Managing the Politics and Relationships of Multiple PM Domains

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Managing the Politics and Relationships of
Multiple PM Domains

• Tom Houston, PMP
• 5 October 2005

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• Everything that PMI teaches has value and is
  useful the mechanics of Project Management
• You can do everything right and still
• Have Your Contract Cancelled
• Be Laid Off
• Have To Find Work Outside of Project Management
• Go to Jail (Depending on your role in the
  organization)
• Succeeding as a PM entails more than managing the
  mechanics of a project

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Three Domains(Of Stakeholders)

• As a PM, you have to Manage Relationships
• These include the expectations, needs and desires
  of people in three domains
• Customer
• Workers
• Corporate Management
• Any one of these domains can prevent you from
  being an effective Project Manager
• Beware!! People can and do move from one domain
  to another

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Customer Domain

• The Customer Domain includes more than just your
  current customer
• It Includes
• All Previous Customers
• All Present Customers
• All Future Customers

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Previous Customers

• When checking on the Quals of a PM, Customers
  have a habit of seeking out previous Customers
• Previous Satisfied Customers, have a habit of
  steering work your way
• Previous Unsatisfied Customers warn their
  friends
• Customers who truly admire your work, can join
  the worker domain, and bring their
  contacts/contracts
• Subcontracting arrangements
• Teaming arrangements
• Potential new work

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• Stay in Touch with Past Customers
• Drop them emails, stay in touch with what they
  are doing and what their challenges are
• Offer assistance if you have it
• Be conscientious of how you treat past customers,
  and treat them as you would expect to be treated
  if you were a customer

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Present Customers

• In Award Fee or incentive-based contracts
  Present Customers have a direct impact on your
  being able to be effective
• Know the expectations of your customers boss and
  their management
• Know your customers needs and constraints and
  what they need to succeed
• You succeed when your Customer succeeds seldom
  does it work the other way around for long
• See things through your Customers eyes

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• Customers Dont Need a Reason to Decrement Your
  Award Fee/Incentive
• Even if they are wrong, the legal costs,
  negotiating costs etc., will likely outweigh any
  Award Fee recouped and will cause resentment
• Your lifespan as an effective PM could be
  negatively impacted by those in your Management
  domain

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• Present Customers are your best reference for
  Future Work
• Annual, Quarterly Past Performance Evaluations
• Treat your customer as you would expect to be
  treated

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Future Customers

• All Past and Present Customers
• All Potential Customers in the Communities in
  which your past or present Customers exist
• All Subcontractors
• Be aware Domain Crossing your employee/sub
  today may be your customer or boss tomorrow
• Always treat potential future customers as you
  would expect to be treated

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Worker Domain

• Dedicated Conscientious Workers are the Biggest
  Factor in project Success
• Delegate Everything QA Everything As a PM you
  are responsible for Managing Human Interaction
  within and among stakeholders in the domains
• Worker Training is Essential While you should
  delegate everything, you should personally verify
  personnel are qualified for their duties and you
  remain responsible for their output

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• Workers can include direct report employees,
  matrixed employees, subcontractors, HR, Finance,
  and/or anybody you count on to expend effort on
  your behalf
• Worker Recognition is Essential - The PM must
  make Decisions based on Worker Performance
• Cliques Preference of the Prime over Subs
  Failure to apply the best resource to the
  problem, tendency to hide problems, all impinge
  credibility
• The best workers follow the best PMs
• This Domain is the most dynamic
• Workers will not respect you if you tolerate
  insubordination, practice favoritism, nepotism
  etc.

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• Respect education and those workers who invest in
  themselves
• Do not allow workers to over-commit themselves
  or be responsible personally for financial
  obligations of the project
• There is no such thing as Too Much
  Documentation
• Conceive of the Ideal Project Manager from the
  Worker viewpoint and become them
• Treat your workers fairly, as you would expect to
  be treated

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Management Domain

• Management has
• Revenue and profit goals for your project
• Expectations of Contract Growth
• Inter-company relationships impact how Managers
  evaluate your effectiveness
• Legal Proceedings EEOC, wrongful
  hire/termination, contract violations your
  conduct during these events impact Managements
  view of your ability to manage projects

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• Your Overall Personnel quality
• Training, dependability, commitment, dedication
  or your staff
• Are they the first ones in and last to leave, or
  last to leave and first ones out?
• As a PM, you are beyond being evaluated based on
  your own traits you will be evaluated based on
  the traits of your staff and project what
  culture do you inspire?
• Workers you attract/repel
• Customers you attract/repel
• Personnel recognition and treatment

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• Utilization of Corporate Resources, overhead,
  discretionary profit
• Accurate (honest) Reporting
• Know your boss goals, and their boss bosss,
  goals
• Ability to differentiate between successful short
  term vs. Long term strategies
• Conceive of the Ideal subordinate Project
  Manager and become them
• Be the kind of Project Manager you would want
  working for you

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Managing These Domains

• In Dealing With These Domains, you must be aware
  of
• How you are perceived in all three domains
• Exactly what your responsibilities are, and
  understand your realistic sphere of influence
  and types of authority you have
• Exactly what everybody else is responsible for
• Manage Interaction in and between these domains

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• You must be seen by all three domains as
• Having Integrity
• Being Honest
• Treating All People Fairly
• No favors that would harm another (tolerating
  unqualified workers, undeserving awards, etc.)
• Select vocabulary and phraseology very carefully
  semantics matter
• Temper

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• Only use authority to constrain the sphere of
  another when absolutely necessary
• Lead them to mutually beneficial solutions
• Treat people in all three domains as Teammates
  Your Success is dependent on ALL the
  stakeholders
• Be aware of those who change domains and
  realize these people can present both risks and
  opportunities
• It is a small world having treated people with
  respect and fairness decades ago can result in
  personal loyalty forever

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• The Take Away is
• Successful Project Managers follow the Golden
  Rule
• Treat Others (Customers, Workers, and Management)
  as You Would Expect to be Treated