Do Your Projects Have A Pulse?
As a project executive, how many times have you walked away from a key milestone meeting feeling like your organization’s biggest project had only the faintest pulse? If you’re exhausted from trying to revitalize the initiative, perhaps you need an integrator.
In their book “Rocket Fuel,” Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters provide a comprehensive description of integrator and visionary roles, and the relationship between them. Let’s look at this relationship and its relevance to strategic projects.
As a business visionary, you have bright ideas, innovations, and initiatives. To get your ideas into a project plan, beyond roadblocks, and across the finish line, you need a project or systems integrator. Who is the right person to ensure project success?
- Obsessed Clarity Dynamo (OCD.) Be sure your leader is natively skilled (borderline obsessed!) at sparking communication across the organization about your initiative.
- Dedicated Problem Solver. You’ll get farthest with an accomplished project lead, someone who leaves no problem unresolved and doesn’t shy away from being a decisive tiebreaker.
- Laser Focused Activator. You need a project strategist with sniper vision when setting priorities, aligning teams to drive results, and creating accountability.
- Steady Drummer. The right fit creates consistency for the project team, sets clear expectations, and gets everyone working in lockstep. They are the project’s heartbeat.
- Great People Integrator. Look for a leader who integrates key functions – sales, marketing, operations, IT, and finance — when collaborating with the project team.
Some companies have their in-house person who serves in the integrator role – organizationally or at a project level. Other companies do not have the bandwidth or budget to create or recruit for the role. Oftentimes, a more cost-effective and expedient approach is to contract a strategic project leadership and management partner.
Ready to talk to an integrator who can spark life into your biggest project before it flatlines? Let’s schedule a 20-minute call to get to know each other. I’ll share a few tools to help move your ideas and efforts forward — and the meeting’s on me!
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