PROJECT DELIVERY
EXCELLENCE:
where strategy meets
execution
The differentiator between
winners and losers,
success and failure,
making real change and
remaining the same is
not just about crafting
the strategy or policy, but
the execution. When it
comes to execution, project
delivery excellence is the
key to success.
For many people the phrase ‘project
management’ conjures up images
of templates, process, gating,
audits, reporting and administration.
And sadly for many people, this is
the reality of what they experience
when it comes to project delivery.
But that’s not what we’re talking
about here when I say project
delivery excellence is the key to
strategy execution. There is a new
breed of project manager that
forms the critical link between a
sponsor’s strategy on a page and
the execution that brings it to life.
This kind of project manager, when
coupled with an engaged and skilled
sponsor, forms the beating heart of
any successful project.
Standardised Project Management
provides a wide range of tools
and techniques for the planning,
execution and close of projects,
and yes, all project managers
should know these. But excellence
in project delivery comes when
professional project managers use
these tools and techniques with
skill. They must take into account
context, they must understand the
strategy – not just as words on a
page but deeply engage with the
outcomes the sponsor is trying
to achieve – and they must bring
to bear the full potential of their
influencing skills. At times the
project manager must be able to tell
the sponsor they are wrong….. and
get away with it.
There is no ‘sponsor school’
For sponsors there is no sponsor
school, there is no profession on
which to draw knowledge, the onus
is on individual executives to learn
the craft themselves. But people
don’t become an executive and a
sponsor (generally) without being
a pretty smart cookie, and this is
not rocket science. It’s a type of
leadership for a particular type of
context, so pick up a book, learn
what the difference is between
general and project management
and find an experienced sponsor to
start modelling from.
to life. They will annoy you, their job
is to hold you to account and push
you to make decisions faster than
you’d like with less than perfect
information, who wouldn’t find
that annoying? But if you are trying
to make tomorrow significantly
different from today then you want
a professional project manager by
your side executing your strategy.
Dr Alicia Aitken is Telstra’s Chief
Project Officer, responsible for
ensuring successful project delivery
across the capital investment
programme. She will be sharing
her private sector knowledge and
expertise at the Public Sector PMO
conference this July, and also be
facilitating the mid conference
workshop “How to secure executive
sponsorship and continued
engagement”.
Then pick a professional project
manager of the new breed and stick
to them like glue from the start
to the end of the project. Support
them at every turn because they are
here to make your strategy come
The Public Sector PMO Leadership conference brings together the Australian Public Sector’s
most influential leaders in program and portfolio management who will share their insights,
expertise and case-studies to help you tackle your PMO’s biggest challenges
Sydney | 25th & 26th July 2017 | www.criterionconferences.com/event/pmo17