The art of Project Management

The art of Project Management is defined by the application of clarity and integration of the people aspect within Projects.  

The lack of clarity is a fundamental issue causing lack of project success. This is on many levels, Steering Committees operating without clarity of what exactly success is, fuzziness around the exact definition of project deliverables, ambiguous communication but also down to clarity around what a specific colleague is to achieve by when. A lack of common clarity is a constant threat to project success. Very high on the list of a PM’s responsibility is the creation, spreading and guarding of project clarity. Each day, every day!  

Including the people aspect is what is part of the Art of Project Management as well. Projects are delivered through people and create results which will be consumed by people. It is only logical that a strong people focus has to be part of any Project Management approach. To get to success it is key to address people as humans rather as project resources that need to be managed.  

The reality of any project is that the quality of it is for a large part defined by the talents of the people involved. Is your project having the right talent, is the available talent applied where it matters most and are the circumstances created such that these people can shine? Do they have a safe and supporting environment where they can deliver? Each day, every day the PM is responsible to ensure the experts within your project are in the best position possible to deliver.  

I think none of what is stated here so far is new or controversial, it’s pretty much common sense. So far the theory, the reality proves to be quite different though. The tendency to control, to manage through measuring, applying methodology has for large part taken the human aspect out of working together. And the results show for it. What I observe is not exclusively true for the Project world.  

Execution of projects has become a pretty technical exercise which we have come to believe can and should be managed to the nth degree. Lack of success is lack of management is what we believe. Whereas the opposite is true. The overkill in management has resulted in poor project results. The more we manage through methodology, the more clinical a project becomes. The less the experts that actually can make a difference feel connected to the project and it’s results, the less ownership is present. 

Where ownership is a critical success element for projects. Where a project by definition is doing something new, it has unpredictability and insecurity at its core. Ownership, entrepreneurship are key elements needed to deal with this. That can only be achieved by a very personal project approach. Connecting with the different individuals within the project and establishing what is needed for them to be the owner and co-creator of success. 

The art of Project Management is applied sparsely, typically in a random manner. There is little awareness and teaching around it. It is not the wishy washy, we have to be nice. It is the acknowledgement that project success is created by different individuals, bringing different talent, having different desires having effect on team effectiveness and delivery overall. Integration is what successful application of the Art of Project Management is all about.