Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Advancing project management in learning organizations

Advancing project management in learning organizations Effective project managers are required to have both “hard” technical skills to help control the iron triangle of time, cost and functional scope as well as relationship management skills to work effectively with people and get the best out of them. This paper argues that project managers also need a third skill: we refer to it as tapping into the power lines. This is a skill beyond the management of schedules, budgets and milestones, beyond leading project teams or managing suppliers and users, and even beyond what is commonly regarded as managing a project's senior stakeholders. The hypothesis, based on data gathered from three case studies, is that there is a need for project managers to be skilled in managing at the third dimension in large organizations; to understand the need for, have the ability, and be willing, to “tap into the power grid” of influence that surrounds all projects, particularly in large organizations. Without third dimension skills, project managers and their organizations will find delivering successful project increasingly more difficult. The second part of this paper will discuss how project managers might achieve competence in managing the third dimension both through individual effort and with the support of the learning organization. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The Learning Organization Emerald Publishing

Advancing project management in learning organizations

Lynda Bourne; Derek H.T. Walker
The Learning Organization , Volume 11 (3): 18 – Jun 1, 2004
Download PDF
18 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/advancing-project-management-in-learning-organizations-OUEC0zLvkp

References (61)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
0969-6474
DOI
10.1108/09696470410532996
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Effective project managers are required to have both “hard” technical skills to help control the iron triangle of time, cost and functional scope as well as relationship management skills to work effectively with people and get the best out of them. This paper argues that project managers also need a third skill: we refer to it as tapping into the power lines. This is a skill beyond the management of schedules, budgets and milestones, beyond leading project teams or managing suppliers and users, and even beyond what is commonly regarded as managing a project's senior stakeholders. The hypothesis, based on data gathered from three case studies, is that there is a need for project managers to be skilled in managing at the third dimension in large organizations; to understand the need for, have the ability, and be willing, to “tap into the power grid” of influence that surrounds all projects, particularly in large organizations. Without third dimension skills, project managers and their organizations will find delivering successful project increasingly more difficult. The second part of this paper will discuss how project managers might achieve competence in managing the third dimension both through individual effort and with the support of the learning organization.

Journal

The Learning Organization – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jun 1, 2004

Keywords: Project management; Stakeholders; Influence; Learning

There are no references for this article.