Dodging the ‘valley of death’ in project team management

Abstract

Significant gains have been made in our knowledge of project management. Much of this knowledge has focused on creating better tools to plan, execute, and control projects. There are, however, other equally important determinants of project success. Three success drivers which have received far less attention are how project leaders gain support for their projects via their interpersonal power & influence; how they can productively deal with those who can either block or help facilitate project accomplishment; and how to “manage upwards,” e.g., managing key relationships with project sponsors and senior management. Without an understanding of these concepts, many project leaders will encounter performance levels not sufficient for project success. This presentation posits that the more complex the project and the more sophisticated and diverse the technology projects require, the more the concepts discussed in this paper are needed for project success. This presentation presents an integrated view of the challenges project managers as boundary spanners face in building high-performing teams and dealing with the inevitable political issues which surround every project.