向上管理：借力而行

尉艷娟

《PMI職業脈搏調查》顯示，高管的積極參與是項目達到其最初目標和商業意圖的首要驅動力。該結論凸顯了向上管理的重要性。那么，什么是向上管理？向上管理存在哪些障礙？項目經理如何在權力有限的情況下進行有效的向上管理？在向上管理中如何應對變更？軟技能將在向上管理中起到什么樣的作用？在向上管理中如何處理文化因素？就以上問題本刊記者采訪了項目管理專家麥克·布羅奇塔（Mike OBrochta）。

麥克·布羅奇塔，PMI-ACP，PMP，佐澤公司（Zozer）創始人，有30余年的項目管理從業經驗，曾任PMI道德委員會咨詢小組主席，著有圖書《如何讓高管助力項目成功》（How to Get Executives to Act for Project Success）。

Interview

Q1

Managing up is an increasingly popular topic. Would you please tell us whats "managing up" by definition

Mike OBrochta： In my world of project management， managing up is all about getting executives to act for project success.

Heres an example. George is a project manager who is trying to apply some recently acquired knowledge： a document. At first， he was enthusiastic about how such a document could help him establish and maintain his authority， an aspect of his job with which he was consistently having trouble. However， he lamented that he could never use such a document because the part of the organization he worked in had not adopted and would not adopt such a technique. George would benefit from managing up and getting executives to not only allow the use of the document， but actively support their use.

Q2

Why is it so important to manage up I believe there must be some research or survey data to support this.

Mike OBrochta： According to the 2017 PMI Pulse of the Profession Report， "Actively engaged executives continue to be the top driver of whether projects met their original goals and business intent." Increasing numbers of project managers are trying to deal with this reality.

Part of this challenging reality is due to the fact that the definition of project success has expanded so much so that project managers cannot achieve it without executive help.

In the 1960s， the early days of modern project management， success was likely to be measured entirely in technical terms. Either the deliverable product worked or it did not. During the 1970s， that narrow definition was expanded to encompass completion on time， within cost， and at an acceptable level of quality. This has become known as the triple constraint and has been widely used as the basis for much of the project management industry. During the 1980s， further expansion took place to include criteria relating to customer acceptance. And during the 1990s， still more criteria were added， having to do with the main workflow of the organization， the corporate culture， and the strategic business objectives.

One of the first steps a project manager can take is to gain competence in speaking truth to power and influencing without authority. Then， when they are more comfortable with their ability， they can help executives understand the value of successful projects， not only to the organizational bottom line， but to their careers as well. Research has shown that the number one reason for executive failure is not delivering on commitments； project management can go a long way toward helping executives avoid this career blunder. Project managers can also communicate using business context， rather than having a narrower conversation about project goals. When they communicate the value of their project in terms that are important to the business， they are more likely to be supported.

Q5

Soft skills have also been a hot topic recently. Will soft skills play an essential role in managing up

Mike OBrochta： The entire set of steps that I have described for a project manager to get executives to act for project success is about soft skills.

Having the ability to speak truth to power is an important skill. When effectively practiced， the project managers level of influence， relative to lack of authority， will increase. That influence will further increase if the project manager effectively communicates the value of successful projects； findings in a recent PMI Pulse of the Profession Report showed that organizations using proven project management practices wasted about 13 times less money than the low performers. Additionally， it is not just the organization that benefits； executives benefit， too. Successful projects are critically important to the executive who understands that the number one reason for executive failure is not lack of vision or strategy. According to a cover story in Fortune Magazine，"Its bad execution. As simple as that： not getting things done， being indecisive， not delivering on commitments."

To ramp project manager influence levels up even further， behave like an Alpha. A survey of over 5，000 project managers， stakeholders， and executives has provided an extraordinary insight into what the top two percent of project managers， the Alphas， know and do that everyone else does not. The Alphas believed strongly that they had enough authority， even though they had the same amount as others. They also spent twice as much time planning and were twice as effective with communication as the others. Furthermore， their communications were in the business context that resonated with executives.

Finally， project managers can understand and use power. Power refers to the ability of the project manager to influence others to act for the benefit of his or her project； it is a resource that enables compliance or commitment from others. Project managers have an excellent opportunity to build levels of expert power （centered around what the project manager knows about his or her project）， and levels of referent power （affiliations the project manager has with other groups and individuals）. Keys to building these two types of power are ethics and trust. In The Leadership Challenge， which continues to be a bestseller after six editions and 20 years in print and which is considered the gold standard for research-based leadership， the text informs us that leadership requires trust. As former Chair of the PMI Ethics Member Advisory Group， I can confirm that one of the most effective ways to build trust is to abide by the four values in the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct： responsibility， respect， honesty and fairness. Transgressions in any one of these four values can cause immediate and long-lasting undercutting of trust. Leveraging sponsors and champions and forming a project management council will grow the project managers power even further.

Project managers can blend their experience and judgment， reflect upon the unique circumstances of their project and organization， solicit from their fellow project managers， and make their own tailored actions list. By using that list， combined with some willpower， project managers will be well on their way to helping their executive overcome barriers and act for project success.

Q6

In your book， you mentioned that project managers should be empowered to extend their influence beyond the immediate project boundaries into the organization. So for project managers， what are the secrets of practicing influencing power

Mike OBrochta： Once a project manager has something important to say to an executive， and once they have put that into business context， then their job is to do what it takes to get listened to. That goal is easier to achieve when they， instead of speaking with one voice， speak with many voices. It is easier to extend influence when a project manager says， "We recommend，" rather than "I recommend." When a project manager gathers a number of like-minded others and approaches an executive， they are more likely to be listened to and extend their influence.

Q7

In VUCA era， change is inevitable. What should project managers do with change in managing up

Mike OBrochta： Be aware of the change readiness level of their executives and their organization. If， for example， the project manager wants the executive to take an action for project success that involves a significant change to the corporate financial accounting system， and if the corporation is still struggling with the aftermath of the last major change they made to that system， then the change readiness level would be low； the project manager should recognize this and postpone asking for that particular change.

Q8

With the progress of globalization， culture must be an influencing factor in managing up， right

Mike OBrochta： For sure. As the former Chair of the Ethics Member Advisory Group for PMI， I have benefited from global research data that reflects the different values worldwide. For example， one of the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct values， which all 500 thousand members worldwide have made a commitment to comply with， is to avoid conflicts of interest. Yet， what one culture perceives as a conflict of interest， is not similarly perceived by another culture.

Managing up， in an organization that abides by a code of ethics that precludes conflicts of interest， obligates the employee to take action when they perceive a violation. They must manage up.

Q9

From the perspective of executives， what should they do to embrace managing up

Mike OBrochta： The number one step executives can take to support managing up is to ask "What can I do to help " This approach embodies servant leadership， where executives understand that their role includes actively supporting their employees.