Build a better PMO by Crashing the Net

In hockey, the 2nd forward into the attacking zone often scores the most goals. While the first forward may unleash the massive shot, it more often than not bounces off the goalie's pads. It is up to the 2nd forward, now in the crease, to finesse the puck up and over (or through) the goalie.

When I help my clients develop their PMO organizations, it is pretty much the same way. I usually participate in the second attempt to implement a PMO. That's because a lot of organizations build a PMO backwards the first time round. They violate one or both of the two fundamental flows of a PMO.

The first flow is that organizational capability is developed from people, to process, to tools. Break that order and your PMO will fail ... guaranteed. Many first-time PMO-builders set about procuring enterprise-wide project management tools as soon as they take the ice. You've heard the expression that the solution isn't in the software box? This is a mistake I have seen companies make to the tune of more than $10M, only to be abandoned every single time. It's like buying a $300 one-piece stick when you don't know how to handle the puck. What's the point? You could yank a branch off a tree and have the same impact.

The second flow is that project data moves from the bottom of the organization to the top, not the other way round! So many PMO-builders try to build a dashboard to manage their portfolio first. They blink and sparkle like a hockey scoreboard, but it's really just a hood ornament. The data driving the display is poorly synthesized because the project teams and managers have not yet developed a common understanding or approach for managing projects. Collating metrics this way is a misleading adventure at best. At worst, it'll open a huge riff right through the middle of the organization. I could tell you stories ...

When I work with organizations to develop their PMOs, I probe senior managers to understand what kinds of decisions they need to make concerning their portfolio. After that, I head straight for the project managers to help them get what they need to manage their projects better. That may involve developing a better understanding of how to manage, or coaching them to increase skills. Projects managers that have confidence in their abilities to run complex initiatives can feed the data engine of a dashboard quite naturally.

PMO development follows underlying fundamentals. And like hockey, if you want to put the biscuit in the basket, you're going to have to go with the flow.

Tipping Points for Teams

Last evening, I watched my 11-year-old son's hockey team in a playoff game. Winning would eliminate the opposing team and allow our guys to move onto the quarter-finals. Our opponents had a better season record, but we hadn't dropped a game to them all year. Pre-game confidence was high. It was in the bag. We lost 0-3. The series is now wide open.

So what happened? Our boys are a capable team. When all 17 play with their heads and their hearts in the game, they cannot be beat. They have stared down older, higher-ranked, and bigger teams and shown some amazing depth. It's not an issue of capability.

The tipping point for this team is confidence. Too little and they fold like a cheap shirt. Too much and they engineer their own defeat. Maybe not enough of the 17 hearts were in it last night. You could say the other team had one or two more heart muscles pumping for the win.

And so it often is with my project teams. Our ability to find success as a team hinges more often than not on the will to win - a desire to achieve something worth achieving. Not for the company or even the other members on the team, but for themselves. I may not get it from all the team members; that may not even be realistic. But I will need enough hearts in the game to reach my tipping point. If my team is coming up short, I reach out to those on the team who can close the distance. I help my team members evolve the project goals so that they resonate. And that's less about being a project manager and more about being a coach and colleague. Cool!

So, our next game is tomorrow. The coaches will be thinking about what it will take to unleash this team's will to win.

What's the tipping point for your team?