Project Manager Success

Hello and welcome to my blog—PMGT 611- Anatomy of Project Organizations. As part of my Master’s coursework at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, I am tasked to analysis different project management lessons and/or scenarios. Each time I learn valuable lessons while gaining a little insight into myself.

This leads us into this week’s discussion topic: Project Manager Success.  In particular, the assignment is to locate an article or publication that speaks about the leadership knowledge and skills requirements necessary for the success of project managers in the next ten years.

When thinking of leadership knowledge and skills requirements, one current event stands out: President Barack Obama Signs the Program Management Improvement and Accountability Act. Geared towards the federal government, this important act stands out for project managers and the industry in many ways.

Program Management Improvement and Accountability Act (PMIAA)

PMIAA enhances the accountability and best practices in project and program management throughout the federal government. The PMIAA reforms federal program management policy in four important ways (Project Management Institute, 2016):

-          Creating a formal job series and career path for program managers in the federal government.

-          Developing a standards-based program management policy across the federal government.

-          Recognizing the essential role of executive sponsorship and engagement by designating a senior executive in federal agencies to be responsible for program management policy and strategy.

-          Sharing knowledge of successful approaches to program management through an interagency council on program management.

This press release demonstrates the importance of leadership and accountability. Leadership “is the influencing process of leaders and followers to achieve organizational objectives through change” (Lussier & Achua, 2013 pg. 6). Often times, project success is balanced in the performance of the project manager. In the government, project success is an issue. PMI completed a report that identified “only 64 percent of government strategic initiatives ever meet their goals and business intent — and that government entities waste $101 million for every $1 billion spent on project and programs” (Project Management Institute, 2016). This is tax payer money that is being wasted!

PMIAA sets to address and reverse this trend. Accountability is the goal! Sharing knowledge is important! “The reforms outlined in the PMIAA are consistent with PMI member input and research that shows that organizations that invest in program management talent and standards improve outcomes, accountability and efficiency” (Project Management Institute, 2016).

“Reducing or eliminating duplication, overlap, or fragmentation could save billions of dollars each year and help federal agencies improve their overall efficiency” (Green, 2011). One way to do this is to set standards and in program management and enforce accountability.

“For program and project management professionals, they must assist their agency leadership in identifying major management challenges that are agency wide, or government wide, and determine appropriate approaches to address such challenges” (Green, 2011).

This is Leadership 101!

The report prepared by PMI for PMIAA “shows that these best practices result in improved efficiency and less money being wasted” (Project Management Institute, 2016). “Most importantly, organizations see more projects delivering expected value to stakeholders on time and within budget” (Project Management Institute, 2016).

Leadership accountability and best practices…necessary skills and applications for the success of project managers in the government and across all industries!

Damien

References

Green, B. (2011). Class dismissed-- now how do we execute? A strategy for improving individual accountability and organizational performance. 2011 PMI Global Congress Proceedings – Dallas, TX, Dalla, Tx.

Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2013). Leadership: Theory, application, & skill development (5th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage/Thomson South-Western.

Project Management Institute. (2016). President barack obama signs the program management improvement and accountability act [press release]. Retrieved from http://www.pmi.org/about/press-media/press-releases/president-barack-obama-signs-the-program-management-improvement-and-accountability-act

Ethics

Hello and welcome to my blog—PMGT 611- Anatomy of Project Organizations. As part of my Master’s coursework at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, I am tasked to analysis different project management lessons and/or scenarios. Each time I learn valuable lessons while gaining a little insight into myself.

  

This leads us into this week’s discussion topic: Ethics.  Here is the ethical scenario proposed:

An airline often charges higher fares for one-way tickets than round-trip tickets, and for direct flight tickets to its hub than for flight connections from its hub to another destination. So some travelers buy round trip tickets and only go one way, and some end their travel at the hub instead of taking the connection (a "hidden city" itinerary), to save money. The airlines call this breach of contract: They have punished travel agencies for tickets that aren't properly used, they sometimes demand higher fares from travelers caught, and they have seized some travelers' frequent-flier miles, saying they were fraudulently obtained. (Lussier & Achua, 2013 pg. 97)

Now, this is a very perplexing situation. Honestly, I haven’t traveled by airlines much. I was unaware of thee “hidden city” environment of ticket pricing. “Hidden City travel is when a traveler wants to go to a city that costs more to fly to directly than another city that uses the real destination as a connection” (Marshall, 2015). Doing some research, I actually discovered that there is a major court case about the situation.

“In the lawsuit, United and Orbitz call Skiplagged ‘unfair competition’ and say it promotes ‘strictly prohibited’ travel” (Bort, 2014). Curious about how a judge would rule, I quickly search for the case result, if any. I discovered an article in CNN Money which states the case was dismissed. “Chicago Judge John Robert Blakey of the Northern District Court of Illinois said the court didn't have jurisdiction over the case because Zaman didn't live or do business in that city” (Gillespie, 2015). I decided not to pursue further “google” searches since the question of ethics was directed for me to answer. So here is my take.

First, in order to probably understand my stance and the question of ethics, I wanted to define ethics. “Ethics are the standards of right and wrong that influence behavior” (Larson & Gray, 2014 pg. 55). Reviewing the scenario, my first response was in favor of the travelers.

What right does the airline have to penalize a passenger for not continuing their travel? The ticket was bought and paid for, so it is the passengers right to use anyway they chose. In addition, the airlines aren’t physical harmed as they received payment and only had to deal with an empty seat for the final leg of travel. And besides, the airlines make enough profit from consumers.

However, when given some time to consider, I can play devil advocate and see the other side.

At first, I believe the airlines had no harm. However, in truth, with reduction in ticket prices the airlines have lost revenue with my behavior. Is it right to take advantage of a situation for my own gain? Some could argue yes. I, for one, would rather follow the agreement of the ticket purchase. As a United representative stated, “This practice violates our fare rules, and we are taking action to stop it to help protect the vast majority of customers who buy legitimate tickets” (Bort, 2014).  In a sense, the ethical justification used by many in this argument could fall under distortion of consequences. Distortion of consequences “is the process of minimizing the harm caused by the unethical behavior” (Larson & Gray, 2014 pg. 58). Travelers feel it is no big deal and the airlines can handle the price difference. Maybe they can, but the airlines are a business. And a business has the right to set the pricing and conditions of their product or service. I enjoyed this analogy: “The closest analogy that I can come up with is card-counting in blackjack: it’s not cheating, and it’s not illegal, but the casinos have a right to prohibit it in their own interest” (Marshall, 2015). If the travelers do not like the situation, their voices can be heard in another way; do not use the airline. This sends the message and the airlines, if happens enough, would respond with price adjustments. The market will correct the situation.

In truth, why doesn’t the airlines just do something about their pricing?

Ok, so here are my answers to the questions to this scenario:

1-      Not using the full travel of a ticket breaks airline rules but not the law, so it's not illegal, unless travelers lie about what they are doing. But is it ethical and socially responsible behavior of travelers?

a.       No. In truth, isn’t the traveler “lying” about their intentions when purchasing the ticket?

2-      Is it ethical and socially responsible for airlines to charge more for less travel?

a.       It is up to the airlines to set the price. The airlines are business organizations, operating to make a profit. If the travelers do not like the conditions, let your voices be heard by not using the airlines’ services.

3-      Is it ethical and socially responsible to punish people who break the ticket rules?

a.       Once again, I believe it is up to the airlines to set their policies and for travelers to either abide by them. Or seek another mode of travel.

4-      Is reinforcement theory effective (does it motivate you and others) in today's global economy?

a.       Reinforcement Theory “proposes that through the consequences for behavior, people will be motivated to behave in predetermined ways” (Larson & Gray, 2014 pg. 95). Yes, this is effective, however not 100%. People (consumers and/or travelers) are required to abide by the policies of the business or suffer the consequences. I believe most of the population does comply. Take, for example, Apple IPhones and other products. By using Apple phone and products, you abide by their policy which forbids apps not approved by Apple. Most people abide. Some people “jail-break” their phones. If caught, you could suffer the consequences. However, some people are willing to take that chance.

5-      Is reinforcement theory ethical and socially responsible, or is it manipulative?

a.       I believe it is ethical. If a person does not want to follow certain rules, they are free to bring their business elsewhere, or not do business at all. Manipulative would be the hidden rules and/or policies that are enforced but not disclosed. Once the airlines discovered the problem with “hidden cities”, they can specifically add that to the policies of ticket purchase. Now, if discovered, the traveler can be held liable. The question is how do you find out if a person is ultimately using this technique? It would be about as hard as finding someone counting cards in a casino. The casino trains specialist to spot these actions. The airlines can possibly do the same.

Damien

References

Bort, J. (2014). Orbitz and united are suing a 22-year-old who figured out how to game airlines. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/blogs/business_insider/2014/12/31/skiplagged_founder_fights_lawsuit_from_united_and_orbitz.html

Gillespie, P. (2015). Judge throws out united airlines lawsuit against 22-year-old. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/01/investing/united-airlines-lawsuit-skiplagged/

Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2014). Project management: The managerial process (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2013). Leadership: Theory, application, & skill development (5th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage/Thomson South-Western.

Marshall, J. (2015). Ethics quiz: Is “Hidden city” flying unethical? Retrieved from https://ethicsalarms.com/2015/01/02/ethics-quiz-is-hidden-city-flying-unethical/

Building Teams

Hello and welcome to my blog—PMGT 611- Anatomy of Project Organizations. As part of my Master’s coursework at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, I am tasked to analysis different project management lessons and/or scenarios. Each time I learn valuable lessons while gaining a little insight into myself.

This leads us into this week’s discussion topic: Building Teams.  Being a military veteran, I have had the pleasure of working on many projects with diverse people. Some teams were effective, some ineffective. However, the underlining theme of the military teams was order, discipline, and rank structure. Though informal leaders were common, the formal leadership position was always established. It was not until I retired and worked with a team of volunteers on a project did I have a reality check.   You cannot just order volunteers to do something! Here is an example of when I participated in a charter school Parent Advisory Council (PAC) project.

As a retired military, graduate student I spent some of my new found freedom as a volunteer at a local charter school. The school is only in its third year of operation and is still dealing with some growing pains. The PAC was a parent group charged with advising the “CEO/Principal on matters related to parent involvement, fundraising, and other matters of interest” (Levinson, 2012). Though open to all parents, there was only a baseline of eight regulars. These eight formed the first council and truly tried to do great things for the school. However, the principal was having trouble with the direction PAC was headed and the formation of cliques. These cliques alienated other parent volunteers. I can only assume that the reason a volunteer organization would alienate others was ego. The PAC felt as if the school was theirs and nobody else impedes on their turf (honestly, I couldn’t make this up!). 

Background

I volunteered many hours as recess monitor, lunch room monitor, car rider attendant, and various other roles. Though I was a volunteer, I was not “accepted” into the PAC inner circle. I did not personally know these people and they frequently would meet at each other’s’ homes instead of the school. I was fine with the situation as I did not like the drama the PAC seemed to enjoy. The school became a place for the PAC parents to have a social club instead of actual projects to help. The only activities the PAC engaged in were teacher appreciation luncheons and Pizza Fridays, a fundraising initiative.

Principal Request

Within two months of the school year, the PAC president was asked (forced!) to resign due to position abuses (use of parental emails for personal issues as well as other actions). There was to be an election for a new president which was advertised amongst the parent community. Though not as heated as the current US Presidential situation, it was close! The day of the election meeting, I was asked by the principal to meet prior to the meeting. During this meeting, the principal informed of the PAC issues, how the school board of directors was very unhappy, and that of changes were not made, the PAC would be resolved. The principal, knowing my background and experience, asked if I would undertake restructuring the PAC. The project called for review of the current procedures, rewriting policies, and guiding the PAC to become an effective team.  Thinking I could do some good, I agreed. At the election meeting, the principal announced that there was going to be no election. Instead, the principal solicited parents to join my project team in restructuring the PAC.

Five-Stage Team Development Model

The model that best idealizes the project team would be the Five-Stage Development Model. This model “identifies five stages through which groups develop into effective teams” (Larson & Gray, 2014 pg. 377). Stage 1, Forming, the “members get acquainted with each other and understand the scope of the project” (Larson & Gray, 2014 pg. 377). This stage was started when I scheduled a meeting to discuss the mission, goals, and objectives. Certainly, the previous PAC participates (the clique) were not happy about the situation. They saw me as a threat to their power and position within the school. Right from the start, the team experienced negative synergy. After introductions and before meeting agenda items were discussed, the team went right to Stage 2, Storming. “This stage is marked by a high degree of internal conflict” (Larson & Gray, 2014 pg. 378). The main source of the conflict was the positional power and group control. The original PAC felt they were still in charge. They did not agree with how decisions were to be addressed, as they felt being original council members, they had final say. Egos were definitely getting in the way of progressing into the next stage. This initial meeting was adjourned after two hours of ineffective discussions. I was in shock over the whole situation. I wanted to make a positive impact on students and teachers. To help establish future projects to enhance playground equipment, create a student library, and develop tutor courses. Instead, I was met with a barrage of arguments over the title of “president” and why the original PAC should be in control.

Project Team—Take 2!

Obviously, a different approach had to be taken to garner any kind of productivity from this group. Sharpening my political skills, I engaged in recruitment through networking. By directly soliciting volunteers and discussing how they can contribute, I was able to build a coalition that supported the change process. Parents felt like outsiders with the previous PAC. Now, they had a chance to participate and not be isolated (this was the general consensus among the parents I spoke with). At the second scheduled meeting, we had a good turnout of enthusiastic volunteers. As before, the original members went straight to storming again. However, this time, they were outnumbered and peer pressure ensured behavior accountability. Some of the original PAC walked out. Others just sat quietly, choosing not to engage in discussions. Though this meeting was better, it was still not an effective team.

Building of an Effective Team

“Team building and development is the process of forming, growing, and improving the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of those people who serve on teams as well as those who provide support to teams” (Cleland, 1997). At our next meeting, the mood of the team members improved. We became focused on the mission of helping students and teachers. The team developed objectives together and became excited at getting started on some projects. The team accomplished Stage 1, Forming, Stage 2, Storming, and began to enter Stage 3, Norming. In Stage 3, Norming, “the team members begin to work together and adjust their work habits and behaviors to support the team” (Project Management Institute, 2013 pg. 276). The team was together for four months (Jan-Mar) of the school year. With limited time, the team was only able to accomplish most of the PAC restructuring project. The team developed six committees to divide up and monitor project processes. Financial guidelines were also put in place to help manage and track PAC funds. The team was reaching for Stage 4, Performing, however the school year ended before we could complete the PAC transformation. In Stage 4, Performing, the “team operating structure is fully functional and accepted” (Larson & Gray, 2014 pg. 378). At the end of the school year, the team entered Stage 5, Adjourning.

In Stage 5, Adjourning, “the team completes the work and moves on from the project” (Project Management Institute, 2013 pg. 276). The team put created a documentation control system to file all project proposals, lessons learned., financial forms, and the new PAC structure. The newly formed PAC wanted to ensure that the next school year started off productive.

Team Meetings—Productive or Not?

At the first PAC restructure project meeting, things do not go well. Though there was an agenda prepared, no topics were discussed. The team was too busy arguing over titles and roles. After two hours of negative discussions, the meeting was adjourned. After which a couple of the members discussed how to improve the situation. As mentioned earlier, a coalition was formed to bring in positive, caring parents to help. This helped weed out the negative naysayers. The second meeting was effective in that we started making positive progress on focusing on the PAC and changes needed.  To have a productive meeting, there are some tips and guidelines (Cleland, 1997):

- Establishing the purpose of the meeting. Prepare an agenda and use it! Provide time limits, as well as a preliminary definition of the expected output of the meeting.
- Managing the meeting. Keep to the agenda and avoid diversionary discussions. Summarize progress, or lack of progress, during the meeting. Encourage all attendees to participate, to include taking adversial positions as appropriate to help ensure that all issues are thoroughly discussed and evaluated.
- Summarizing the results, or lack of results, at the end of the meeting. Identify those persons who have been assigned the responsibility to follow up on agenda items and discuss those items at the next meeting. Provide meeting attendees with a brief summary of the meeting minutes, including follow-up responsibilities. (Cleland, 1997)

The next meetings, following this guideline, produced positive results. Changes were being proposed and group decisions were made. This is the area the project manager (this was my position) could have done better to increase team effectiveness.

Increasing Team Effectiveness

As a former military leader, I was well versed in proper meeting preparations and documentation (agenda, meeting minutes, etc.). Since I did this for over 20+ years, it was in my nature to continue and run this project team as a military team. That was one of my mistakes. These volunteers were not interested in paperwork or formal guidelines. I had to adjust my leadership style to compensate. Instead of preparing and briefing tasks, I asked the group for input first. I also stated some of the paperwork was mandatory (meeting minutes, financial data, etc.) and that if they did not understand I would personally help them complete. This less aggressive and informal attitude helped the team come together. They had ownership by proposing and voting on projects.

The Result—Positive or Negative?

With only four months of the school year left, the team was able to accomplish most objectives. In the short time span, processes, policies, and procedures were put in place. The committees were formed and monitored. By the end, the team increased parent participation by 120%! The team also completed some fundraising projects earning $13,000 for the school. That was simply amazing! I was grateful for the opportunity to help and share my experience. “The most successful projects are almost always characterized as having had a well-considered plan, developed by an outstanding and committed team” (Thomas, 2008).

Damien

References

Cleland, D. I. (1997). Team building: The new strategic weapon. PM Network,

Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2014). Project management: The managerial process (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

Levinson, D. (2012). Anderson creek club charter school: Charter school application. Unpublished manuscript.

Project Management Institute. (2013). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (5th ed.). Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute, Inc.

Thomas, M. (2008). Developing an effective project: Planning and team building combined. Project Management Journal,

Virtual Teams

Hello and welcome to my blog—PMGT 611- Anatomy of Project Organizations. As part of my Master’s coursework at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, I am tasked to analysis different project management lessons and/or scenarios. Each time I learn valuable lessons while gaining a little insight into myself.

This leads us into this week’s discussion topic: Virtual Teams.  Before we dive into the discussion of virtual teams, let us define virtual team:

“Virtual team is one whose members are geographically distributed, requiring them to work together through electronic means with minimal face-to-face interaction” (Lussier & Achua, 2013 pg. 292)

Quoting Lussier (2013) Leadership: Theory, Application, & Skill Development, “In the United States, it is estimated that among companies with 5,000 or more employees, more than half of them use virtual teams” (Lussier & Achua, 2013 pg. 292). This has presented management with new challenges: how do you manage a team virtually?

Virtual Team SWOT Analysis

What are strengths of virtual teams? Globalization of organizations and technology advances have created a need for virtual teams. “virtual teams enable organizations to pool the talents and expertise of employees and nonemployees by eliminating time and space barriers” (Lussier & Achua, 2013 pg. 292). This has allowed organizational work to be performed  geographically and across different time zones. This has a major advantage in that work can be continuous.

What are weaknesses of virtual teams? “Challenges include communication challenges (such as time zones), language barriers, resource challenges (do they have the right skills to work in a virtual environment), and cost challenges (fluctuating exchange rates)” (Dow & Taylor, 2015 pg. 76). In my opinion, the most important challenges of virtual teams come down to two words, trust and communication. Great, dynamic teams often build relationships and have a good rapport. If the virtual team is not managed effectively, allowing for relationship and rapport building, teams can become ineffective.

What are opportunities of virtual teams? Opportunities are present in the virtual team’s ability to accomplish organizational objectives. By working across distance and time, tapping into global expertise and employee availability across time zones, organizations can create opportunistic advantages. One such advantage is the first-mover advantage. “First-mover advantage are advantages that come to firms that make important strategic and technological decisions early in the development of an industry” (Barney & Hesterly, 2015 pg. 49). By employing virtual teams, strategic organizational objectives can occur with the expertise not available locally (or incurring the expense of travel) and without time constraints of the work day ( without overstressing your local employees with overtime).

What are threats of the virtual teams? Threats are “conditions or barriers that may prevent the firm from reaching its objectives” (Pride et al., 2015 pg. 163). The major threat inherent with virtual teams is technology and communication. In order for virtual teams to accomplish objectives, communication through electronic means has to occur. If the organization experiences technological issues, this could create a condition where virtual teams cannot operate or succeed.

 

Success of Organizational Virtual Teams

As identified above, the most important challenges of virtual teams come down to two words, trust and communication.  

Here are some tips and techniques to help manage a virtual team (Dow & Taylor, 2015):

-          Conduct a kick-off meeting.

-          Build a rapport and establish trust.

-          Create good team dynamics.

-          Meet in person.

-          Keep tasks short for early success.

-          Ensure each team member has enough work.

-          Give team members more responsibility.

Use the following to help motivate a virtual team (Dow & Taylor, 2015):

 -          Hold morale events.

-          Recognize and reward people.

-          Create fun.

-          Monetary rewards and pay raises.

Success of ERAU Course Virtual Teams

During my time as graduate student with ERAU, I have had the pleasure of working with many virtual teams. Some teams functioned with high intensity, some faltered. What was the difference maker? COMMUNICATION!

How does an ERAU member ensure effective virtual teams for coursework? First and foremost, the ERAU course members that form virtual teams must establish a communication plan. This plan must establish communications responsibilities such as how, when, where, etc. When I worked on effective teams, the communications  requirements was completed by the end of the first week. As a team member, I knew exactly when the team was to virtually gather for meetings, how we would establish this communication (Skype, Canvas, Phone, etc.) and  why we were communicating (agenda of to-do items). The performance expectations were agreed upon, with all members signing off final agreement. Here is an example of my PMGT 502 Team communications plan outline:

-          Norms & Sanctions

o   Meetings and Attendance

o   Performance

o   Conflict

o   Sanction Issues

o   Evaluation of Members

-          Organization

o   Structure

o   Decision Making

o   Organization of Meetings

-          Responsibility Assignment Matrix

-          Signatures

We approached the project with enthusiasm and ended the course with outstanding group performance reviews. Another key to our success was the kick-off meeting. During the first week, we all engaged in a conference call which helped us establish rapport. By taking some time to learn about each other, discovering common grounds, we were able to begin building relationships. By identifying a member on our team as a real person, not just a virtual name, we felt a camaraderie that pushed us to work harder.

Well, that is it for this week. I hope you enjoyed the post on virtual teams!

Damien

References

Barney, J. B., & Hesterly, W. S. (2015). Strategic management and competitive advantage (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.

Dow, W., & Taylor, B. (2015). Project management communication tools. Renton, WA: Dow Publishing LLC.

Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2013). Leadership: Theory, application, & skill development (5th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage/Thomson South-Western.

Pride, W. M., Hughes, R. J., Kapoor, J. R., Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C., . . . ...Cochran, J. J. (2015). Business foundations MGMT 500 (Fourth Edition ed.) Cengage Learning. 

Matrix Organizations

Hello and welcome to my blog—PMGT 611- Anatomy of Project Organizations. As part of my Master’s coursework at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, I am tasked to analysis different project management lessons and/or scenarios. Each time I learn valuable lessons while gaining a little insight into myself.

This leads us into this week’s discussion topic: Matrix Organizations.  From the course textbook, I was given this scenario:

"You work as an analyst in the marketing department for Springfield International (SI). SI uses a weak matrix to develop new services. Management has created an extremely competitive organizational culture that places an emphasis upon achieving results above everything else. One of the project managers that you have been assigned to help has been pressuring you to make his project your number one priority. He also wants you to expand the scope of your work on his project beyond what your marketing manager believes is necessary or appropriate. The project manager is widely perceived as a rising star within SI. Up to now you have been resisting the project manager's pressure and complying with your marketing manager's directives. However, your most recent interchange with the project manager ended by his saying, 'I'm not happy with the level of help I am getting from you and I will remember this when I become VP of Marketing." (Larson & Gray, 2014 pg. 91-92)

How would you respond and why? Share a personal project management experience you have had working in a matrix type organization. If you do not have that type of experience, share a related experience.

First, let us define a weak matrix structure. A weak matrix structure is a structure “in which functional managers have primary control over project activities and the project manager coordinates project work” (Larson & Gray, 2014 pg. 666). The most important words in the definition are “primary control” and “coordinates”. The functional manager has primary control, which means functional managers are the boss. Project managers “works as staff assistant and communications coordinator” (Project Management Institute, 2013 pg. 23). See Figure 1 for a depiction of a weak matrix structure.

Figure 1 Weak Matrix Structure

Referring back to the scenario presented above, Springfield International (SI) is a weak matrix structure with me as an employee. I work for a functional manager and also assist a project manager. This project manager, a raising superstar in the organization, is pressuring me to elevate his project’s priority and tasking me to expand my scope work. These directives contradict the functional manager’s directions. Furthermore, the project manager, in poor leadership style, threatened me by saying he would remember my level of help when he became VP of Marketing. This places me, the superstar employee (it’s my scenario, so I can decide whether I am awesome or not! J), in the middle of both the functional manager and project manager. This is an example of a weak matrix structure disadvantage; poor project integration (Larson & Gray, 2014). How do I respond?

My outlook about work performance is all about what is good for the organization, not individual careers. To me, the project manager is displaying poor leadership. “Leadership is the influencing process of leaders and followers to achieve organizational objectives through change” (Lussier & Achua, 2013 pg. 6). Influencing others is not threatening others. “Influencing is the process of a leader communicating ideas, gaining acceptance of them, and motivating followers to support and implement the ideas through change” (Lussier & Achua, 2013 pg. 7).  Armed with this knowledge, here is how I would handle the situation of being stuck in the middle.

First, I would analyze the additional scope work and see if this was good for the organization. If, in my opinion, the extra work was worth it, I would have a conversion with my functional manager and discuss the benefits. By influencing and gaining acceptance, I would be able to implement the work needed for the project. If the extra scope work was merely a ploy to make the project manager look good but offered no organizational benefits, I would refuse.

Now, as for the project manager, I would set an appointment to discuss his leadership style (or lack thereof) and offer my guidance on interpersonal skills. Whether I give additional support to the project or not, I would have this conversation with the project manager so he could possibly see the error of mistreating individuals. Believe me, if the project manager is trying to bully me, he is using this tactic on others as well. 

I suggest this approach based on experience. In the military, there are often multiple supervisors which give conflicting orders. In one such event, I was tasked with performing a task from an outside agency but still fell in my chain-of-command. My immediate supervisor counteracted the order. I was stuck in the middle since the two supervisors would not work out the details among themselves. I tackled the situation by analyzing the order and decided it was in the best interest of the organization to help. After completing the task (and before the butt-chewing time), I set appointments with both supervisors to voice my displeasure in being put in such a position. Because I was junior in rank, my leadership suggestions were dismissed and I was told to leave. Consequently, I was never given credit for the completed task and, instead, received a verbal reprimand from my immediate supervisor.

The outcome of the situation may not have been ideal. However, I do not regret my actions. As history as proven, I am a far better leader and actually learned many of my techniques by watching the mistakes of others (such as the two in this story). Ironically, both supervisors later retired under less-than-honorable conditions.

Damien

References

Collet, B. (2011). Effective project management in a weak matrix structure. Retrieved from http://www.brunocollet.com/2011/06/how-can-project-management-contribute.html

Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2014). Project management: The managerial process (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2013). Leadership: Theory, application, & skill development (5th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage/Thomson South-Western.

Project Management Institute. (2013). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (5th ed.). Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute, Inc.