is your talent equipped to achieve goals? … · situational analysis to determine starting point...

WHITE PAPER

SummaryBusiness success depends on the delivery of an ever-

changing, ever-growing series of projects, programmes,

and portfolios. As a line of business leader, you must

effectively manage talent against new demands and

requirements in order to drive success. With much of

the workforce devoted to executing against strategic

initiatives, one way to pursue success and talent

retention is to invest in the competencies required to

deliver projects effectively. This paper offers context

on the modern business environment, examines how

effective project leadership bridges strategy and

execution and provides guidance for assessing training

needs and selecting a professional development

programme that meets business requirements, while

also helping individual employees with their personal

growth expectations and goals.

Key Takeaways� Most business activity falls into the realm

of projects, though the labels may vary

(i.e. product launch, strategic initiative,

department reorganisation).

� With so many of your employees operating in

project-based roles, upskilling around the

technical and relational skills is key to driving

successful project outcomes.

� Before you invest in professional development

for your team, you need to conduct a

situational analysis to determine starting

point vs. your end-goal for training.

� By investing in training and development for

your team, you will not only bridge the gap

between strategy and execution, you will also

establish a culture that attracts, develops and

retains top talent

AudienceThis white paper is intended for business

leaders, including business-unit managing

directors, department heads and team leads.

Is Your Talent Equipped to Achieve Goals?How strategic project leadership training drives business success

United Kingdom Sweden United Arab Emirates Germany www.strategyex.co.uk www.strategyex.se www.strategyex.ae www.strategyex.de +44 (0) 20 3743 2910 +46(0)8 555 403 80 +971 (0) 4 311 6188 +49 (0)69 244 327 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

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Managing Talent to Achieve Results

Ask business leaders the age-old “What keeps

you up at night?” and you will find that their

answers are often focused on the latest product

or service innovations, breaking into new markets

or regions, or raising operational efficiency while

lowering cost. In other words, modern business

has evolved into a never-ending series of strategic

initiatives – which, for workers, translates into a

never-ending series of strategic projects.

And business leaders’ loudest lament? The

workforce does not have the necessary skills and

struggle to link their day-to-day work back

to strategic priorities. These challenges and

their related calls-to-action are only growing

in scale. Phrases like, “closing the talent gap, building a high-performance

organisation and future-skilling your workforce,” show how people and

performance top the C-suite agenda, according to The Conference Board’s

Annual CEO Challenge Research from 2015 and 2016.

Once you’ve realised that your best workers are engaged in an ongoing

stream of strategically important projects, the way to improve your talent and

business results becomes clear. It’s by ensuring your team has the necessary

tools to better execute against strategy and lead large-scale and high-priority

initiatives, resulting in a performance-improved workforce. This can be

achieved by using experts from your project management office (PMO) to

supplement your talent and by directly tackling team improvement through

project leadership skills development.

How do you leverage talent to execute your strategy?

�� Reframe your businessinitiatives through thelens of strategically alignedproject management

�� Assess your unit’s skills andavailable resources for changeand performance improvement

�� Upskill your leaders andstaff to enhance your team’scompetencies and capabilities

�� Ensure a sustained cultureof thriving, project-basedbusiness success


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Gaining an Organisational Performance Edge Through Strategic Project Leadership Traditionally, project management was regarded through a narrow operational

lens. It involved a limited set of project managers, sometimes in a PMO,

sometimes decentralised or assigned to a specific department, using standard

approaches and techniques to manage a project, get one back on track, or

tighten a work process. It was, and in some cases still is, viewed as a series of one-

off projects, disconnected from the broader strategy.

Foundational project management techniques, while necessary, are by

themselves not sufficient in helping business-unit leaders achieve the growth,

business transformation and accelerated short- and long-term results

demanded of them. Because companies run in distributed, matrixed, global

environments with tight resources and talent at a premium, getting big

picture initiatives understood and embraced throughout the organisation is

challenging. The need for holistic communication and resource alignment,

top-down and bottom-up, via every project leader in-between, has never been

more essential to achieving bottom-line results.

Consequently, savvy business-unit leaders are recasting corporate priorities,

major initiatives and everyday work as projects (or project portfolios) in

a movement known as ”strategic project leadership.” They are reviewing

organisational structures, project teams and talent maps in the context of

strategy execution and performance improvement. While traditional technical

skills are still important, there’s a broad realisation of the importance of

relational or “soft skills.”

Strategic project leadership combines bottom-up and top-down approaches.

From the bottom-up, it works to align resources, people and processes with

corporate objectives and goals. Utilising the top-down approach of project

portfolio management, groups of projects are tracked, managed, analysed,

reported and visible to senior leaders.

The need for communications

and resource alignment

top-down and bottom-up,

via every project leader

in-between, has never been

more essential to achieving

bottom-line results.


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In order to bridge the gaps and create alignment, leaders need to evaluate teams across a range of technical and relational skills that support strong strategy execution alignment. If you think of strategy execution as the “roadway” on a bridge, which enables seamless two-way flow of information between strategy and the required technical and relational skills as the pillars that support the roadway, you can more easily plot the various knowledge and skills required for your success. From there, it is much easier to look at where your organisation – and your people – need to improve in order to achieve a higher state of strategy execution alignment.

BRIDGINGTHE GAP

Leveraging project management as a strategic asset

requires a new way of thinking, communicating and

working. PMOs and project managers must understand

and relate their efforts to the executive leadership’s vision,

mission and strategic goals to move the organisation

ahead. Tapping PMO talent, or developing strategically

adept project managers across all areas of the business,

results in gains at the business-unit and departmental levels.

More specifically, those gains come in the form of increased

predictability of business performance, higher levels of

collaboration across projects and people on project teams

and common language and tools that increase work

teams’ productivity.

This all adds up to a culture that embraces strategically

aligned, project-oriented operations.

By combining bottom-up and top-down thinking

with strategically aligned project management skills,

organisations can build a two-way bridge across

the “strategy-execution gap” to connect executive

leadership that is developing strategy with the teams

actually delivering results.

The result: strategy chasms shrink, alignment and focus

rise and individuals and teams understand their work in

the larger context more clearly.

Strategic Project Leadership Closes the “Strategy-Execution Gap”


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Assessing What You Have, What You Need, and How to Get There With an understanding of the importance of bridging the strategy-execution gap, it is time to focus on how you get there.

The first step: upskilling your workforce to meet the challenge.

Making the business case to hire more project managers, or develop current staff, should be based on planned

business-performance improvement. The essential elements to use as factors for approval fall into organisational and

situational categories.

Organisational Factors:

� Economic conditions and businessenvironment

� Outlook for growth, new strategic initiatives,and competitive opportunities

� Leadership’s experience and belief in projectand change management and appetite formore

� Available proof points of project managementresults and value, from other internal lines ofbusiness, or from known competitors

� Training and professional developmentclimate; resource availability and opportunity;future outlook

� Fit and prominence of project managementskills and capabilities in organisationalcompetency frameworks or matrices

� The teams to tap to help build your case,including Human Resources, FinancialManagement, Learning & Development andProcurement.

Situational Factors:

� Business unit plan, performance history and trends

� Direct and shared resources and budget

� Operating and productivity constraints

� L&D plan and resources (if any)� Knowledge, understanding, and current use of

project management technical skills

� Knowledge, understanding and current use ofrelational skills

� Factors and forecasts prompting increasedneed for strategically aligned projectmanagement capacity

� Team environment and climate for performanceimprovement, learning and development, changeand adaptability, etc.

� Forecast of financial, operational and otherbusiness benefits that could arise from trainingand skill development

� Measurement plan and targets


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While building your business case for training, evaluate

your workforce against current roles and

responsibilities, career development goals and training

interests. Also, probe for project management and

leadership skills, aptitude, development interests and

key characteristics. You want to advance your team

with technical project management basics that include:

Beyond technical skills, however, are the increasingly

critical set of relational skills and leadership

capabilities. These competencies are likely to be on

your organisation’s radar because they increase project

managers’ effectiveness. A well-rounded project

management professional needs to have and continue

to develop:

Scheduling and time management An aptitude for change management, applied to process and people

Dependency and contingency planningCommunicating with influence and leading without authority

Risk management

Emotional intelligenceTask management

Leadership skillsMeeting management

Negotiation and problem-solving skillsDocumentation management and control

Self-awareness of strengths and weaknesses, gaps and growth opportunities

Strategic decision-making

Communication skills Business acumen

Budget management and cost controlCollaboration and teamwork

Quality management

Cross-cultural sensitivities


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Don’t neglect personality. When thinking about team dynamics and individuals

well-suited to strategic project leadership, look for people who:

� Revel in detail but tolerate ambiguity

� Exude enthusiasm and take initiative

� Accept responsibility and accountability

� Adapt quickly

� Think big-picture and collaborate

� Believe in philosophies like quality and continuous improvementfor the organisation as well as him/herself

� Have an appropriate sense of humor

Fill the Gaps: Chart Your Training and Development Plan Once you’re ready to up your project management ante so that key team

members will thrive as strategic project leaders and improvement agents,

it’s time to secure training and development. Although you will tap internal

resources – HR, L&D, the PMO – as allies and for recommendations, this is

about your team and its contribution to greater business performance.

Ultimately, you must decide what is best for your business, your immediate

needs and your vision of performance improvement over time. You know the

demands of your plan, team dynamics and gaps. You’ve gauged individual and

team capacity for training and key characteristics, including individuals’ desire

and commitment to grow professionally. In moving ahead with technical and

relational skill development, you must chart your own course for short- and

long-term growth plans.

Delivery and Packaging The options for training and professional development modes, methods and

delivery mix may seem endless. There is no universal approach – the modes

you select for technical up-skilling may differ from relational skill development.

In addition, the motivations and development needs are very different across

generations (GenX, rising early Millennial managers, late Millennial staffers and

Generation Z workers). Before you begin, it’s important to understand the value

of programmes and delivery modes labelled.

As one veteran project manager and business leader sums it up:

“Hire for attitude, train for skills.”

What Makes a Great Project Leader?

� �Basic PM Technical Skills: Budgeting, project scoping,facilitation, risk, schedulingand time management

� �Strong Relational Skills:Leadership, coaching,negotiation, critical thinkingand problem solving

� �PersonalityCharacteristics:Inspirational, empathetic;engaging, strategic


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The Rise of the PMO

An organisation’s PMO is the group or department within the enterprise that defines and maintains project management standards, policies, processes and methods.

PMOs can be organised as a centralised, decentralised or hybrid model, with structural reporting and accountability to finance, operations or HR.

While project management is historically associated with IT, it requires the mastery of skills that can be applied to all areas of an organisation. This realisation has increased the demand for project management training, positioning PMOs as the performance improvement and training resource to assess and develop talent with these skills.

TRAINING MODALITIES

Virtual (vILT): instructor-led, live online streaming, interactive training

eLearning: self-paced online modules available 24/7

Classroom or instructor-led (ILT): hosted in a classroom with an in-person instructor

Onsite: the instructor meets the students at their organisation to conduct the training

It’s also important to determine whether off-the-shelf solutions, customised

programming, contextual modifications, or some combination will fit the

performance-improvement plan, timing and budget. Whether looking at the

technical or relational skill curricula, customised approaches are gaining ground.

This movement is mostly stimulated by business leaders’ demands for training

that is designed and deployed by project management experts and by providers

versed in the client industry and/or functional areas (marketing, sales, legal, IT,

R&D, product management, etc.).

In instructor-led options, it is essential to vet instructor credentials, experience and style. In large organisations, L&D or procurement (or both) may maintain recommended training supplier lists. Look for training suppliers that review and monitor instructor backgrounds, industry experience, technical skills, familiarity with the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)® and certifications like the Project Management Professional (PMP)®.


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Potential of External Partners In addition to offering multiple options across

the technical and relational spectrum, third-party

project management professional development

providers are evolving as trusted business

partners that can deliver customised

programming.

Fewer organisations are viewing training and

development as transactional events; their

talent is too valuable. Instead, businesses are

seeking partners with customised solutions

that deliver measurable improvement over

multi-year and multi-tier engagements. Third-

party training providers are stepping up to the

demand for strategic project leadership and

relational upskilling. They are extending offerings

to include coaching and are helping customers

measure results.

To gain project management benefits across all of their initiatives, organisations

are expanding the metrics they use to measure the value of project

management training. They’re looking beyond setting baselines and targets

tuned to traditional parameters of time, budget, scope and overall ROI. Today’s

forward-thinking leaders compile a business case and measure project impact

through a collection of data points, financial and other, in ROI and increasingly

in a Value of Investment (VOI) equation. VOI calculations factor together all

the business aspects that strategic project leadership improves, including

new product/service time-to-market, marketing campaigns, legal processes,

customer satisfaction, employee engagement – the possibilities are endless. It’s

also important to measure employee satisfaction, loyalty, retention and newly

structured career paths for those with project management training.

A Tech Company’s Strategic Project Leadership Change and Gains The tech company launched its project management Center of Excellence (COE) in the face of increased competition and a rapidly shifting business landscape that led to decreasing market share. The COE oversees project management. It develops and designs materials, training and instructional resources, supports internal certification opportunities and vets external training partners. The COE is regarded – and benchmarked – as world-class.

It gained:

�� Strategic alignment and focus

�� Project and process improvements

�� Increasingly predictable delivery of new products

and services

�� More collaborative culture across the global enterprise


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© 2016 TwentyEighty Strategy Execution, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Ensure a Culture of Thriving, Project-Based Business Success The role strategic project leadership plays in linking corporate vision and strategy

to the leaders and teams doing the work is clear. But none of this change can

play out without an enterprise culture and executive leadership who values

project-based work and invests in performance improvement for project leaders

and teams.

Many view corporate culture as something dictated from the top, down.

Truthfully, an organisation’s culture stems from the leadership’s defined vision,

mission and set of values, which inspire actions and reward aligned behaviour. For

strategic project leadership to flourish, it must have the backing of senior

executive management. Further, strategic project leadership skills should be

prominent in learning and development programmes and frameworks. With such

support, strategic project leadership will spread more deeply across the

organisation and become an engine of innovation, top-line growth and bottom-

line improvement.

Yet, organisational cultures involve a much more inclusive and dynamic,

bottom-up effort. Culture derives from common language, experiences, stories

and milestones shared across the organisation. Organisations thrive as a

result of goal-oriented workers and strategic project leadership has the

potential to be the inclusive culture driver you need in today’s business world.

Conclusion Business leaders need every available resource to deliver on key initiatives and

achieve organisational objectives. The right training can help project leaders

and managers gain increased business understanding, establish a presence

across the organisation and deliver project results aligned to key strategies.

Business-unit and department leaders who leverage strategic project

leadership for their initiatives are positioning their teams to advance

organisational priorities and achieving business goals faster.


All references to ‘Strategy Execution’ are to TwentyEighty Strategy Execution (UK) Ltd, a company registered under the laws of England and Wales

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