Taking Over a Project

  Taking Over a Project
The first question to be answered is: Why are you here?Were you hired
to take over and lead this project? Were you moved into a position to
take over this project? No matter which question you answered, the
first thing you need to do is to get your act together. By this I mean,
when you walk into the project, walk in as the project manager, not as
someone looking for friends. In other words, walk in strong, not weak.
Have you gone through all the prior steps of this chapter? Do you
understand the organization? Have you made the alliances you need to
make? If you are coming in from the outside, make these steps carefully.
Get answers to these questions by talking to your trusted contacts
inside the organization or to the person who hired you. If you are already
in the organization, you may already have a feel for these situations.
The point is, get the questions answered and the issues resolved
at the outset.
First, what are the conditions you are looking into as a project manager?
There are usually six combinations:
You are hired for a new project.
You are transferred for a new project.
You are hired for an ongoing project that is running well.
You are transferred to an ongoing project that is running well.
You are hired for an ongoing project that is in trouble.
You are transferred to an ongoing project that is in trouble.
It is important to understand which of these conditions you are facing.
Hopefully, you had an opportunity to find out the condition of the project
TLFeBOOK
182 MAKING YOUR CAREER MOVES
before taking the job, but this does not always happen. No matter what,
you must still get your arms around the situation before going any further.
In the above list, it is clear that the first four situations are the best and
the easiest to tackle. The last two situations are more difficult.
You have just been hired or transferred to take over the project. Has
there been a problem? What was the problem? Listen to the people
who are already there. Likely they will have some insightful ideas of
what the problem is all about. Be very careful in your assessment of
each individual input. Audit the inputs and the project performance
figures and derive your own solution. What is the solution, and how
will you implement it? Will you make organization changes? Will you
make changes to the order of work? This is the time to broach all these
questions (and any others that may be appropriate) and have your answers
ready. Modify the project plan so that your approach is documented.
Then, present the changes to the team. Nothing makes an
organization understand that you are in charge more than making organizational
and procedural changes, but they must be the right ones.
When you are ready, call the team together and make your presentation.
It is not necessary to be gruff or unfriendly, but you do need to
let the team members understand you are in charge. You don’t ever
say that, you do that by having your act together. Don’t make your
presentation with a strong voice, make it with a strong plan. Of course
the antithesis of this is to be placed in a position where you have no
time to prepare. Don’t let that happen. Even if it’s just overnight, be
prepared to take over.
The adage ‘‘You never get a second chance to make a first impression’’
is absolutely true. Be ready to make that first impression, and
make it with positive strength.
Up until now, you have been getting ready. You looked at the origins
and development of project management. You looked at your background
and where you wanted to go. You put the two together, and you
were hired or moved into getting a position to lead a project. Now it’s
time to get serious in leading the project or program, but first you need
to know what each classification is all about. Are you going to be a oneperson
project manager? Are you going to lead a project or a program,
or are you going to lead a large-scale project or program? These are all
valid questions and must be answered.