Leading Project Managers

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Learn How To:

• Define the leader’s role in each phase of the project life cycle
• Outline reasons for project successes
• Use key performance indicators to monitor ongoing project progress
• Support project managers and project teams through coaching, mentoring and rewarding success
• Select the tools and techniques of project management that will help your teams be successful

Course Synopsis

As organizational hierarchies give way to dynamic, cross-functional project teams, senior managers find themselves challenged with adopting a "new economy" approach to managing project managers.

The leader of project managers must bring order and rationality to a chaotic environment, identify opportunities to influence the direction of projects and provide the means for project managers to succeed. In addition, the leader of
project managers must be skilled at managing project portfolios, allocating resources, reviewing projects and communicating appropriately. Above all, the leader of project managers must know the right questions to ask!

In this highly facilitated course, you will learn soft and hard skills and approaches that lead to organizational success in the "management by projects" environment. You also will get expert perspectives and review best practices on issues critical to those who lead project managers. You will enjoy lively debate and stimulating conversation that reinforces what you know and what you’ve learned.

This course provides you with a new way of thinking about the best way to lead people in conjunction with the underlying process of project management. It is a "must-have" for anyone responsible for leading and managing project managers.

Reminder: Participants should have a basic understanding of project management before taking this course. It is assumed that attendees currently or will soon lead project managers, with or without a direct reporting relationship.

Course Topics

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1. The Leader Of Project Managers (LPM) Role In The Project Life Cycle
   1. Managing the “Stage Gate” process
   2. The project environment
   3. The role of management in each phase of the life cycle
   4. Defining project success within the organization
   5. Organizational factors affecting project management
   6. Knowing the organization’s project management process
2. Managing In A Multi-Project Environment
   1. The importance of rank ordering projects across the organisation
   2. Managing multiple project issues
   3. Resource allocation
   4. Issue resolution
   5. Resource pool considerations
3. Project Initiation
   1. Project selection
   2. Project charter
   3. Project funding
   4. Stakeholder considerations
   5. Financial tools
   6. Understanding margins
4. Leading and Managing Project Managers
   1. Challenges of leading and managing project managers
   2. Identifying, developing, evaluating and retaining project managers
   3. Rewarding success
5. The LPM’s Role in Project Planning
   1. Risk management
   2. Cost estimates
   3. Schedule development
   4. Resource allocation
   5. Communications management
   6. Project plan review
   7. Project plan approval
6. Managing Relationships
   1. Communicating across the organisation
   2. Managing expectations
   3. Managing styles
   4. Mentoring/coaching
   5. Conducting effective meetings
   6. Supporting project managers of virtual teams
   7. Supporting diversity and cross-cultural teams
   8. Conflict/resolution
7. The LPM’s Role in Project Implementation
   1. Project manager and team performance
   2. Asking the right questions
   3. Management oversight
   4. Determining if earned value is the project performance measuring tool to use
   5. Project reviews
   6. Project audits
   7. Understanding signs of trouble
   8. Project recovery and turnaround
   9. Change management
8. Project Close-out
   1. Early termination
   2. Project end evaluation
   3. Lessons learned