Organizations Structured for Value Driven Performance: Project Managers and Subject Matter Experts(SME)- Building Your “A” Team
Project managers are involved in the planning, development, management and oversight of projects in a wide range of industries of varying size, disciplines and technical complexity.
Often, project managers enter the field of practice through a variety of industry experience and occupations and occasionally fall into the category of the accidental PM.
Whatever the path, great project management engages process-based methodologies that align with a theory of completion within the project’s scope, time, quality and costs constraints.
Organizations that are structured for value driven performance often engage project managers and subject matter experts(SME) to accomplish the task, utilizing a combination of hierarchical structures at various stages of the project endeavor.
Operationally, functional organizations have a tendency to be linear across the organizational structure, with staff directly reporting to the department head.
In a projectized organization, however, familiarity with a project/product type and the various technical components, often prove highly beneficial. A level of product technical knowledge is necessary to ensure the project requirements are successfully met.
Balanced matrix organizations utilize both. The comparison of project manager or technical subject matter expert (SME), introduces the concept of the ‘Halo’ effect, which is the “tendency to rate performance or ability high or low on all factors due to the impression of a high or low rating “. For example, “Since you are a great engineer, we also expect you to be a great project manager.”
This concept can also apply across positional leadership models and real or perceived levels of authority within an organization’ s structure. For many organizations, this is common practice, yet, such actions can also adversely impact the performing organization thereby requiring role definition, accountability and an equitable system of measuring performance.
To effectively accomplish the assigned tasks, well defined roles for each contributing member will help in the focus, identification and accountability of the project goal. This allows team members some creativity in their performance and project contribution, while project management initiatives remain focused in communication, coordination and integration; important components required to reach the initiatives of the performing organization and the project goals.
Expertise is required to fulfill both roles and are critical to successfully fulfill the requirements of any project. Depending on the goal, performing organizations can consider embracing the probability of engaging an SME which may require supplementing the existing team in efforts to adequately provide the services needed for a successful and progressively elaborated project endeavor. NFB
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