APM主席蘇·克肖：項目管理是一種生存技能

尉艷娟

嘉賓簡介

蘇·克肖（Sue Kershaw）是英國項目管理協會（APM）主席、倫敦大學學院（UCL）教授、畢馬威（KPMG）基礎設施咨詢集團執行總監。她曾交付價值數十億英鎊的建筑、房地產和交通項目，如倫敦奧運會交通項目組合。在項目管理領域，她是一位公認的、有影響力的領導者，她的專業領域包括：高績效團隊的領導技能；基于風險方法按時間、按預算交付復雜項目集的能力；出色的協同工作技能；復雜性降解和影響決策者的能力；強大的相關方管理技能；傾聽和應對挑戰的能力；對管理大量公共資金的信心。

30年來，她從一位青澀的工程師成長為有影響力的項目管理領導者。她的努力得到了諸多榮譽，如“運輸和物流領袖獎（2017）”“英國土木工程師學會（ICE）會員（1999）” “APM榮譽會員（2011）”等。

觀點精要

項目管理是生存技能，我們生活中處處需要項目管理技能。

好的領導者是善于傾聽、平易近人和謙虛的人。

高績效團隊從來都不是教科書上描述的能力和經驗的完美契合點。高績效團隊由領導者和追隨者組成，他們心中有共同的目標，他們團結在一起，最重要的是，他們渴望實現項目目標，并將此成就視為個人財富的一部分。

處理復雜性的秘訣是：認清復雜程度，然后分別處理。對于復雜的問題，確定哪些是關鍵任務，哪些人最適合在所需的時間框架內領導解決這些問題，確保整個團隊理解復雜性的影響。

VUCA時代，變化是快節奏和持續的。變更管理必須是嚴格的、有根據的，并且決策必須記錄在案。如果變更的原因不充分，團隊需要重新考慮。

管理相關方時，我們要設身處地地為他們著想，了解他們的立場和關注點及他們對我們的請求的反應。對項目時間表和項目的影響要誠實。讓相關方理解短期的痛苦是為了獲得長期的收益。重要的是要讓相關方感覺自己是項目的一部分，社區聚會和活動是一個很好的方法，把學校也包括在這種活動中很重要，因為這樣才能聽到年輕一代的聲音。

管理大型基礎設施項目的根本是，將重點放在項目啟動和預先計劃上，所有相關方要清楚地定義和理解項目的意圖、項目的性價比（VFM）和可承受性。

我希望將“漸進式項目保證”（Progressive Project Assurance）納入項目經理的工具箱。

我們應該重視項目發起人和項目控制者的角色。項目經理和項目發起人應清晰理解并尊重對方的角色和責任。

Interview

Part Ⅰ Project Management Journey

Q1. I noticed that you started your career by being an engineer. How did you switch to project management？ Whats your story with project management？ Do you enjoy what you are doing？

Sue Kershaw： I dont see it as a switch， but as a transition. After gaining chartered status with the Institution of Civil Engineers， I discovered that， although I enjoyed engineering and learning about construction and design， my passion was the management of projects and people to ensure successful delivery for the client.

Project management is based on solid logic and it is a life skill： we all need project management in our lives. Our businesses， schools and hospitals have to plan what they do， ensure there is enough budget and resource， and that the risks are managed successfully and to time. Project management is needed across all sectors to make countries successful.

I thoroughly enjoy my job： the larger， the more complex and difficult the project， the better！

Q2. As an accomplished woman in the field of project management， how do you balance work and life？ What are your secrets of career success？

Sue Kershaw： I see there being three parts of my life： personal life， my work， and my professional career. These are intertwined and grow with each other. For example， business planning approaches from work lay a good foundation for planning at home； the professional approach to competencies is a bedrock for recruitment at work； understanding the needs of my kids helps me understand the needs of junior staff at work etc. The key is always to have a state of equilibrium between the three parts， and save a little “me time” for physical and mental wellbeing.

I see the secrets of my success as being curious， immersed in what I do， and mindful that teamwork is key to success. No one person ever has the monopoly on good ideas！ I also think that good leaders are listening ones who are approachable and humble.

Part Ⅱ Project Management Observations

Q3. According to your observation， what are the characteristics of high-performing teams？

Sue Kershaw： High-performing teams are never the textbook perfect fit of competence and experience； they are actually a group of diverse people brought together with a common goal in mind. They are composed of leaders and followers that bond together and most importantly， they have the desire to achieve the goals of the project they are working on， and see this achievement as being part of their personal legacy.

High-performing teams respect each other， and are fully committed to delivering the outputs and outcomes of the project. Each member of a high-performing team has different strengths and weaknesses that complement each other. Good leadership is essential. A good project leader has the intent of the project clear， and the vision to deliver it， bringing the project team and stakeholders along with them on the journey. They need to be good decision-makers， and transparent and open in all their dealings.

Q4. In VUCA （Volatile， Uncertain， Complex and Ambiguous） era， simplifying complexity is a challenge. Do you have some tips to share on how to deal with complexity？ And any tips on change management？

Sue Kershaw： I think VUCA is becoming more and more prevalent as our world changes and becomes constantly more disrupted. We have particularly witnessed this in the UK with Brexit.

My tips on dealing with complexity are： Recognise what is complex and what is complicated and deal with them separately. With the complex issues， ascertain which are mission critical and who is best placed to lead them in the timeframe needed. Ensure the whole team understands the impact of the complexity. By dealing with complexity like this， it becomes more manageable and less overwhelming.

In the current VUCA era， change is fast-paced and constant. Change management must be rigorous， evidenced and the decisions must be documented. If a reason for change is not sufficiently thought through， the team needs to go back and do their homework.

Q5. Would you please offer some suggestions as to how to develop strong stakeholder management skills？

Sue Kershaw： To be a good stakeholder manager， you need to put yourself in the shoes of the people you are dealing with so that you can understand their position and concerns， and how they are reacting to your requests. We all like being treated with respect. Also， there is a need to be honest on project timelines and impacts. If these are managed well and understood to be short-term pain for long-term gain， they are much more likely to be acceptable.

It is important that stakeholders feel they can be part of a project， so community gatherings and events are a good way to do this. It is also important to include schools in this engagement， so that the younger generations voices can be heard.

Q6. What have you learned from managing the London Olympic Transport portfolio？ What should we pay attention to in managing such large infrastructure projects？ How should we ensure the transition from project delivery to operations？

Sue Kershaw： The most important thing I learned was that driving a project by schedule to achieve an immovable deadline is extremely powerful and provides for rapid， strong decisionmaking. I also discovered that working on a project of national importance that was always in the headlines （with absolutely no option of failure） lured the best in class to the project， and we became a very close-knit team because of this. I also learned how strongly we react to change in our working focus， so moving the team from capital project delivery to operations was probably one of the most difficult tasks in the seven years I was there！ However， planning this four years in advance of going operational allowed us to deliver a year earlier， and to test and refine the ops plan for Games readiness.

The fundamental aspect of managing large infrastructure projects is to really focus strongly on project initiation and preplanning. In this， the intent of the project needs to be clearly defined and understood by all， and the value for money and the affordability of the project should be crystal clear to all involved.

Part Ⅲ About Role of APM President

Q7. As the President of Association for Project Management （APM）， what do you believe are the trends of project management？ What are the hot topics that APM is focusing on？

Sue Kershaw： My goals as President are to establish project management as a profession， with APM as its unified voice. I also want to include progressive project assurance （i.e. assuring projects in real time to make sure issues do not become problems - the antithesis of audit） into the project managers kit of tools.

APMs vision is to have a world in which all projects succeed and that project management is a life skill. We want to continue to grow and diversify our membership and chartered cohort， and use knowledge and research to guide our thinking. We realize that we need to continuously become more dynamic and agile to respond to a world of constant change， and make sure the most appropriate people are available for all parts of a project lifecycle. Project managers are an important part of the project community， but we need to respect the role of sponsors and project controls too.

Q8. As shown by many surveys， sponsors are essential to project success. How do you see the role of project sponsors？

Sue Kershaw： The role of sponsors is fundamental to the success of a project. They are accountable for successful delivery， owning the business case and high-level stakeholder relationships. They are also the advocate for the project. The relationship between the sponsor and project manager needs to be a marriage whereby they clearly understand and respect each others roles and responsibilities.