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Bring Change Leadership Circle to your organization

Do you have the Skill Sets of a Change Leader e-book?

Are You a Project Management OR a Change Leader?

Are you a Project Manager or a Change Leader? I’m not talking about your title. I’m talking about your role in the organization. The first thing we do in every change leadership presentation is give project managers a promotion to change leader. (No immediate pay increase of course.)

This in no way denigrates the profession of project management. Everything we do is about layering the art of change leadership upon the science of project management. We believe strongly in the science of project management. However, we’ve found that solid project management alone doesn’t always allow for the realization of the value equation proposed at the beginning of a project. Success is about so much more than “On-time” and “On-Budget.”

Repositioning of the project management role to a change leadership role is crucial. Project managers have certain negative stereotypes within their own organizations. These range from being viewed as the note taker in meetings to being the necessary evil if you have to go through official channels to get something done. These negative stereotypes exist based on experiences with previous project managers, regardless of the skill of the current project manager. They need to be acknowledged and overcome.

One regular complaint we hear from project managers is: “The executive sponsor isn't doing what they are supposed to. This is why my project isn’t as successful as it could be.” After a minute of empathetic co-whining, I usually say: “That’s your fault (project manager).” You have to look at what you have done before. How have you positioned yourself to influence those with whom you have no positional power? This line of thinking gets us to the measurements of success for project managers.

If you are positioned as a project manager three or four layers below the executive sponsor, with all of the typical outsiders' perception of what a project manager is, there is little hope that you can influence the executive to do anything.

But if you are positioned as one who leads change within the organization —no matter your rank on the organization chart —there is a purpose for working with you as a partner to get the change implemented successfully. It’s in the executive’s best interest to listen to you as a trusted advisor. The executive develops a reputation as one who's initiatives are organizationally, reputationally, and financially sound—they get things done.

Are you ready to transition from project manager to change leader? Call 800.370.7373 to determine if working with Jim Canterucci as your private advisor will help you reach this higher level of impact.