Escilate to Management
I can see why you chose this option because it is a functional organization, and the functional managers hold the power to change the behavior of their direct reports. It is also common for sr. managers to speak with other sr. managers. Chuck decides to identify bad behavior in a risk register, so he is best prepared to discuss the project impact with management.
Project risks generally mean anything that would impact your schedule, budget, scope, or quality. Risk management is a best practice because it allows the PM to identity, prioritize, and respond to risks thus reducing the possible impact to the project plan. When talking risks there are actually three categories:
1) a risk is a possibility something bad will occur in the future,
2) an issue is currently happening, and
3) an opportunity is a benefit or good possibility
Chuck has already asked some stakeholders for their risks while documenting their user stories and because of the negative stakeholders Chuck can add a few more issues. He uses a spreadsheet as his risk register and documents a brief description of each risk. Chuck estimates the risk priority (high, medium, low) based on the likelihood and impact of a risk. He typically meets with leadership to review and agree to responses to the risks.
Here are the risks as documented on the risk register:
| Nbr | Description | RIO | Total Prty | Focal | Response | Closed Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | If Steph doesn't learn agile methodologies, then she will be unable to manage the dashboard after it is digitized impacting hand-off | R | 5 | Manager | PM manager to work with Steph on expectations after digitization and what classes she needs to take by the end of week. | |
| 2 | If the dashboard customers are unable to help test the user stories, then the project will stall until they have the time impacting the schedule negatively | R | 5 | Chuck | Chuck to create and share a resource plan with dates and times required for testing by Fritz, Melanie & Niles by the end of week. CC George. | |
| 3 | If Fritz can update the dashboard using voice activation, then he doesn't need to stop working when the faulty equipment needs to be documented impacting productivity positively | O | 4 | Fritz | Chuck reviewed the user story with Fritz to ensure it captured his expectations. | |
| 4 | If the PM digitizing the dashboard is not a SME, then other SMEs need to ensure the requirements are valid impacting quality | R | 5 | Fritz, Melanie, Niles, Ean | Add review of all user stories with Fritz, Melanie, Niles, Ean and Steph. | |
| 5 | If the portfolio backlog priority means that the dashboard digitization will not be worked for three years then the current spreadsheet issues (difficult to update, risk of data corruption, and no reporting) will continue impacting quality | I | 6 | Izzy | PM to let Izzy know there will be an ask to move this project up as a priority at the leadership council, so she is prepared to discuss it. | |
| 6 | If there is clarity on which organization should digitize and manage the dashboard, then the project team could work together impacting quality | o | 6 | George, Ean | Sr. Managers agreed bus ops owns the digitization and engineering will share management afterwards. | |
| 7 | If Chuck does not have the workshop notes and actions, then he does not have a complete project plan impacting quality | I | 6 | Ean | George to ask Steph to share workshop action items and notes and mentor Steph on being a good teammate | |
| 8 | If 3 of the 7 stakeholders are actively working on a similar but separate project, then this project will fail | I | 6 | George, Ean | Per #6 opportunity the 2 organizations agreed to work together, and separate meetings have stopped. |
Chuck receives a phone call from his new manager, Nichole, who wants to do a quick tag-up in her office.
She asks Chuck specifically about the project and he discusses the challenges and asks for help with some risk responses. Nichole states that as a senior PM he should not need management assistance and after hearing Chuck discuss the project challenges, Nichole is concerned with Chuck’s inability to get along with others.
Steph complained that she was called a “name” and Chuck is told to apologize for calling her a "negative stakeholder". Looking at Chuck sternly Nichole says she is friends with Ean and cannot imagine him acting that way. Nichole states that Chuck needs her mentoring and from now on she will help him with his language and will be reviewing all his work.
Chuck is shocked! While it is true that there have been no employee assessments in over three years, he was unaware there were any issues with his language or his work. He leaves the meeting stunned and wonders about the future of the project.
Meet Nichole, Chuck’s new manager who has been with The Flying Fig for 18 months. She has a law degree (JD) but no training in baking, management, or project management.
Nichole is good at cross examining a witness on the stand and uses this technique on people that report to her. Nicole has been the subject of many ethics' complaints, but it doesn’t seem to impact her. She says all the managers are her friends and she treats them with the respect she would give a judge. She is a rising star.
Nichole doesn't care about the project but knows her sr. manager does care.
| Project Related | Measure |
|---|---|
| Interest | Neutral |
| Influence | High |
| Subject Matter Expert | Low |
| Supportive | Low |
| Works in Chuck's Organization? | Yes |
| Barometer for disagreement | High |
At The Flying Fig all projects go through leadership for approval before execution. In theory, gaining leadership approval would increase team cohesion and reduce negative stakeholders so Chuck carefully crafts the presentation using the 'standard' template. Chuck has a nice display of the signed charter, lifecycle, the estimates (timeline, budget, resources) and the risk register. Because it is a functional organization and because Nichole asked to review all of Chuck's work, he proudly shares the presentation with his new manager and the sr. manager, George Custer, who runs the leadership council.
Within an hour Nichole calls Chuck to her desk. She is very concerned about his ability to create presentations. It doesn't align with his senior PM status, and she expected better. Chuck realizes that he is not partnering well with his new manager. Asking what he can change she mentions the teeny tiny copyright in the lower right side of every slide. The current year has a different shade of blue on the bullets, and she can't believe Chuck is so sloppy. Also, Chuck has a period at the end of every bullet, and she can't stand that. Lastly, she wants the presentation to look uniform by having the exact same number of words and font size on each page.
Because Nichole criticized the presentation layout and did not discuss content Chuck is wondering what she expects from a senior PM. Chuck is very busy but makes the requested changes and resubmits the presentation, this time asking to discuss project risks, but Nichole lets Chuck know she has lots of appointments on her calendar and doesn’t have any more time for him today.
Chuck asks to meet with George Custer, the business operations senior manager. He is very tired of his team submitting leadership presentations that make it difficult to grasp the purpose. Chuck is to use a new report named BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) that will give leadership what they need. He is to remove all the other slides as they are not needed.
Chuck uses this opportunity to ask George for help responding to some high priority project risks. George is alarmed and doesn't want the risks shared at the leadership council. At George's request Chuck schedules a mtg with George and Nichole to discuss risk responses ASAP.
Meet George Custer, Sr. Business Operations Manager. George has been in this position for months. He worked his way up from a business analyst very quickly.
George learned his leadership style while serving in the military. His bio states that he is a servant leader, but the people who work under him know he is a dictator.
George is climbing the corporate ladder and believes it is his destiny. He has written lots of articles on how to be a great manager, and his team is still waiting for that great manager to emerge.
George's next promotion is dependent on meeting his career goals to digitize this dashboard in three months.
| Project Related | Measure |
|---|---|
| Interest | High |
| Influence | High |
| Subject Matter Expert | Low |
| Supportive | High |
| Works in same organization | Yes |
| Barometer for disagreement | High |
Chuck is very happy with the outcome of the risk meeting as all the risks have a good, planned response except one; Chuck did not have time to discuss Steph's reluctance to learn agile methodologies.
Chuck creates the BLUF slide as requested but instead of deleting his older slides he hides them in case he needs that detail later. Chuck presents the plan for execution of the project to the leadership council. It was a rough meeting. The director, who is also new to the organization, asked some great questions about the new agile process and the timeline. To respond to her questions, Chuck shared the hidden slides he created earlier.
Meet Debbie the Director who has been in this position for two months.
She is fresh out of college but had great grades and some excellent connections.
Debbie is not sure how to manage The Flying Fig, but she does know that a happy workplace is a productive workplace, so she has one rule: be nice and play nice or get a job elsewhere.
Debbie believes her leadership council knows what is best for the company and is very open to their suggestions.
| Project Related | Measure |
|---|---|
| Interest | Low |
| Influence | High |
| Subject Matter Expert | No |
| Supportive | Neutral |
| Works in Chuck's Organizaiton? | No |
| Barometer for Disagreement | Low |
Chuck takes this opportunity to ask Ean if he has any issues with business operations digitizing the dashboard. Ean launches into a tirade of accusations about business operations taking over engineering projects that do not belong to them. He states that Chuck's BLUF presentation was unclear and that Chuck is not the best PM for this project. Ean insists engineering take over this dashboard immediately. His team has been working on this project for months and are well prepared.
George is prepared for Ean’s issue and mentions Chuck’s unique agile skills and that the scope of the project is to digitize not ownership. He proposes the dashboard be digitized as planned and the leadership council discuss ownership in three months’ time.
Izzy, the IT manager, informs the council that this project would have to wait at least three years before it can be executed. The very tight IT resources are assigned to other high priority projects. George suggested that Izzy bring in some contractors to digitize the dashboard and to give her additional resources for the other high priority projects.
Debbie, the director, asks the leadership Counsil if there are any objections to the plan. There are no objections so the project was approved and will start immediately.
Executing the plan
The project is progressing well. Within three weeks customers have tested the first sprint, and all is going well!
It is a nice day outside, so Chuck chooses to eat his lunch in the company park and relax before his next scheduled meeting. Ean and Steph stopped by. Ean is yelling and his veins are popping out of his forehead. Apparently, Steph has never seen anything like these sprints and thinks Chuck is making it all up. Ean feels Chuck is endangering the dashboard, something that they have been working on for years. Chuck politely tells Ean that his issues are with Debbie the director and George Custer. As the conversation ends Ean tells Chuck to "watch your step". Chuck has never been threatened before and is not sure what to do.
Chuck does not have time to absorb Ean's confrontation in the park because he has a review of Sprint 1 with the team. Izzy, the IT manager, came in late, declared that running this meeting was her job and demands that Chuck leave. Puzzled, Chuck states that he does not understand and that he is the one that scheduled this meeting. With an authoritative tone she informs Chuck again that she is running this meeting, and Chuck should leave. Shocked and unsure what to do, Chuck complied, noting that Niles and Ean are chuckling as he departs. Ean mouths “watch your step”.
Chuck feels Ean and Izzy's issues have become personal to him. He loves this company and has worked hard for years. Chuck is frustrated and concerned for his job. He learned years ago that he should update a work journal weekly and when unusual things happen. Chuck documents what happened with Ean and Izzy in his journal. He takes the rest of the day off before he says or does something he will regret.
It is time for you, the game player, to make the second decision!
What do you think Chuck should do next? Below are your options. Read each option and then choose only one.
a) Chuck can keep working the project and ignore bad behavior. Afterall, he is the project manager, and he has a charter signed by the Director as well as leadership council to execute the project. The project is going well and attacks on him will stop when the project is completed.
b) Chuck can discuss the issues with Ean and Izzy in a private conversation. As a senior PM he is equivalent to a sr. manager and Nichole, his manager, expects him to resolve issues without intervention. Chuck will let Ean and Izzy know their attacks are personal and do not align with management behavior or even better could bring this issue up in a joking manner, so nobody is offended.
c) Chuck can again escalate to management. He will bypass Nichole and go to George. The project is on track, but Ean and Izzy are attacking him personally and do not align with management behavior.
d) Chuck can escalate to company ethics and let them address Ean and Izzy's bad behavior allowing Chuck to successfully complete the project.
What do you think is Chuck’s next step, the second choice?
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