charter Assertiveness Stakeholder management Requirements engineering Conflict management Motivational values assessment Project plan development Team-building Project risk management Project change management Objectives setting Communication Monitoring and control Leadership 2

3 The Empowering Tools 1. The project charter The project charter is designed to be the document that sets out the responsibilities and authority of the project manager for a specific initiative. It provides the formal link between the business environment and the project environment: The business, as represented by the sponsor, defines the objectives and provides the means they consider adequate and acceptable from their point of view for achieving them. The project manager must consider this as a proposal and review and adapt it as necessary in order to define an agreement in which both parties (business and project) have confidence that it can be satisfied. Constraints imposed by the business or the wider organization must be documented and taken into account. Assumptions must be made explicit wherever these affect major decisions. This discussion and the subsequent agreement in the form of a charter are designed to provide the project manager with the means resources and delegated authority that are compatible with the challenge represented by the agreed objectives. Go/ no-go conditions should be defied explicitly in the corresponding metrics and these should include organizational criteria such as lack of committed executive support and lack of sponsorship. It is clear that negotiation skills are required at this stage by the project manager as well as assertiveness e.g. the ability to insist on having a signed charter prior to committing to any of the corresponding work or deliverables. Any points of contention or points that are imposed by the sponsor, despite the project manager s reservations must be explicitly documented as such in the charter and addressed specifically in the corresponding risk analysis. The sponsor should accept the role of owner for such risks. Each of the high-level objectives needs to be defined and agreed, including the way in which success will be measured in each case. In addition, the relative priority of each objective must be defined as well as the level of acceptability of non-compliance. 2. Stakeholder management There are two categories of people who can make a project manager feel like a victim: the normal project stakeholder and the project manager himself. This second category is addressed in the topic of selfconfidence under relational skills. The approach in this case is to find who can affect your project and to take all possible steps to ensure that these effects will be under your control. 3

4 This is examined below in terms of categories of stakeholders: Core team members Other team members Senior management Customers of the project Suppliers Other stakeholders Core team members This is normally the easiest category to manage. They are most directly under the control of the project manager. All of the tools for planning and for team-building help to align their efforts to the needs of the project. Other team members The main challenge here is that these team members are more directly under the control of their line managers whose objectives and success metrics are unlikely to be aligned with those of the project. This issue needs to be addressed with the sponsor before the charter is signed possibly in joint meetings with the key line managers concerned. It should be documented as a potential cause of project risk and the sponsor should be the owner of any related risks. Senior management The types of impact that senior management can have on a project are as follows: Changing priorities for the allocation of resources Changing objectives that are then imposed on existing projects Loss of the sponsor The impacts of the first two need to be analyzed using standard change management tools (as described later) and then submitted, with proposed actions, to the project steering committee. This should be supported by the sponsor. The departure of the sponsor should ideally be managed in conjunction with the project manager at a steering committee meeting, where the new sponsor is announced. Failing this, the issue must be escalated by the project manager directly to the steering committee; if this is not possible the project manager needs to involve other senior managers (e.g. their line manager) and, in the final extremity attempt to apply a no-go clause in the charter. Whatever the case, the project manager must not just sit back and wait for the situation to resolve itself. Customers of the project The main impacts they can have are on: The requirements Perception of success Effective requirements engineering (see later) and formal documentation with sign-off by both parties should reduce the incident of uncontrolled change to the requirements. Improving the level of satisfaction of the customer in the project during its execution as well as at handover and afterwards requires working with a professional manner at the project level (empowering tools) as well as working directly with the client at a personal level (relational skills) so as to be aware of and active with respect to the potentially changing needs and expectations of the customers. 4

5 Suppliers A project can include work with internal and external suppliers. Internal suppliers could, for example, be specialized engineering and/or IT groups which will run the delivery of their specified product as a formal project. It is important for the overall project manager to define clearly the limits of responsibility of these groups to ensure that the engineering or IT project managers do not take the overall control of the total project even during the development phase, which may be the most technically-active phase. The overall project manager needs to define the communication interfaces, including status reporting, with the engineering/it project rather than accepting to be driven by how that group runs matters internally. The rules to be followed by external suppliers (e.g. status reporting, etc.) need to be contractually defined as well as their interaction with the project team and the wider organization in order to ensure that the project manager receives all required information and is first in line for any decisions that need to be taken. Other stakeholders The standard stakeholder management tools will allow the project manager to identify and analyze the other stakeholders and therefore take steps to ensure that they do not undermine the project manager s overall control. 3. Requirements engineering The goal of this tool is to ensure a clear definition of what will be delivered by the project, who has requested it and how the technical solution will be built and tested. It must be understood that only the top level of this technical definition is directly under the control of the project manager i.e. the functional specification of the project deliverable. However, the definition of this top level, the management of any changes requested, and the validation procedures ensures that the project manager maintains control over the overall project. The work of the suppliers (internal and external) is automatically aligned to this top-level functional specification. 4. Project plan development This activity encompasses all of the project planning activities as well as defining the rules and constraints under which the work will be carried out. It aligns the ways of working and the expectations of all of the team members and allows the project manager to remain in control of the total scope without interfering in the details of the day-to-day work of the team members or suppliers. The project plan is developed collaboratively with concerned stakeholders, then signed-off officially by the business, which ensures visibility for all of the people concerned and formal empowerment of the project manager to implement it as documented. 5. Project risk management One benefit for the project manager of project risk management is that it frequently provides an alternative to saying No. Instead, the project manager can analyze the potential impact of the suggestion both with respect to the objectives of the project (as defined in the charter) and on the requestor or requesting organization (based for example on the stakeholder analysis). The approach, once these potential impacts have been analyzed and then understood by the requestor, is to make the requestor accept that they are accountable for the risk (assertiveness and negotiation will be required). 5

6 6. Project change management The earlier in the project that this can be defined and applied, the earlier the project manager can have control over the project: the charter needs to state at least that all staff involved in the project (including internal groups creating technical deliverables) will comply with the project s formal change management process. The process must be based on formal documentation and be linked both to requirements engineering and risk management as defined above. The project manager must officially have the authority to refuse change requests, postpone them or adapt them. In this area, assertiveness, conflict management and negotiation are required. 7. Monitoring and control Monitoring and control represent the two main areas of focus of project performance management. Each has its own set of tools and each implies a different mindset: Control actions that are based firmly on valid and credible monitoring results will be considered wellfounded by the team and by senior management and will therefore improve the project manager s credibility and his ability to apply the corresponding actions to enhance the overall performance of the project. The way in which the information is structured and communicated has a considerable effect on how well it is received and assessed. The need for good communications at this stage is clear. Using the toolkit As was explained in most of the preceding paragraphs, the effective application of each of these tools requires not only knowing how to use them separately and together, but also implies the ability to apply the full set of relational skills so as to cater for the interpersonal aspects with which all of these tools interact. These skills are described next. Monitoring is mainly passive in that it is designed to allow you to know where you are with respect to a baseline, and what this probably means for the future. Control entails deciding what, if anything, needs to be done based on the results of the monitoring. This naturally has to be linked to change management as described earlier. Monitoring that is not linked to control encourages a victim mentality and the subsequent reports to management will undermine still further the project manager s credibility and future ability to control the project. 6

7 The Relational Skills This section explains the value of each of these skills but does not go into any great detail on how you should go about enhancing them for yourself or others; that requires courses, books and a lifetime of experience! 1. Confidence-building This is very rarely mentioned as a relational skill, although it is a prerequisite to the effective application of all of the others: if you do not believe you are right and that you have the right to explain why, you will not even try to apply any of the other relational tools. This does not mean that you always have to be totally confident. On the contrary, a related skill that is almost as important is self-awareness: the ability to look at your own state of mind and behavior in an unemotional manner. Self-awareness This will help you to know, for example, when you are not sufficiently confident to carry out a planned action or meeting; it will allow you to work out what you require in order to increase your confidence in the desired outcome or whether the objective is worth the risk of failure. On the other hand, self-awareness will also help you to avoid acting in an over- confident manner which can damage your relationship with others, cut you off from useful suggestions and encourage you to ignore options that are potentially better than your own. This can be most useful when involved in negotiations. 2. Negotiation There are many specific techniques but they are all based on a basic approach: plan every negotiation in as much detail as possible. Here are some typical ideas: Know what you want to achieve Know what you need to achieve Know why you need to achieve it and how you will know you have achieved it Try to find out the same facts about the other party or parties Develop a fallback position in case the negotiation is not acceptable» Your best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA) Treat the other parties with respect but always act as an equal whatever their titles» Remember the need for self-confidence mentioned above. The more you plan, the more you are likely to appear confident Consider many options and be flexible in abandoning any of them when it becomes clear that it is leading nowhere» But keep this fact in mind as it could be useful as a bargaining point later (e.g. well I accepted your request not to pursue that option ) Look for objective principles to resolve disagreements, and agree on those before trying to apply them to the specific points of the discussion Know when to stop» If you have achieved your key objectives, do not put that agreement at risk as well as the overall relationship by pushing for more than you really need. Document and sign any agreement» Develop the document as a joint agreement of success, rather than a statement of victory and defeat. 7

8 In brief, at the start of the meeting, explain your position clearly (see Assertiveness, below), and remember, after the meeting, review, either personally or with other members of your team, what went well and what did not in order to work on your self-awareness and any other relational skills. 3. Assertiveness Assertiveness is the capability of making your needs clear. In order to be effective, however, it must be done in such a way as not to generate a negative emotional reaction from the people with whom you are being assertive: you must not come across as pushy, domineering, selfish or unfeeling. The best approach is to remove as much of the potential emotional context as possible: Make it clear that it is not what you want, that it is not what the situation requires» You need to be willing to back this up with facts You need to make clear rapidly whether this is» An order = A done deal don t even attempt discussion» A request = Open for discussion for clarification only (TINA there is no alternative)» A suggestion = A proposal that could be modified or adapted It is therefore important to plan exactly how you will deliver the order, request or suggestion: the medium, the timing and the wording. This is of course closely linked to analysis of the people concerned as well as to general communication skills. If it is not done correctly, it can easily trigger a conflict. 4. Conflict management The first step is to understand the concept of what is the emotional basis for a conflict in general. The second step is to analyze the specific conflict in question. Then you are well-positioned to deal with it. The background to conflict We can generally identify when we feel that we are in a conflictual situation, but it is harder to define where the feeling comes from. One simple and true answer is that conflict occurs when one or both parties feels attacked. The type of attack we are talking about is emotional rather than physical you would most probably notice a physical attack! The conflict situation, therefore, is one in which one or more of your basic values is challenged by the behavior or ideas of others. Addressing the conflict The best way, therefore of managing the conflict yours or someone else s is to understand the motivations and values of the parties involved. This can of course be very difficult if you are one of those parties. There are a number of behavioral approaches on which to base the analysis of the situation and the potential actions; the Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI method) with its Motivational Value System (MVS) model is a very good basis for this. 5. Motivational assessment SDI s MVS model can be used to get a well-researched understanding of the way in which people evaluate their relationships with others and with the physical world. This can help you to understand where people are coming from as well as your potential strengths and weaknesses although what you may think is one of your strengths can prove to be a weakness in certain situations; if you understand this, you can manage these situations in the best way possible. This is key to creating a high-performaning team. 8

9 6. Team-building A team needs to be much more than a group of people linked by a common manager: you need to work on deliberately helping all of the members to make best use of their particular skills and capabilities in partnership with each other: interpersonal skills, coaching, clear definition of roles and responsibility and the SDI concepts are valuable assets for developing and maintaining a team that delivers more than the sum of its parts. In the project context, a joint understanding and acceptance of the project objectives (see below) is a major enabler for creating a high-performing team. 7. Objectives setting Setting objectives is a major contributor to removing the uncertainty and subjectivity from the definition of requested actions whether you are the requestor or are receiving the request. The well-known five characteristics of a full objectives definition are expressed in the mnemonic SMART: specific, measurable, accepted, realistic and time-related. What has to be understood, however, is that measurements change behaviors. It is therefore necessary to try to double-guess how each objective measurement could be insufficient to determine success or failure of the endeavor if someone were to misapply the criteria whether deliberately or by misunderstanding what is required. 8. Communication The goal of communication is to create a common understanding of a fact or situation. There are many theories ranging from technical models of information to functional systems. In the project environment, the empowering tools can be used to produce valid informational content (i.e. so as to have something useful to say ), but that does not guarantee that the recipient will even understand let alone accept what is being communicated as Ella Fitzgerald sang: T aint what you say, it s the way that you say it (That s what gets results). The challenge in effective communication is to avoid all of the ways in which the message can be corrupted. In the Shannon and Weaver model as expanded by Berlo, the main stages and the corresponding risks of corruption, starting from the sender, are: The sender: encodes the message using the sender s language and tacit assumptions (i.e. the sender s codebook )» This can already reduce the ease with which the message could be understood and remove informational content if the sender s language lacks the required concepts The message is then placed on a transmission channel for communication» This may require an extra form of encoding, with the risk described above» The channel can be inherently unreliable» It also needs to culturally suitable for the type of message being transmitted On reception, the message is decoded taking into account both the medium on which it was received and the recipient s own codebook» Unless there is prior discussion between the parties, there is no guarantee that the recipient s codebook is compatible with that of the sender This is especially true when culture-related language or concepts are used Communication, linked to all of the other relational skills just described is the major contributor to effective leadership. 9

10 9. Leadership The goal of leadership is to organize a group of people and help them to achieve a common goal. Especially in the project environment, it can be necessary to provide leadership without having any formal authority. In fact, depending on the activity to be accomplished, any member of a team may need to exhibit leadership. Conclusion Together, the set of empowering tools and relational skills will equip the project team with the means to become masters of their own destiny, in the interests of the organization and in a way that supports the needs of the members of the team while respecting the other members of the organization. There are many theories of leadership, mainly based on attempting to determine why past leaders were successful. From these studies, one fact seems clear: there is no single set of skills that are appropriate to all situations. One lesson is the need to remain flexible and be willing to accept the leadership of someone better suited than you if the situation warrants it. The starting position, however, for effective leadership is to know, agree and communicate where you are intending to get to. A leader, however charismatic, without a clear and valid goal is likely to waste the resources of the company and the goodwill and enthusiasm of the team. All of the tools and skills mentioned above are needed at certain times by anyone who hopes to lead a project to ultimate success. 10

11 Appendix: Link Between Empowering Tools and Relational Skills The table below is designed to provide an indication of how the relational skills contribute to the effective application of the empowering tools. Empowering tools Relational skills Confindence-building Negotiation Assertiveness Conflict management Motivational values assessment Team building Objectives setting Communication Leadership The project charter Stakeholder management Requirements engineering Project plan development Project risk management Project change management Monitoring and control (Contributing) The relational skill supports and contributes to applying the tool 11