Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.

—Jack Welch

HABIT ONE

Take complete ownership of the project

GET IT DONE

Once a project is authorized or the project charter is approved, it is important for the project leader to assume full ownership of the project from day one. Ownership means that you understand the scope, that you are passionately committed, and that it is up to you to get it done. If you split the word into owner and ship, then it becomes clear that you own the ship and are responsible for its direction. Not only is it important for the project leader to take complete control, but more importantly to make sure that all team members take full control/ownership of their respective scope from start to finish.

For the project leader, it is not only taking ownership of the scope, but also ownership of the role as a project leader. It is typical for either the customer, project sponsor, or business development manager to get involved with project execution, and the project leader is not afforded the opportunity to formulate his or her own vision and strategy during the project initiation phase. Letting this happen can cause confusion within the project team and set the project on a doomed path toward failure.

On one power project, the business development manager kept directing the project team. His priorities were sales-oriented, with too many side projects. The delivery dates to the customer could not be met with the resources budgeted for the project. Team members did not know whose direction to follow. The project leader came across as a weak person unable to make decisions. The project leader just wanted to play nice since the business development manager used to be his boss several years ago. Finally, when the project leader took full ownership of the project and forced the business development manager out of the project, he was able to exert his influence and provide the needed execution strategy to the project team.

A project leader must avoid a potential leadership gap by taking complete ownership of the project early on. Furthermore, he or she should reinforce the positive aspects of the project, such as the availability of adequate resources and address strategies for handling any negative aspects, such as a difficult customer or a tight budget. Be passionate about setting the project's goals and vision and be actively vocal to inspire a sense of shared purpose within the project team.

On another digital technology project, the project manager who had helped set up the program and supported the project for two years left. Both the client and project team highly valued and trusted her opinions. As the incoming project manager was onboarding the project, he allowed the deputy project manager, who had been on the project for a year, to assume temporary control. For almost a month, the project manager took a backseat in key discussions and decisions. By the time the project manager was ready to take back ownership, the client and project team had already become accustomed to turning to the deputy project manager for leadership and direction. As the project manager tried to introduce a new vision for the program, there was much confusion and miscommunication, and essentially zero buy-in. As a result, the project manager had a very hard time getting his project team to see him as a trusted leader and not just a manager.

Ownership → Responsibility

The business strategy behind promoting this habit is to control the scope and facilitate delegation. A sense of ownership leads to a sense of responsibility. When you are responsible for something, you protect it from any changes. You become more aware of any reduction in scope and/or scope creep. A project leader not only owns the project, but helps key team members attain a sense of project ownership that they are responsible for delivering. Not only is this a highly motivational force, it also assists the project leader in delegating work. A sense of responsibility avoids micromanagement and prevents any blame game on the project.

During one senior management presentation where I was responsible for presenting the capital cost estimate and management schedule, our project manager decided to present all items on the agenda himself. It took away any sense of ownership from all the functional managers like me who had prepared their sections for engineering, procurement, quality, project controls, and construction. After the meeting, the project manager had no buy-in from any of the functions. He had complete ownership of the project, but none of the core team members did. In fact, all of the functional managers took exception to whatever he presented.

People are more willing to enthusiastically support and share their ideas when they feel ownership, thereby spurring innovation and creativity. A sense of responsibility also leads to higher performance.