Learn why the importance of the Project Manager’s role has been elevated to unprecedented levels in the contemporary business environment.
The importance of the Project Manager’s role has been elevated to unprecedented levels in the contemporary business environment. Major and complex transformations involving all areas of the organisation, multiple stakeholders and high levels of unpredictability have become commonplace, and the individuals responsible for managing such projects play a crucial role in the ability of the organization to meet its strategic goals.
Conventional project management training has not evolved in line with the changes in real-life projects; it is still heavily focused on codified professional standards and the technical aspects of project management.
There are three critical success factors in transformation project management:
1. An art and science based approach to transformation
2. An effective partnership between the project manager and the executive sponsor
3. A high performance transformation project team
Schroeder & Schroeder’s Art and Science of Transformation® framework is concerned with achieving the right balance between technical project management skills and the business-related and interpersonal skills that have become important in the new business environment. The “science” of transformation consists of formal project management techniques, methods and tools while the “art” of transformation consists of the more intangible skills and attributes that are important in managing the people-related aspects of change.
While the “science” of project management is highly important for effective planning, implementation and monitoring of complex, high-risk transformation projects, there is also an increased emphasis on the need for softer “art” related skills and attributes, such as strategic awareness, people acumen, relationship-building skills, emotional intelligence and flexibility.
The executive sponsor of the project supports the project manager by acting as the link between the project and the wider organization, ensuring that the necessary resources as well as the inputs and contributions of various stakeholders are secured. The project manager and the executive sponsor also play different, but complementary roles in relation to the interrelated operational and strategic transformation objectives of the project.
The establishment of a project team or teams that collectively provide the necessary functional and specialist knowledge, skills and expertise is the third critical success factor in transformation and will often be drawn from different functional or specialist areas of an organization, or from multiple stakeholder organizations. Management of this team is central to the role of the transformation project manager, and typically much more challenging than more conventional project team management due to the complexity, high-stakes nature and other characteristics of organizational transformation projects.
It is important that an organization’s leadership should take the necessary actions to ensure that the appropriate type of project management expertise is in place, and that the whole organizational environment is prepared in ways which maximize the potential for a successful transformation initiative.
Project Management in the New Business Environment
The importance of the Project Manager’s role has been elevated to unprecedented levels in the contemporary business environment. Major and complex transformations involving all areas of the organisation, multiple stakeholders and high levels of unpredictability have become commonplace, and the individuals responsible for managing such projects play a crucial role in the ability of the organization to meet its strategic goals.
In this context, having conventional project management skills is far from adequate. The project manager of an organizational transformation is ultimately responsible to the organizational leadership for the actions and activities of many stakeholders, and there has been a strong shift in emphasis from technical project management abilities to business-related expertise and interpersonal skills.
Unfortunately, project management training has not evolved in line with the changes in real-life projects; it is still heavily focused on codified professional standards and the technical aspects of project management. This shortcoming in project management is one of the reasons why any transformation projects fail, with significant costs to the organizations involved.
Three critical success factors for successful transformation management in the new business environment can be identified:
1. The use of an Art and Science of Transformation® approach
2. An effective executive sponsor/project manager partnership
3. A high performance transformation project team.
1. The Art and Science of Transformation Management
Schroeder & Schroeder’s Art and Science of Transformation® framework is concerned with achieving the right balance between technical project management skills and the business-related and interpersonal skills that have become important in the new business environment.
The “science” of transformation is defined as the formal project management techniques, methods and tools that are the focus of PMBOK and other project management standards.
The “art” of transformation consists of the more intangible skills and attributes that are important in managing the people-related aspects of transformation, and effectively steering projects towards their goals in a fast changing, high-risk business environment.
The art and science of transformation can also be thought of in terms of a new mindset, which combines “right brain” and “left brain” thinking. Management of major transformation projects inevitably requires a mix of logical, rational and analytical left-brain thinking and creative, intuitive and holistic right-brain thinking.
2. The Project Manager/Executive Sponsor Partnership
The executive sponsor of the project supports the project manager by acting as the link between the project and the wider organization, ensuring that the necessary resources as well as the inputs and contributions of various stakeholders are secured.
This is important because most major transformation projects are affected by a range of stakeholders and other organizational factors that fall outside the scope of the project manager’s responsibility and control yet must be influenced in order to ensure the success of the initiative.
The project manager and the executive sponsor also play different but complementary roles in relation to the interrelated objectives of the transformation:
• The executive sponsor represents the interests of the organization as a whole in relation to the project, and is in turn accountable to the organization for the achievement of the top-level strategic transformation goals, which consist of the intended organizational outcomes or ultimate impacts of the project.
• The primary responsibility of the project manager is to ensure that the project achieves its operational objectives, such as the targets for completing the project within a particular timescale and budget, but must also ensure that they are continually aligned with the strategic transformation objectives so that these can be achieved.
Finally, the executive sponsor also provides advice and guidance relating to the strategic context and core business objectives of the initiative, and supports the project manager by establishing a strong governance structure and effective governance processes for the transformation.
3. The High Performance Transformation Project Team
The establishment of a project team or teams that collectively provide the necessary functional and specialist knowledge, skills and expertise is the third critical success factor in transformation. This team will generally be drawn from different functional or specialist areas of an organization, and often from multiple stakeholder organizations. High performance team working towards the operational and transformation objectives will be a powerful driving force in the success of the initiative.
Management of the work of the transformation project team is central to the role of the transformation project manager, and is typically much more challenging than more conventional project team management due to the complexity, high-stakes nature and other characteristics of organizational transformation projects.
For example, specific challenges may include:
• Motivating and leading a newly formed team to perform quickly and deliver results within a short timescale.
• Managing and co-ordinating the work of multiple project teams with different functional roles, while maintaining a focus on the “big picture” and overall objectives of the project.
• Using inter-personal skills to influence the behaviours of people over which the project manager has no direct authority.
• Challenges relating to the management of a geographically dispersed or culturally diverse team.
The Art of Transformation Project Management
While the “science” of project management is highly important for effective planning, implementation and monitoring of complex, high-risk transformation projects, there is also an increased emphasis on the need for softer “art” related skills. For example:
• Business acumen and strategic awareness are important for understanding the wider business relevance of the project, and how it is intended to contribute to the achievement of the top-level transformation goals.
• Leadership, team building and relationship building skills are essential in order to engage, influence, inspire and guide all project stakeholders and participants, and to create a trust-based project environment.
• People acumen and political acumen involve the intuitive ability to discern and understand the perspectives and interests of individuals and groups, and are especially important for understanding and navigating organizational power structures to secure support and resources for the transformation.
• Intuition, sound judgement and emotional intelligence are important right-brain attributes that provide the ability to instinctively grasp a situation or issue and identify the best solution. These enable the project manager to achieve a highly attuned, holistic awareness of the overall state of progress on a project, which is greater than the combined information available on its component parts.
• Flexibility, adaptability and an agile approach provide the ability to operate effectively in the fast changing, volatile business environment and to steer projects towards their transformation goals, making modifications to reflect changing circumstances.
Organizational Readiness for Transformation Project Management
The organizational leadership should take actions to ensure that the appropriate type of project management expertise is in place, and that the whole organizational environment is prepared in ways that maximize the potential for a successful transformation initiative. Project management skills assessments and organizational change readiness assessments are useful for this purpose and should be designed from an art and science perspective in order to enhance the organization’s ability to effectively transform.