The politics of project management

The politics of project management

While there are plenty of how-to resources for project managers, the politics of project management is one topic they likely won't find in the industry literature, according to Bill Hagerup, a 30-year IT veteran and a consultant at Ouellette & Associates Consulting Inc.

To meet that need, the Bedford, N.H.-based firm is planning a new workshop, "The Politics of Project Management," which will complement its current IT project management and professional development offerings.

CW: What do you mean by the "politics of project management?"

Hagerup: Project managers have all the responsibility for getting the job done, but no direct authority to make it happen. The people on the project team report to somebody else who probably has a different agenda.

To make matters worse, project managers need resources—dollars, time and people—and there is never enough to go around in any organization. So project managers must compete for these scarce resources with other project managers in the same organization.

Given that competition, conflicts naturally arise. Project managers must use politics: the art of acquiring, developing and using power to influence others to do what you need them to.

CW: What about project managers who want to avoid politics?

Hagerup: They can't. Politics is out there. It's real. Project managers will surely encounter two kinds of political problems: some that others create and some that project managers create by their own blunders.

So those who ignore politics, or who think of it only as being unethical and nasty, are making a big mistake. And they often become scapegoats when projects fail.

CW: What do project managers need to know about politics?

Hagerup: Like the fable of Star Wars, politics has a dark side and a side of light and right. The dark side includes sharklike behaviors of scheming, arguing with customers and bullying.

Project managers and team members need to stick with the positive side of politics and navigate the political potholes in their organization. They need to build relationships and get to know people on the project team, as well as the customers, vendors and sponsors. Part of politics is motivating people by helping them to see what's in it for them when they cooperate with the project goals.

CW: Aren't most project managers too busy for politics?

Hagerup: Project managers are busy people. And many naively believe that if they keep their noses to the grindstone and work hard, everything will be OK. But there's more to the job than mastering project management software and generating reports.

While that approach may have worked on smaller jobs, it won't work on projects that are more complex, highly visible and have the potential to change the corporation. In the end, there's really no choice. If project managers fail to make time for the politics of their projects, including communicating, relationship building and facilitating agreement, ultimately, their projects will fail.