Results Without Authority, Second Edition
Controlling a Project When the Team Doesn't Report to You
By: Tom Kendrick
Published: January 29, 2012
Format: Paperback, 276 pages
ISBN-10: 0814417817
ISBN-13: 978-0814417812
Publisher: AMACOM
"Projects are everywhere. Some of these projects succeed; others do not. Many projects fail because the project leader lacks sufficient control to keep things moving toward a successful conclusion". writes respected consultant, program manager, educator, and speaker Tom Kendrick, in his very systematic and results oriented book Results Without Authority, Second Edition: Controlling a Project When the Team Doesn't Report to You. The author describes why projects can and do fail, why so many teams operate under managers to whom they don't report, and provides the tools and techniques to ensure that any manager can achieve superior results even when lacking direct authority.
Tom Kendrick understands that managers who don't have direct authority over team members face difficult challenges in achieving the desired outcomes. For the author, this lack of control is a problem, but it's a problem with viable and practical solutions. Tom Kendrick guides the manager through the entire project management process spectrum, and shares his best practices and strategies for achieving successful results, regardless of the manager's authority level. The techniques offered by the author work for all types and sizes of projects, whether small and on site, or spread across several locations around the world.
Tom Kendrick (photo left) recognizes that managers who lack formal authority require additional tools and techniques to achieve project success. At the same time, the author also offers strategies, for managers who do have the formal authority, to avoid resorting to the counter-productive tactic of pulling rank on team members in order to gain the illusion of control. Tom Kendrick takes the manager through the entire project management process, revealing that the manager has more techniques to leverage for control, than are often thought to exist.
Tom Kendrick presents what he calls the three core elements of control. The core elements are as follows:
* Project processes where the manager defines clearly the project objectives and the term of its duration
* Influence where managers establish effective communication to build trust
* Metrics for measuring the progress of the project toward its goals
The author then takes those three core elements and applies them to improve processes, enhance influence, and creating metrics through the five universal phases of projects. The five phases are as follows"
* Initiating the project
* Planning the process and goals
* Executing the plan
* Monitoring the process and its outcomes
* Closing down the process
For me, the power of the book is how Tom Kendrick combines a very effective project management framework, with the strategies needed, for any manager to succeed on any size or type of project. The author provides the best practices for managers to gain and maintain control over projects and project teams, regardless of their formal authority level. The tools offered work well for a manager who has no authority; or for a manager who has full authority, but seeks to avoid the problems arising from pulling rank.
Tom Kendrick provides a useful and universal road map for navigating through entire projects from the very earliest planning stages to the final closing down of the project and the ending of the team. With this guide in hand, an experienced or first time manager will have the tactics needed to maintain control of the team, and achieve successful results every time.
I highly recommend the very hands on and essential project team management guide book Results Without Authority, Second Edition: Controlling a Project When the Team Doesn't Report to You by Tom Kendrick, to managers of any experience level, on any size or type of project, who seek to gain and maintain control over their teams to ensure superior results. This book will change the way all managers approach team management, even if they lack formal authority or are located far from the project management site.
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