Kimberly Wiefling had an article today on Projects@Work (www.projectsatwork.com) giving us a taste of some hard-learned lessons when dealing with project sponsors.
I’ve always loved Kimberly’s sense of humor and highly recommend just about anything she’s written. This is a great example of education a la entertainment. Check out her book too, you can buy it from the PMStudent book store by clicking on the image to the left.
In short, her exploits yield the following lessons learned with regards to project sponsors:
- Don’t assume who has decision power. Be clear on who the real sponsor is.
- Don’t assume your sponsor wanted this project. If their boss mandated them to sponsor the project, it’s going to be tough. In Kimberly’s example, ideas for projects were generated by executives, and the CEO made the decision of what to implement. The ideas for improving one division came from a different division, etc. That means the sponsors were put in charge of a project they didn’t come up with….can you say sabotage?
- Don’t assume your sponsor knows what their role should be. Insist on coaching the sponsor and letting them know exactly what support the project will be asking from them.
Great article Kimberly!
Cutting’s Edge is one of my favorite project management blogs. Thomas recently posted on the cost of project success. I enjoyed the examples of the construction of several wonders of the world as projects and their often overlooked consequences on the project teams that built them.
Thomas draws out a parallel to contemporary projects, and how in some or many cases project managers will actually plan on over-utilizing staff in their planning, or not see it as enough of a risk to take serious action.
His point is well taken, and I would like to add the pressure from the other side. I have worked with many team members who felt it is a status symbol to have been the one to work the most hours in a given week. It’s like keeping up with the Joneses. A good project manager has to be able to detect this. Signs include:
- Spends an inordinate amount of time socializing with co-workers
- Often points out explicitly or implicitly that they are working a lot of hours
- Often points out explicitly or implicitly that they were the first to arrive or last to leave for the day
Many people who work 10 to 12 hour days get the same or only slightly more than those who work 8. Productivity is a ratio of how much value was added over the time it took. Aim for more productive people, not people willing to sacrifice their personal lives by achieving less productivity over more time.
