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Lee E. Meadows, PhD.
Professor of Management –
Authored: Silent Conspiracy &
Silent Suspicion
Project Management is a new frontier
Though we have yet to see the final remnants of our latest
restructuring efforts, the process has completely reshaped life in the middle
of the corporation. Where we use to depend upon the ‘Middle Manager’ position
as a natural step on the career ladder, these corporate dissections have shined
the light on the use of organizational ‘projects’ as a way of navigating the
waves of career change. The project team loomed in the background of corporate
life for a number of years. It was, typically, seen as an area of personal
concern to an executive with a good idea. As long as the day-to-day operations
were being accomplished, it was okay to indulge the use of corporate resources
to pursue an idea. In recent years, the project has been elevated in status and
pushed the traditional committee to a distant second. Project Management has
become the new buzzword for describing a rapidly growing discipline. Careers
are now made and broken on the strength of ‘Projects’. This particular venue
offers the urgency of task completion as well as a tool for evaluating
managerial skill.
The ‘Project’ provides an opportunity for the organization
to examine the real needs currently being unmet that were submerged in culture
and bureaucracy. Now that there are a few less gatekeepers and few more tasks,
the job of minding the store is no longer limited to reading and signing
reports. Project Management is rooted in the building of the pyramids, the
construction of the
The increasing demand for good Project Managers and good
Project Members comes at a time when there is very little wiggle room between
individual job responsibilities and emergent organizational activity. The
project has grown in the vacuum of middle management in an effort to connect the
bottom of the organization with the top while still providing a way for highly
motivated, career minded individuals to work their way up through the ranks.
Project Management has gone main stream and that means:
- Projects are Management
training opportunities: There are any number of
colleges, universities and consulting agencies that offer a full range of
Project Management training and certifications. Sign up before you are
passed up!
- Projects are Budget
management opportunities: Budgets are an essential part
of project management life. If you have trouble balancing your checkbook,
then take a basic budgeting class at a local community college. Completing
projects on or under budget is a specific, measurable skill that will
dictate further success.
- Projects are Time management
opportunities: Time is elusive when not measured against a
progressive activity. The use of time when overseeing the activities of a
project team can make or break its completion.
- Projects are Vision
development opportunities: The role of any leader is to
provide a clear vision as to the direction of an organization. The Project
Manager has the opportunity to develop that skill at a smaller scale.
Projects, while not the bread and butter of most
organizational endeavors are critical to the flavor of organizational
accomplishment.