Episode 161: Business Driven PMO Setup; Chapter 9 - Creating High Performance Teams

This week The PMO Podcast™ Featured Story introduces, “Business Driven PMO Setup; Chapter 9 - Creating High Performance Teams” presented by Mark Perry (about Mark), host of The PMO Podcast™. Each chapter of the book starts off with a cartoon and the cartoon in Chapter 9 goes like this. There is a picture of a PMO manager talking to two of the PMO project managers. The PMO manager says, “The management team just got the employee opinion survey results and we have decided that there will be no more whistling until morale improves.” One project manager replies, “You’ve got to be kidding, right?” The other project manager says quietly to his co-project manager but not loud enough for the PMO manager to hear, “I told you there should be a certification for being a people manager.” For many organizations, not just PMOs, this cartoon strikes an all too familiar chord. Sometimes the actions of management, though well intended, can simply dampen the spirits and challenge the attitude of even the most committed and capable of high performing employees. Aside from seeking to avoid the obvious miscues, how should management go about creating and maintaining high performance teams and an environment that is conducive to high performers? But first, in order to answer this question there needs to be a clear understanding of what a high performance team is and the value to an organization that such a team is capable of producing. So how do you create High Performance Teams? Let me tell about a five step approach that always works. The PMO Podcast™ Points Memo asks, “Are you a lazy project manager?" Yes, you heard me right. And no, I did not mean that question to be any kind of an insult. Welcome to the concept and home of Productized Laziness. This is the brainchild of Peter Taylor, PMO Director at Siemens PLM Software in the UK. By advocating being a 'lazy' project manager Peter does not intend that we should all do absolutely nothing. He is not saying we should all sit around drinking coffee while our projects go to hell and a hand-basket. That would be stupid and lazy does not mean stupid. Peter advocates that we should all adopt a more focused approach to project management and to exercise our efforts where it really matters. And, this approach , Peter's brainchild, is taking root and growing and can be found at www.thelazyprojectmanager.com. The PMO Podcast™ Mailbag answers a listener question about at what point in the maturity process do companies typically start to need a PMO. The PMO Podcast™ is sponsored by BOT International, the provider of Processes On Demand, a PMO Setup solution used by more than 1,000 companies.Request a Demo LoginThe PMO Podcast™ is a trademark of BOT International. The PMO Podcast™ and its RSS feed are copyright © by BOT International 2013. All rights reserved.