Participants work in teams of 4 to accelerate development of their project leadership competencies. They make collective decisions regarding management of the project, leadership of the virtual technical team members and teaming with a broad range of stakeholders, including vendors, consultants, senior management, and customers.


The "Real" Project and the "Real" Payoff

In addition to the above virtual project, participants undertake a "real" project in parallel. They must apply management, leadership, and teamwork competencies to their own participant team to complete the workshop within real time, resource, and quality objectives. Inevitably, true behaviors emerge, providing a powerful opportunity to observe, reflect, and provide/receive valuable feedback.

Who Should Attend

The program is designed for: project, product, program managers; project leaders and administrators; team leaders and members; field staff members; project, design, industrial and manufacturing engineers; sales, operations and functional managers; systems analysts; software and systems developers; human resource executives; supervisors; information technology professionals; research and development managers; marketing directors; project support staff, or others involved directly or indirectly with projects, for virtually every industry that needs more than just project fundamentals.

Learning Objectives

Participant teams practice project management processes and tools during the entire project lifecycle including initiation, planning, execution/controlling, and closing. Participants will develop skills using processes and tools including:

Apply PM Tools and Techniques to Effectively Plan, Track, and Control Projects
* Plan
* Trac/Control
* Understand the benefits and capabilities of project management software

Improve Project Team Performance
* Understand how teams work within the dimensions and stages of team development
* Assess team strengths and weaknesses
* Apply process observation and feedback
* Team-building methods
* Manage team differences
* Build team involvement, commitment, trust, and consensus
* Facilitate the team process-removing blockages, managing meetings, problem-solving

Improve Interpersonal Effectiveness
* Give and receive personal feedback
* Understand your social/communication style
* Develop followership/knowing when to follow
* Influence the project process and outcomes
* Manage relationships beyond the project team

Analyze Project Information and Report Status and Needs Clearly
* Establish a project control system to manage work in progress
* Develop project control information – project metrics, reporting, monitoring work, meetings, informal discussions – to predict project variances
* Track and monitor direct and indirect measures of project objectives
* Balance attention to appropriate project detail while keeping an eye on the big picture and outcomes

Make Complex Project Trade-off Decisions
* Integrate the best plans for resources, risk management, scheduling, quality management, and costing to build a consistent project strategy
* Balance various resources available – contractors, internal staff, vendors, technology, and training – with project requirements to optimize implementation efforts
* Continuously prioritize work efforts during the project life cycle
* Evaluate alternatives to address project variances during implementation and diagnosing the outcome of the alternatives selected
* Analyze project trade-offs during execution to achieve project priorities
* Accept and manage short-term consequences to ensure beneficial long-term results

Decide When to Focus on Task and When to Focus on Process
* Understand the interrelationships, connections, and consequences of project issues and subsequent project decisions during execution
* Address both task and process factors at appropriate times to address project problems
* Build both people and work outcomes into project success criteria

"This is the best learning experience I've ever attended ...
... well worth my time"