First Bank:

Transformative Leadership Sets a Financial Services Enterprise PMO on the Fast Track to Strategic Value

For this privately held financial services company, a compelling journey of business transformation started with a good read. The bank, which operates over 100 branch offices in three states, found itself at a crossroads. Having spent significant time creating a good strategic plan for the bank, they wanted to improve execution and delivery. Executive leadership recognized the effectiveness of aligning projects and strategy; and realized that the company's existing project management processes were ad hoc and inconsistent across IT and business projects. The company had begun the process of building an Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO) and there was energy, support, and sponsorship for the potential value that an EPMO could deliver. However, initial attempts to get this organizational transformation program off the ground had faltered.

One of the executive team had read J. Kent Crawford's book, The Strategic Project Office, which outlines plans to build an Enterprise Project Management Office. Initially, the bank reached out to PM College in early 2015, with the thought of developing the skills first, then working toward the structure and methodology. But as the PM College business development representative listened, she realized that, in order to fully realize the benefits of the training, the bank needed to first create the structure and processes that would give newly trained project managers the tools to succeed. She took the bank's overview of their issues to her PM Solutions consulting colleagues and enlisted their help to frame the problem and its solution.

As a result of those conversations, the company engaged a PM Solutions managing consultant to advance the effectiveness of the EPMO and related disciplines. The company identified four key challenges with respect to advancing the EPMO and associated strategic capabilities:

Clearly defining pragmatic scope, objectives, and role expectations for the EPMO

Enabling effective delivery of large projects

Developing organizational capability in project management methods

Providing executive level education to effectively support project management methods.

Bringing in an expert was viewed as the key factor in accelerating the adoption of the EPMO in the minimum amount of time. The managing consultant quickly established a strong partnership with the new EPMO director. Some of the solutions agreed upon included:

Partnered to develop a roadmap for EPMO formation, while coaching and mentoring the EPMO team to drive ongoing results. Create a charter and executive steering committee to guide the evolution of a strategic EPMO.

Conduct Discoverya process of stakeholder interviews and process mappingto identify gaps and develop a roadmap to drive subsequent capability improvement.

Initiate capability improvement efforts based on the roadmap. Where practical, capability improvements were initiated in parallel with roadmap completion.

The managing consultant did not just advise, but also worked hands-on to help accomplish the company's goals. She accommodated the bank's need for urgency by accelerating the Discovery process; which meant that a roadmap for the initiative was in place in half the time originally planned, allowing the company to move more rapidly into delivery and results.

Project management and project portfolio management (PPM) methodologies were developed, and workshops on the methodology carried out. An EPMO organizational structure was established, along with role and responsibility definitions and a management framework.

In addition, the managing consultant conducted a Project Health Check on a major at-risk project and made recommendations to correct the course of the project. Utilizing the new methodology, this allowed the company to see how a critical project turnaround could be achieved. The intervention was successful, resulting in a de-scoping of the project and significant cost savings.

Making Change Welcome

The bank was determined to empower and develop an internal team and make them an integral part of the transformation process. In alignment with their corporate values, they needed a partner who would implement organization change with them ... not for them. Also in keeping with their culture, it was important for them to enlist their team in shaping and driving the change. The EPMO director was identified from within the company; an accomplished business leader with a strong process orientation, she readily accepted the opportunity. Other EPMO roles were similarly filled from promising individuals within the bank. Collectively executives worked to promote the attitude "let's get on with change!" Executives and the managing consultant agreed that the No. 1 priority was doing the right projects, so strategic alignment was a first step. The PM Solutions consultant helped to identify the portfolio and classify projects, developing a clear list of active and pending projects and a portfolio process that spelled out how to intake new projects, prioritize, and manage the portfolio. Methodology was scaled down for quick adoption and staff was coached on necessary behaviors and knowledge. The theme was to promote enterprise capability first, and project problem solving later. The methodology was piloted on several projects, across the bank in different departments and different phases of implementation, from initiation to closure. This varied population of projects ensured that the methodology would be fully tested. The feedback from this pilot was very positive. Meetings were also held where people could discuss and make suggestions. In addition, training sessions were conducted for project managers and other key leaders to accelerate adoption. As a result of the successful pilot efforts, the bank announced that it was standardizing the methodology across the enterprise.

Training for the Future Concurrently with the consulting, PM College provided training that was aimed at culture change, beginning with PM for Executives, and Project Management Essentials (PME). Multi-level training was targeted for top executives, functional managers, and the core team of project managers with the goal of building executive sponsorship skills and establishing consistency of language and process at all levels of the organization. By March 2016, the organization launched the largest project in its history. The EPMO's project management framework and governance provided the Bank's leadership confidence that the project would be successful. Further training was planned to supplement and support the efforts of the project managers to this initiative. Business managers and key individuals assigned to the project were provided with the Project Management Essentials course along with Strategies for Effective Stakeholder Management. In addition, executive leaders participated in the PM for Sponsors training, preparing them to work with project managers, ask the right questions, and understand the process. Coaching and mentoring continues to be delivered to the team of project managers to support their leadership development.

The Partnership Difference

The consulting engagement lasted just 16 weeks; and all parties agreed that the momentum established in that brief time was "astounding." Training, consulting and mentoring continue as project management becomes fully institutionalized across the business. This cross-pollination of consulting and training was the key to a holistic approach of driving culture change, in which the communication style, deliverables, and process synched to the bank's most pressing strategic objectives. Executives and PM Solutions representatives agreed that the success of the project was attributable to the involvement of senior executives, paired with a consultative approach that melded with the bank's values: putting employees first and prioritizing "doing the right thing" over lower-level tactical solutions. Combining agility in responding to operational needs with a right-sized methodology and an EPMO that hit the ground running, the bank faces the future with the structure and tools it needs to engage employees, execute strategic projects, and support continuous improvement.

[Source: https://www.pmsolutions.com/casestudies/CaseStudy_Transformative_Leadership_Sets_Financial_Services_EPMO_on_Fast_Track_to_Strategic_Value.pdf]

Required:

(a) "Collectively executives worked to promote the attitude "let's get on with change!, is a statement from the case that is quite inspiring as many changes within organisations are usually received with resistance. Discuss THREE (3) ways that are used by management to manage the resistance to change that may occur.

[9 marks]

(b) During the process of implementing new changes within the organization, often, conflict may occur between parties. Explain thoroughly THREE (3) ways of managing conflict.

[15 marks]

(c) Describe what is conflict. [4 marks]

(d) The statement "Having spent significant time creating a good strategic plan for the bank, they wanted to improve execution and delivery" tells us that there are far more things that require scrutiny than just good plans. Allocating the right resources is one of them. Explain FOUR (4)resources that are central during the implementation stage.

[16 marks]

(e) The case also mentions that an EPMO organizational structure was established. A new structure may exist due to restructuring. Provide your understanding of what entails restructuring and how different it is from reengineering.

[6 marks]