Project Manager Authority

In this podcast, Ricardo talks about the authority of the Project Manager. He explains that it is very common in projects where the company has a functional or weak matrix structure, project managers with little authority. Ricardo gives some tips on how to increase the authority in projects

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Episode transcript

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Hello, everybody. Welcome to the five minutes PM podcast today. I like to discuss with you one kind of message that I received very often regarding our targeting Project Manager, Authority a lot of people asking me how I can exercise, influence power to deliver the results on time on a budget, without a doubt and enough authority to make things happen. I'm not talking only about Authority. He owned the workers on the team members, but alternately also to deal with the budget to make scope changes.

And one thing that it's really important is to understand that each organ is it is unique. And we need to understand that some organizations are more prepared for project management. So we have what we called it. The prototype is it instructors, this kind of organization. They are prepared to work with projects. So in this case, the project manager has a full time, party over the team in why this happened, because he or she accumulates the full channel power under the employees'.

Despite if this is were from human resource, from a pure Chase's from Haiti, they all work for the project manager, that ones to deliver the product, but this kind of organization is not perfect for all kind of business. So some businesses, need to be a little bit different. They need to be a more functional what we call food channel organization. And then in between this, we have all the matrix organizations that are a mixture of these two, the traditional ones and the prototypes it one.

But in the first case does a very large complex project size organization with a big, big move to the billion-dollar projects. They do not have too many problems off and power or the problem that they faced. He is pretty much related. He said to the business two, the project by itself, but then you on her hand, this kind of food channel or week matrix organization, this kind of companies, they are not prepared for perfect product management.

And does our main goal. 99% of all companies have small projects, not too big, not extremely can you really complex. And the problem for the project manager, in this case, is to make the team committed, to deliver the results it's to lead people without the alterity and the functional power or the functional model management over this team in our, overall their areas.

And what do we do in this case? That will be most of the case. One more word, negotiate, negotiate, what you need to do. You need to work together with the people, with the functional power. You find need someone from it. I need to bring to my ideological team, the functional manager of their it, people that I need, I need to bring to my team, the lawyers I need to bring to mind the team, the accounting Manager to make sure that I have all their accounts with me.

If I need them, what we need to do. And I like to suggest its to put tan as a major stakeholder to put them together with you in this big time. Yeah. I'm not talking about the project team, but the stakeholder team So put them aware of what's going on, sell them the idea of the Project. If you sell them correctly, they will give you the ultimate.

All right. It's like, I'm not the bus, but I'm a friend of the bus. This is exactly the idea of leading without authority. So you will inspire people. You will sell the idea and you make a bike for everybody. Try to go on the corridor inside your company, ask him, Oh, you need to promote me. Otherwise, this project will fail because that will not have power.

It doesn't mean that if you were promoted, you will make things happen because the power of the function of power will continue in your own that people. So you need all the framework of supporters. So sponsorship, stakeholder, commitment with this. Then you will the exercise indirectly, the Dell target here. You need to speed to deliver the product. And remember always we're not looking for our authority or power or as project manager for what we are looking for is to deliver the product, the right product on time on budget.

Does it, what really matters? Dell Thoratec is only a week rote to do that. If I can build this road, okay. If I can manage this road, okay. If I can't manage this road, need to know extremely well, who is able to manage it for me and need to have him or her as a partner on this endeavour to deliver the project as I want. I hope you enjoyed this podcast.

See you next time. Sweet. With another five minutes PM. Podcast.

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