Embracing Conflict: It’s Your Job

Conflict occurs in any environment and the success of a project often depends on how leaders manage and resolve conflict. Issues can occur with various stakeholders (project team, client, other influencers) and embracing problems head-on can be the difference between successfully completing a project and escalation that hinders productivity.

This presentation and paper will address how to build teams that embrace conflict, harness the positive aspects of conflict and mitigate issues before they metastasize into project and relationship-damaging conflicts. The paper will review common sources of conflict, the conflict lifecycle, and strategies for resolving conflict at each stage. This presentation and paper will also provide common strategies for addressing conflict with various stakeholders in order to effectively manage projects, people, and personalities.

The 5 Stages of Grief (aka Setting Up an Enterprise Project Portfolio Management Organization)

If you or someone you love has experienced a loss or a tragedy, you might be familiar with the 5 stages of grief. What no one may have told you, is that organizations that are faced with a major change also experience these phases. In this paper, the Texas Department of Public Safety will share with you their experience with implementation of an enterprise project portfolio management office (EPMO). This office was created in order to manage the strategic execution cycle at the Department and ensure that priorities and the most valuable initiatives were accomplished.

The authors will explain what you really need to know and what to expect when establishing an enterprise level organization that is responsible for the strategic execution cycle. They will provide valuable insight into the hurdles and roadblocks that might be encountered, along with strategies for overcoming them. They will also discuss the critical need for buy-in and what to expect when that isn’t achieved at the right time, by the right people. The authors will focus on the integral role that people play in change and execution and provide valuable insight into techniques that might be used to minimize conflict and increase collaboration.

While the execution of the organization was ultimately successful, the implementation was more painful than necessary. The authors will candidly share their specific experiences that translate to every industry.