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How Can I Have the Responsibility Without the Authority?

July 20, 2010 | Author: PM Hut | Filed under: Miscellaneous

How Can I Have the Responsibility Without the Authority?
By Mark L. Reed

By far, the question I am most often asked has always been, “How can I get my project team to actually accomplish their tasks on time, if even at all?” After a short discussion, the question translates to, “I don’t have the authority to delegate, but I am responsible for their work, both the quality and the timeliness.”

Most of the time our project team is assigned to us from top management without our say in the matter. These groups of senior managers who are responsible for the division of work within their departments identify personnel for your project based on functional skills and availability.

On paper, the staff planning looks great to them and you are then assigned the project and the team. Unfortunately, more often than not, the best laid plans by the managers who assign our teams head due south (fast!) as reality evolves.

  • Priorities change People miss work (for a variety of reasons)
  • Resources are reassigned
  • The team member’s day job becomes more important
  • Etc., etc., etc.

The way project teams are assigned to us is a fact of project management life that we must accept, but must we accept the actual team members provided.

Yes we do, certainly on the get-go, but as we gain experience with the person and have some lessons learned from previous projects, we will have facts to negotiate with our Project Customer regarding time cost and objectives.

Who the team members actually are, their competence, availability and even desire to participate must be evaluated by you the Project Manager, as you will be held responsible and accountable for all the work.

You see, delegation only works if you have something to take away for disobedience; in other words, the ability to dismiss the team member or affect their monetary remuneration(!), and non-dedicated Project Managers do not have that authority.

So what do you do?

  1. First and foremost, you must spend time with the team member. Not on the e-mail, but in person or at least on the telephone. By doing this simple work you will begin building a personal relationship. Your goal is to allow the team member to make the decision to do and take responsibility for their tasks.

  2. You should actively ask for and listen to the team member’s feedback on their assigned tasks. Honestly, if they say they do not have time to accomplish the task, they won’t, no matter how hard you try to ignore it.

  3. Make the team member feel they are a part of the project and project team. Follow-through and make sure the project’s objectives are clear to the team member as well as the objectives to their tasks.

  4. Keep the team member informed of the effect that their task has to the project. If the task is on the critical path, then the non-completion of that task will affect other team members and tasks.

Nevertheless, probably the most important step in the project management process is not to agree to the time, cost and objectives until you have buy-in from your project team that the work is accomplishable within the TCO constraints given to you.

If you accept the responsibility and accountability of delivering the project without evaluating, consulting and building the relationships with your team members, your chance of success is minute. If you gain buy-in and agreement from each team member (and listen to them as their situations change), you are building the foundation of any good team - trust and dedication.

In turn, the only authority you will need is the fact that the person is completing the task for the sake of the relationship you have built with them, one-on-one, and that makes for one great Project Manager.

Mark Reed, Project Management expert, Executive Consultant and President of Mark Reed Project Management, Inc. has brought his unique “Project Management… by the Numbers” methodology from his ProSess International division, to companies in 45 countries. Mark’s dynamic style, humor and extensive 20+ years experience in project management execution and training provides companies with a strong practical approach and innovative techniques for delivering over-the-top results. Mark Reed’s “… by the Numbers” program is a lifesaver for struggling project managers and their frustrated CEOs. His innovative techniques and fast-pasted, value-rich seminars have helped his clients achieve timely and cost effective programs and satisfied customers worldwide. Consultant /Trainer Mark Reed is also available for private consulting. For a free newsletter with project management tips or more information, visit http://www.bythenumbers.com, e-mail to mark.reed@bythenumbers.com or contact their headquarters at +1 206-251-9910.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 and is filed under Miscellaneous. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 people have left comments

Great post, this is the real issue facing many project managers, especially new PM’s without established relationships. I have found some good ways to handle project teams through John Kotter’s books on Leading Change and The Heart of Change.

Bill Arneson wrote on July 20, 2010 - 7:30 am | Visit Link

I really liked this part:

Nevertheless, probably the most important step in the project management process is not to agree to the time, cost and objectives until you have buy-in from your project team that the work is accomplishable within the TCO constraints given to you.

I’m not agreeing that the team has to totally buy-in; I think there are times the pm has to put his/her foot down and the team has to roll with it, but the fact is that the team is doing the work, not the sponsor or the stakeholders. Their estimates might be wrong, but they’re probably closer to reality than anyone outside the team.

Laura Bamberg wrote on July 20, 2010 - 1:15 pm | Visit Link

The time issue Mark brings up is really key. I’ve seen too many deadlines established without team input and buy in. If I get the time estimate from the user with their managers buy-in my odds of success go way up.
As a new PM I was too willing to give into the arbitrary deadlines or give them an estimated date without team input. After making that mistake a few times I realized it was the true road to ruin and learned how to firmly say, “I’ll get back to you on the date.”

Dennis Brooke wrote on July 23, 2010 - 12:06 pm | Visit Link

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