Project Executives
About you
You have budget responsibility for different projects. Successful delivery of these projects is an important factor in your success. You have several project managers reporting to you as they provide the day-to-day management of these projects.
These project managers are a diverse group of people. They are unique individuals when it comes to their personalities, project management background, experience and the type of support they need. Your customers are just as diverse when it comes to their maturity level and the level of attention they need.
These elements together create for a dynamic environment in which you are responsible for not just the successful delivery of projects but also the ongoing development of your people and organization to be better tomorrow. A fun but challenging balancing act.
The executives we work with have genuine care for their projects and the clients and people they work with. Their work excites them as it allows for unique opportunities to have impact and to grow. They love a work life full of variety.
It comes with the project territory: our clients tend to be in charge and like it that way. They actively set out to shape their lives and their projects. They are open minded and eager to learn, curious and positive minded. They strive to be the best project professional they can be.
These are typical issues our Project Executive clients deal with:
Success is lacking
Sure, project issues are common and not necessarily alarming. However, projects simply have to be more successful. The balance in “fixing” versus trouble free delivery is off. Too many escalations, unhappy customers and negative impact on the bottom line and company image. Across the board the delivery success has to improve.
Capacity issues.
There is the ongoing challenge of matching the available PM capacity with the projects to be handled. Having under skilled and over skilled project managers is a significant problem. Not all PM’s have the seniority to successfully run a project through its lifecycle. On the other end, not each project requires a senior Project Manager full time. Not being able to apply the appropriate PM skill set when it matters is a recipe for creating issues.
You can’t do it all yourself
Fortunately you don’t have to. Your job is to monitor and manage. But finding the right balance in staying informed, getting the actual status, versus giving liberty to the project managers is a challenge. At times you don’t get the appropriate information to monitor accurately or are being informed after the fact. It forces you to be reactive where it is tough to be successful. How do you create an environment where project managers involve you when it is needed and feel safe to do so while not giving up their autonomy? Many of the issues could have been fairly easily prevented.
Where is the team?
Your PM’s are well educated, certified and up to date on how to clinically manage projects. It proves to be no guarantee for project success though. People issues within the team and at times with customers are common. The team often is not a team. It is a group of individuals doing what they do with little synergy. Affecting timelines (every job is sequential) and overall project efficiency. Worst of all, it negatively affects energy levels within the team and the willingness to go the extra mile.
Manage the customer
The success of your projects is not always fully under your control. You operate within the space of the customer, what they do and don’t do affects your delivery in negative ways. The maturity of your customers is a big influence on the potential success and added value your organization can provide. How do you manage the customer such that both get the most benefit out of the relationship?
What we offer
Free consultation
The work with our clients is personal in nature. We encourage those interested in our offerings to book an exploratory call. It provides both of us an opportunity to get to know each other and determine whether there is a fit in your needs and our offerings. The only investment you have to make is 20 minutes of your precious time!
Executive Coaching
Coaching with Project Executives focuses on you and the cooperation with your team. As a group, how can you elevate the quality and predictability of the project delivery capability in your organization? We focus on the project delivery infrastructure, the underlying relationships and your role as a leader. How can you enable your group of project managers to be more successful in their delivery? Project Executive Coaching is offered in monthly and quarterly programs.
Project Delivery Maturity
best value
A tailormade offering focusing on sustained improvement of the Project Delivery capability of your organization. In our experience, there are elements in the DNA of any organization and its people which are not supportive of getting better. We cooperate to uncover and resolve those elements. Some examples of topics we address: building the appropriate people skills for projects success, balancing the clinical and people side of projects. The integration of change management in the delivery approach and learning how to deal with different levels of customer maturity. We work as a group, create a team spirit and grow skill and awareness around topics that matter.