The Extraordinary Power of Project Relationships

WHAT'S YOUR PROJECT'S RELATIONSHIP IQ?

Mark the option that best describes your performance. If your option is NEVER, check Option 1, if it occurs very frequently then select 5. If your answer is sometimes, check Option 3, and so on. Also, try to avoid taking the easy middle option 3.

Think about business projects such as creating a new corporate procedures manual, technology system or departmental merger. Or in your personal lives consider projects such as pursuing an academic designation, renovating a kitchen or coaching a sports team for a season.

Answer questions as a relationship diagnostic for all the people, known as stakeholders, in your relationships. Anyone who influences or is influenced by what your project does is a called a stakeholder.

Consider those who influence you such as bosses, sponsors and significant others. Think about people who are being influenced by the results of what you do in your private as well as business lives.

Don't forget to include yourself as a stakeholder. You have an interest. Hence, you are a stakeholder.

Powerful Project Individual Relationships

1.   Everyone in your life is a customer. After all, they are spending on you. They consume valuable moments of their life with you. If you don't treat them well, you lose. So, do your customers agree that the project has identified, defined and exercises superior customer relationship practices?

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2.   A boss is a person in your business or personal life who makes decisions and exercises authority. Even in your personal life, your significant other may be the "boss" in a kitchen renovation project because it is more important to him or her. Does your boss, and of course this can be you, agree that project stakeholders understand and support them by leveraging their strengths, compensating for their weaknesses and performing to expectations?

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3.   Project staff, such as people helping you to move from one house to another or employees putting together a new standard operating procedure (SOP), carries out the work. Do project staff agree that the project understands and supports their needs and expectations, balancing their best interests with those of the project?

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4.   Does your project recruit good or bad staff? Do project stakeholders agree that project results are as good as they can get thanks to recruiting the right attitude, skills and experience, people on your team?

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5.   Do you have authority which matches and enables the responsibilities which rest on your shoulders? Do project stakeholders agree that their project manager's authority is understood, respected and achieves success in good times as well as bad?

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6.   You can't do everything yourself. There are not enough hours in the day for you to do it all. You need experts. You must delegate! How good is delegation understood and deployed? Do project stakeholders agree that the project exercises delegation practices which enable a clear understanding of what needs be done, responsibilities, authority levels and time, money and scope constraints?

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7.   Motivation is an art and science. Everyone is has unique combinations of things which work to light a fire (metaphorically) under them. Do your stakeholders agree that they are strongly motivated because the motivators are tailored to each individual's needs, circumstances and performance expectations?

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8.   Risk goes with the territory. You need to properly anticipate and plan for the uncertainties and vagaries of the future. Do project stakeholders all understand the nature of risk and have they collaboratively developed and approved an excellent risk plan?

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9.   Criticism and feedback is a natural part of the human condition and relationship. Negative as well as positive feedback can diminish and destroy relationships. Do stakeholders agree that the project successfully practices the giving and receiving of criticism?

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10.   If people do not get fair, accurate and effective performance appraisals, formally as well as informally, they won't know whether they are meeting expectations. Do stakeholders agree that the project successfully practices appraisals which enable maximum performance and continuous improvement?

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11.   When people are troublesome or not meeting project expectations, they need to be moved. Do stakeholders agree that, when needed, poorly performing people have been moved off the project for objective, fair and just reasons for the best interests of the project?

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12.   People constantly bombard you and your stakeholder with deliberate and sometimes accidental manipulations. Do stakeholders agree that decisionmaking and unfair persuasion is understood by all, identified when it does happen and eliminated in order that optimal project decisions are made?

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Powerful Project Group Relationships

1.   How's it going with office and family politics? DO stakeholders agree that the reality of politics in any relationship is understood by all and that negative politics is identified when it does happen and eliminated in order that optimal project performance occurs?

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2.   Relationships go through various good and bad dynamics for which there are proven techniques. Do project stakeholders agree that the best group dynamics practices associated with forming, storming, norming and performing are understood and applied in the optimal manner with particular attention to eliminating the negative implications of groupthink?

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3.   Since we can't do everything at once we need to identify and manage priorities. Do project stakeholders agree that priorities are objectively and effectively identified, communicated and understood?

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4.   We all want to achieve quality but not everyone understands the nature of quality and how to achieve it. Do stakeholders agree that high quality results are defined, understood, monitored and achieved?

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5.   Marketing is much more than advertising and promoting. It's about understanding what customers want and how to keep them happy and loyal in comparison to the competition. DO stakeholders agree that the project is understood, communicated and valued to the point that the project gets the level of support and resources, balanced against priorities, yet enough to enable the project's success?

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6.   Do new and existing stakeholders understand what the project is supposed to do, initially as well as when scope changes occur? Do project stakeholders agree that the project's terms-of-reference and charter completely and accurately defines the project terms of reference is understood by all and is up-to-date?

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7.   All projects, whether it's a marriage or a new procedure, generate the potential for resistance because they always produce change. Do project stakeholders agree that change management practices are effectively applied in order to minimize resistance while maximizing the acceptance of project results?

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8.   Being ethical is not only being a good person but can also enable project success. Do stakeholders...