Presentation: Bridging Organizational Divides
Abstract: As most projects span multiple departments and organizations, project leaders are increasingly challenged to align teams with differing business objectives, connect often contradictory working cultures, and assist teams in developing best practices for collaboration. We expect teams to work together effortlessly, but in reality, collaboration across teams and organizations is not uniformly successful.
In this presentation, we will discuss obstacles to cross-organizational collaboration, share techniques from organizational design and related collaboration models that project leaders can use to establish lasting alignment across teams.
This presentation is structured in two parts. Part 1 provides a high-level overview of organizational design and stresses the importance of integration through the concept of “linking”. In Part 2, a case study from a large healthcare system demonstrates that structural linking mechanisms can be used to establish lasting alignment across multiple departments.
Case Study Thesis: Increased collaboration and “linking” between organizations would bring about greater alignment and more efficient execution of project activities. Staff satisfaction would improve and a “One Team” mindset would arise across the teams.
Results: The program manager spent time to plan and implement increased “linking” mechanisms between organizations. By using cross-unit groups and integrator roles, the program manager increased collaboration, knowledge sharing, and helped solidify a sense of shared goals across the teams.
The presentation will close with a review of lessons learned from the case study and a call to action for those in the audience to proactively think about organization structure and collaboration mechanisms of their teams.
PMI Talent Triangle: Strategic and Business Management
Biography: Bruce W. Gay, PMP, has over 20 years of experience managing programs and customer relationships across healthcare IT, telecommunications and defense industries. Currently a Senior Program Manager at UPMC Enterprises (the commercialization arm of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center), Bruce manages a multi-million dollar program to develop the next generation of Radiology Informatics systems. Over the past decade, he has managed creative teams that incorporated UX Design & Design Thinking methodologies into their product development processes.
Bruce presented at the PMI Global Conferences in Chicago and Los Angeles and at the University of Maryland 2018 Project Management Symposium. He holds an MA in International Affairs from The George Washington University and a BA in International Affairs from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.
Bruce shares his experiences and ideas around Design Thinking on twitter as @brucegay
