Establishing the Project Authority
With any project, regardless of the size, the project manager must
establish his authority over that project. Authority over the project is not the
same as authority over the project team members. You, the project manager, will
be responsible for the success of the project, so you need to take charge of the
activities to finish the project. In other words, responsibility for the success
of the project must have an equal level of authority over the actions to create
the deliverables.
Authority and responsibility are bound together in project
management. The success of the project rests on the shoulders of the project
manager. The project manager’s career, opportunity for advancement, and
reputation all rest on the ability of the project team to finish the project and
create the deliverables. As Figure
11-1 demonstrates, if the project manager does not have the authority to
assign tasks to the project team members, how can she ever reach the objectives
of the project? The level of authority is relative to the autonomy assigned
within your organizational structure. It’s not impossible for a project manager
to successfully lead a project in a functional or weak matrix environment. The
authority of a project manager, in any organizational structure, must be
leveraged with the respect of the project team.
Team members, of course, also have a level of responsibility for
completing the work, and they have risks involved in the project as well. For
example, a team member may be dedicated to the project because he can perceive
the personal benefits of working on a successful project. A successful
relationship between the team members and the project manager should be
symbiotic, as Figure 11-2
depicts.
Team members must agree that you are the leader of the project and
that they will support your decisions, your management of the resources, and
your leadership to the deliverables. The project manager, though not the manager
of the individual team members, still must exude a level of confidence and
authority over the project team to gain their respect and desire to work on the
project.
Many IT project managers stem from IT backgrounds. For these
individuals to be successful, they must possess the following attributes:
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Organizational skills
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Passion for the team’s success
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Passion for the project’s success
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Ability to work with people
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Good listening skills
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Ability to be decent and civil
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Ability to act professionally
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Commitment to quality
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Dedication to finish the project
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