Consultative project manager with a collaboration twist
Posted by AlekIs there a consultative project manager, with a collaboration twist?
Viktor Michaelsson* is the new breed of project manager, Project Manager 3.0 – if you will. He comes in the morning, and he doesn’t turn on his computer before 1030am. Why?
He knows his projects are on time, on scope and under budget. He understands he has maximized resource usage and he is on his way to the annual bonus. Most of his team members and colleagues value his open approach and his ideas, and he was even invited before the holidays to speak at a communications workshop.
How does he do it? What is the secret sauce which makes Viktor special?
He combines consultative communication skills with expert collaboration features to keep on top of activities. A consultative sale is a process of understanding the needs of the customer, developing relationships with customers and clients, and confirming your organization is doing all the right things. It is used by salespeople around the world in several industries, including telecommunications, technology and services.
A few examples of questions Viktor asks in weekly customer conference calls:
“So, what kind of value would you receive, if we completed the project before time? ”
“How would your company benefit financially if you could now see this information more clearly?”
With these and similar questions, Viktor is building the linkages between customer value and things his team is doing in the field. After a while, the customer is explicitly stating what he wants done and what the value of the relationship is with the PM.
Plus, he uses advanced online collaboration tools to keep in touch with team members and customers, allowing key stakeholders in delivering project success. Now if you are the owner of Viktor’s company, or in the sales/marketing department, this must be your #1 project manager, right?
What do you think?
How many VMs are out there? How would your customers benefit from significantly strengthened relationships? How would your company benefit from this type of communication?
*The name was created for dramatic effect only. I checked on Google.com and LinkedIn.com for this name, and it didn’t pop up. If there is a real Viktor Michaelsson, I apologize for using your name. Please contact me at aleksandar.trazoff[at]seavus.com and I will find another name.
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Scott Wilger says:
Make no mistake: building strong, deep, trustful relationships with your clients is the number one factor for project success. Of course, it’s not just a PM thing. It is equally important for Business Analysts, Relationship Managers, and even developers. In fact, your entire process for delivering projects must be geared first and foremost, to this one thing. Why? Because with trust and strong relationships, a team can overcome almost anything. But without it, you drown in puddles.
Aleksandar Trazoff says:
Scott, thanks for the comment. I completely agree – developing relationships is a key objective.
The companies who will let this slip out of “scope” will not be able to build a sustained competitive advantage over the long term. I believe everyone involved in the process can and should contribute to this simple objective.
Aleksandar Trazoff says:
Hi all – I posted this question to LinkedIn.com (this is the link – http://www.linkedin.com/answers/business-operations/project-management/OPS_PRJ/399755-7338065)
The post generated quite a discussion from a few people. Below I am posting the discussion in full…
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Alena Swozilova wrote:
Aleksandar,
you are trying to make me believe that a romantic honeymoon will last the whole marriage! Your Viktor lives in environment which doesn’t have risks, works with saints who don’t know how “conflict” looks like and has clients who know what they want and can say that with absolute perfection!
Let’s assume that Victor ALWAYS can Ask the RIGHT Question and then he can Design the RIGHT Process, Select the BEST Approach and ALL his Measures bring an Absolute and Trustworthy Value. Does Project need Him?
Of course, that the closer ties between team and client are, the better result can be expected. Asking right questions is very important for project’s success, profitability and smooth process. It’s not everything. Otherwise, we could write down the list of questions and retire.
I had such a project: everything looked well and smooth. In a day of prototype testing we found out, that nothing works as it should. We found out that analyst with programmer lived in peace, because they didn’t communicate and requirements looked like completely different from their vintage points, other projects didn’t report their changes and base layer we worked above looked like different SW every 3 months, client changed his ideas every 2 months and so on. It was a time to switch on my computer at 7:30 and give strict orders to one side and require holding up rules from others. No honeymoon any more!
It’s like with all rules and advices: they can help you to understand what you are aiming at. Life brings in a real world.
Thanks anyway. I will dream about starting my computer at 10:30am!
Alena
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Robert Barnes wrote:
The use of consultative communication styles can have a conflicting impact on profitability and customer satisfaction depending on how and when it is used. I believe that to adopt a carte blanche consultative style is particularly dangerous for your schedule and therefore potentially to either your profitability or your customer’s cost.
I find the consultative style particularly useful when your project reaches a cross roads and your technical staff (or implementors) have conflicting views on which path to take. By adopting a consultative style you achieve multiple benefits which should culminate in improved profitability (or reduced cost) and improved customer sat.
First, you should see improved team morale as they feel heard. This rolls up into improved delivery performance which contributes to satisfaction and cost/profit. Second, you should improve the quality of decisions as a result of considering the conflicting views – this in turn should improve the quality of the deliverable and show the customer the value you and your well selected team have contributed. Third, this improves the chances that your decisions result in the lowest long term costs (unless another objective is considered more important) as you can consider the different angles on each option.
The other side to this coin is that through an improper use of the consultative style you may damage your reputation as a leader, cause unnecessary delay, and ultimately damage customer satisfaction.
As project managers our leadership is tested daily – both through our willingness to make important decisions with imperfect information, and our willingess to draw upon the strengths of our delivery team and available stakeholders when their input is appropriate. True leadership is knowing which path to take, and consultation is not always best.
Consultation takes time – particularly depending on to what extent you consult with others. For example, do you reach out to those immediately available, call a full team meeting, or draw in the views of all stakeholders? With the number of decisions we must make, consultation can contribute to significant delays, and most delays result in additional cost as well. Thus, consultation is not always appropriate.
Finally, the customer will not thank you for your consultative approach if it impairs other aspects of the project, and if you fail to show leadership the customer will not understand the value you are contributing. This is particularly the case if you constant “consult” with the customer to make decisions.
Thus, as with any tool of managers and project managers, we must adopt a “contingency” approach – use the most suitable tools for the particular situation. Our value to the customer and the project team then becomes a question of how many tools you have in your toolkit, and how proficient you are in using them appropriately. For example, you may be excellent at using bar charts, yet bar charts are only useful for specific types of data. Your value as a data analyst and report writer involves the best decisions between bar charts, pie charts, etc.
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Narendan Subramaniam wrote:
The role of a Project Manager is to ensure that the project is completed on time and within the stipulated budget. For this to happen, the best method is Consultative Communication, albeit it is time consuming. This kind of communication removes any discomfort in the people’s mind and the progress on the project becomes much easier. When this happens, the profits increases for the company and so does the customer satisfaction.
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Peter Guzman wrote:
IMHO….Alexsandar, I read the article and not to minimize it, I feel very strongly that many PM’s use a COLLABORATIVE approach. I don’t see how you can be successful in whatever type of work you do without it… The I CAN approach has never been my style. My approach, “WE CAN” has enabled myself and SMEs to meet or exceed our customers/stakeholders expectations. I have never been in sales, so my opinion is limited to what I have experienced as a Mgr., IT PM in software, hardware and personnel development. So yes the approach outlined in the article would be an excellent approach with the right audience & situation.
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Olivier Rievere wrote:
Combining all the expressed opinions gives the perfect combination; use a consultative approach at the right time and for the right purpose.
I would add that the amount of consultative approach you need varies with the stage of the projects and with its nature. For example, if you need to specify a knowledge management portal, you will need a lot of consultation in the early stage. Once you have started the design and test, you will still need it but only at carefully selected moments. If, on the contrary, you are in charge of a CRM project, the amount of consultation will remain higher during the whole life of the project because, in that type of project, a lot of new situations tend to happen (well, this is a very black & white description). Last but not least, Naredan and Peter are spot on when putting emphasis on the communication and on the need to develop as sense of community. Otherwise you can’t manage change..
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Duncan Campbell wrote:
Contrary to what Narendran wrote, I thought that the role of a project manager was to deliver what the customer requires – NOT simply completing projects on-time and on-budget, and often NOT what the customer originally asked for.
If you want to deliver what customers require then you need to consult and collaborate with people, otherwise you either deliver the wrong results or customers struggle on with something that is not quite what they require.
Scott Wilger says:
Wow! Quite a conversation. Alena, it sounds like you’ve had a rough time of it and might have become a bit jaded. Don’t give up hope! Projects are never perfect, but they can almost always be better than what you have described.
Robert, well, exactly what decisions do you think you should be making without consulting the client? Sounds like the same old command/control philosophy that so many project managers suffer from. Your definition of “true leadership” sound more like your willingness to fall on the sword. Consultation and collaboration takes discipline more than it takes time. It’s the discipline to leave your ego at the door, accept that you are but one actor in the system, and to seek out input of the rest of the team.
Narendan, I think you have a bit of an over-blown opinion of project management. A team of people working on the project are part of a SYSTEM. The purpose of that system is to deliver the project on time, and on budget. You as a project manager, play a role in making that happen, but it is ultimately the entire system of people, processes, and tools that makes it happen or not. To say that the project manager is the one responsible is sort of like saying the project manager is responsible for the sun coming up.
Peter, totally agree. The focus on WE versus I is really the key.
Olivier, I would add that consultative, collaborative approach is ALWAYS required. I think what varies by project and by stage is the degree that the project plan and scope will be adjusted as a result.
Duncan, you’re right on.
Aleksandar Trazoff says:
One more answer from Stu Wiley – I rated this the best answer on LinkedIn.com…
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Stu Wiley wrote:
There are generally two types of project managers: Quarterbacks and Scorekeepers (apologies to Chase Franklin)
Scorekeepers focus on line item issues. They track plan to actual. Often they are methodology myopic. This isn’t a bad thing, but has it’s place in specific industries and projects, usually those with high levels of compliance or oversight. The best at this are linear thinkers, with the ability to negotiate effectively and communicate various decision point tradeoffs. Aerospace is a perfect example – where it is critical to track infinite detail in order to hit FAA sign-off. Often you would know the number of welds per airplane wing 5 years in advance and no changes are allowed. These thinkers are anti change enforcers. The drawback is that they are dependent on the quality of the original blueprints, and have little flexibility for variables.
Quarterbacks focus on both big picture business ecosystems relevent to the project, as well as the interactions and communications (negotiations) necessary to hit results. They are masters of human interaction and project plan modification, as well as change management. Often these people are methodology agnostic and use a methodology as one of several tools, mixing and matching as appropriate to the situation.
Since the only constant variable in project management is change, the ability to deal with ambiguity and integration into project results is highly sought after. At Microsoft these quarterbacks are known as program managers, where 1/3 of the role is actual line item project planning and management. These people are change enablers.
In all cases I believe that successful project management (the art form) comes down to expectation management and communications. This can be as high as 80% of a projects success in a high pace rapidly changing environment.
Consultative communications is the talent of using your SME’s as an advisory service, collaboratively creating more synergy and problem solving flexibility as a lateral AND linear thinker in order to anticipate issues and solicit most informed recommendations- while retaining decision making function. The more collaborative the approach, the more successful the project and the more market responsive the outcome.
In short – the effect on profits and customer sat depends on what you are trying to accomplish and what the metrics of success are for an individual project. There is no one size fits all answer. If the project is an airplane wing, you probably want your bias to be toward scorekeeping. No customer wants a less than certifiable aircraft.
If you are in a highly market responsive situation, you should bias heavily toward a Sr. level quarterback, supplemented by jr scorekeepers. This way rapidly and frequently changing customer feedback and their market pressures can be iterated into a successful project plan and implementation, often more cost effective than was originally thought. Since no-one can predict the future, hiring someone with these talents seems a no-brainer.
Quarterbacks are also your best option if you are facing a turnaround situation or project that has gotten off track. They can rapidly collaborate with SME’s, and prioritize core deliverables to turn red ink into black.
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