In my third installment we’ll look at the third “thing” any project manager needs to make better, faster project decisions. That is:
A project governance structure that allows decision-making at the appropriate levelÂ
Even though we as project managers are paid to make decisions, there are certain decisions we do not have the authority to make, or we’re unsure how to make the decision. In such cases, we need to escalate the issue to a “higher authority” to have the matter resolved. Mature organizations establish very clear project governance structures and rules which become just a part of doing business. But many organizations, especially those with immature project practices, do not necessarily think through project governance very well. Accordingly, project managers may not know who to go to, or worse, feel as if they need to go to too many “higher ups” to resolve their issues.
How about you? If you need to resolve matters do you know who to go to? For many, when asked to graphically depict their project governance process they draw something like this……
If you had to describe your project governance structure would it look like this?
Still other project managers feel as if they’re on trial when they escalate matters to their executives. Why? Because the executives or project sponsors believe they have all the right answers and don’t put a lot of faith and trust in those that manage projects. They micromanage so much the PM feels the need to escalate darn near every decision.
Do you feel as if you’re on trial when you escalate issues?
As Thomas Friedman pointed out in his excellent book The World is Flat, even the U.S. military (and other countries’ as well) is pushing decision-making down to the lowest appropriate level. The thinking is that it is at that level where there’s the most knowledge about what to do. And, as it relates to the military, during combat there’s not much time to analyze data and consult with others! When you’re getting shot at, you’ve got to make a decision FAST!
In fact, as the pic below illustrates the warfighter today is packed with advanced technology and has an almost equal amount of information being provided to them as is being sent to the General overseeing the battle who literally may be thousands of miles away. Isn’t it appropriate then for the soldier to make certain key decisions without the need to seek approval? In today’s military the thinking is the leader tells the troops the intent (the “Commander’s Intent”) of the mission, and those on the ground figure out the best way to accomplish it.
What’s your governance structure for making better, faster project decisions? Is it crystal clear as to how key decisions need to be made, and do you as a project manager have the necessary authority to make those decisions that you should be making? And, one more thing, do you push decision-making down to your team members so you’re not slowing them down?