Are you enabling them to be successful?
When a new project manager joins the organization, take the time upfront to get them onboarded rather than immediately assigning them a project. When we focus on onboarding new project managers into the organization, we:
- Acclimate them to the company and the culture
- Help them understand the internal politics and how decisions get made in the organization
- Enable them to begin to build relationships with stakeholders
Along with the usual topics covered during onboarding, be sure to review the following which will be of value to those managing projects:
- Organizational strategy and upcoming projects aligned to that strategy
- Processes and procedures used to manage projects
- Roles and responsibilities on project teams
- Expectations of project managers within the organization
- Technology and other tools used to manage projects
- How projects are prioritized
- Introductions to key stakeholders and sponsors within the organization
- Time spent with other project managers to understand successes and challenges managing projects
- Introduction to project team members
For the first month, enable the project manager to team up with another project manager to work on a project. This enables them to gain some level of comfort and confidence and increase their chances of success when they lead their own project. The more senior project manager will be a mentor to the new hire – effectively showing them the ropes in the organization. This enables the newly hired project manager to understand how things get done and how decisions are made. Essential knowledge for any project manager.
Once the new project manager is leading his/her own project, have a more senior project manager available as a mentor to the project manager – providing guidance as needed.
When we take the time to get project managers onboarded, we enable for them to be more effective and efficient working within the organization in a shorter period of time and overall increase their chances of success on their initiatives.
Getting used to the future is a very important aspect of being a project manager. This will help them make the right decisions based on the exiting organizational structure.