In projects, inappropriate authority structures can mess it all up
Messy realities
Some project managers work very hard to planĀ and track progress, trying toĀ keep people to their tasksā¦ only to find their work shackled and thwarted by ineffectiveĀ authority structures and inappropriate lines of reporting.
Project Management is an organisational discipline, not an individual skill or technique. But in Project Management, effective authority structures look different from those in “business as usual”.
“The book saysā¦”
The PMBOKĀ® Guide listsĀ the organisational influences on Project Management which must be consideredĀ before starting a project. Inter alia, these include organisational cultures and styles, organisational process assets (e.g. existing procedures, guidelines, document templates), enterprise environmental factors, and the structure of the organisation doing the project. Organisational authority structures are classified as being either functional (where department heads have a great deal of say, and project managers have little authority), matrix (where project managers may have a great deal of authority, if it’s a strong matrix), or projectised (where project managers are the main managers).
It’s forĀ good reasonĀ that these influences andĀ considerations are included in the Guide. Working within or around unclear or inappropriate organisational structures can make a project expensive, slowĀ and painful, and can lead to a great deal of misunderstanding, disagreement and rework (if the project is actually completed at all), so if you want your projects to run better, you’ve got to actually consider the things they say you should consider.
How to actually do what the book says
How to use this information will depend on who you are in the picture, and how much authority you have.
If they call you a project manager, but they don’t actually give you effective authorityĀ over anyone (because the people who must do what you need all report to other people, who won’t listen to you either), then you need to factor this into your planning.
Conflicts with operational requirements stifle projects.
It’s your duty from the onset to point out the associated risks and to calculate their potential effect into your timelines and costings. You’ll have toĀ ensure that the people who are signing off the project understand them and agree to be accountable for theĀ suffering which could happen as a result of your powerlessness. Not just by signing off something without reading it. Not just because you told them that time in that one meeting. They need to get this. Alternatively, if you’re more sane and intend staying that way, you may politely decide not to accept the mandate to manage the project, rather than having to rely on your well-practiced begging, bribing and shouting skills to get things done once the project begins.
On the other hand, if you’re one of the top dogs who could perhaps talk to the other top dogsĀ and eventually, carefully, and humbly redesign the whole thing so that it works more effectively, now may be a good time to start learning what it takes to transform the organisation to become an enabled Project Management environment.
